Campus & Community

This month in Harvard history

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July 12, 1684 – President John Rogers dies in office during a total eclipse of the sun.

July 18, 1780 – “Revolutionary” education? A young man visits Cambridge for the first time, passes oral exams in seven subjects, pays for all the instruction he has never received, and walks off with his bachelor’s degree the next day.

July 1, 1813 – The cornerstone of University Hall is laid.

July 1876 – On Divinity Ave., construction begins on a building for the Peabody Museum.

July 4, 1914 – Harvard rowers triumph in their debut at the Henley Royal Regatta, thereby becoming the first U.S. team to win the Grand Challenge Cup, rowing’s oldest and most revered trophy.

July 11, 1938 – In a special ceremony in the Faculty Room of University Hall, Harvard awards an honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Swedish Crown Prince Gustav Adolph.

July 28, 1939 – Matina Souretis (Horner), future sixth President of Radcliffe College, is born in Boston, Mass.

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