THE namesake founder of Johns Hopkins University was a slave owner – not the celebrated abolitionist many believed him to be until the school made the "difficult revelation" on Wednesday.

The university released a statement acknowledging they came across census records that showed that its founder owned at least five slaves between 1840 and 1850.

"For most of the last century, our institutions believed Johns Hopkins to be an early and staunch abolitionist whose father, a committed Quaker, had freed the family’s enslaved people in 1807," the university said.

"But over the past several months, research being done as a part of the Hopkins Retrospective has caused us to question this narrative."

Census records showed that Hopkins owned one slave in 1840 and four slaves in 1850 – but owned none in 1860, according to the statement, which is titled Reexamining the history of our founder.

It's unclear why Hopkins didn't own any slaved by 1860.

Maryland, where the university is located, abolished slavery in 1864 – a year before the passing of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide.

Hopkins founded his eponymous university in 1876.

The school said there's no "comprehensive biography" on its founder and that it would "vigorously" look into more research in the near future.

"We felt it was important to share this new information with you now, as part of our ongoing work, announced last summer, to deepen our historical understanding of the legacy of racism in our country, our city, and our institutions," the university said.

The long-standing image of Johns Hopkins as an abolitionist came from a 1929 biography written by his grandniece Helen Thom.

The book featured several family anecdotes, including one that said Hopkins' parents freed the "able-bodied" slaves from the Anne Arundel plantation because of his Quaker beliefs, according to The Hill.

But the university's research found no evidence to back the claims, and Johns Hopkins said it will join the Universities Studying Slavery project.

“We are not alone in undertaking the difficult but essential work of reckoning with a complex history and the legacy of racial injustice,” Johns Hopkins said.

The school added: "This is a solemn responsibility and an important opportunity not only to seek truth but also to build a better, more just, and more equitable future for our institution and all we served."

Johns Hopkins, whose researchers have been at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, isn't the only school that's reckoned with its legacy of racism.

Princeton University stripped Woodrow Wilson's name from its campus in June because of his "racist thinking and policies."

Princeton alumna and former first lady Michelle Obama praised the school's decision to pull Wilson's name and said she was "heartened" by the move.

Wilson, who served as the United States' 28th president from 1913 to 1921, supported segregation and spoke approvingly of the Ku Klux Klan.

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