Campus & Community

This month in Harvard history

1 min read
  • March 24, 1943: John F. Connolly – familiar to generations of students as “John the Yard Cop” – turns 75, still making his rounds as the dean of Crimson police. A native of Charlestown, he began working at Harvard in 1906.The Harvard Alumni Bulletin paints this brief portrait: “For nearly forty years he has served the University, the trusted aid of three presidents, and the friend of ten generations of Harvard men. He commands respect by making friends. ‘If boys get in trouble,’ he says, ‘I do everything I can to help them out. And if some fellow doesn’t like my asking him not to ride his bicycle in front of the Navy men, I just tell him to report me. But I make him my friend, and he greets me afterwards when we meet in the Yard.’ ”

    From the Harvard Historical Calendar, a database compiled by Marvin Hightower