This month in Harvard history

Nov. 21, 1953 – In Yale’s Woolsey Hall on the morning of the Harvard-Yale football game, Yale confers an honorary Doctor of Laws degree upon recently installed Harvard President Nathan Marsh Pusey ’28, AM ’32, PhD ’37. “Not in his fondest dreams, [Pusey] said – with a solemnity which brought a smile to the faces of the 1,500 in the audience – had he ever aspired to be an alumnus of Yale [. . .].” (Quoted from “Harvard Alumni Bulletin,” Nov. 28, 1953)

Nov. 30, 1954 – Houghton and Widener libraries open an exhibition honoring poet Robert Frost, who attends a reception for about 150 guests. Twenty-six exhibition cases show numerous first publications of his work in books, magazines, and pamphlets, along with books about and dedicated to Frost, and souvenirs of his Harvard ties. It is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Frost’s published work assembled to date.

Among the highlights is the first public showing of a four-page, handwritten letter (Sept. 11, 1897; Lawrence, Mass.) from Frost to College Dean Le Baron Russell Briggs, explaining his educational situation and requesting admission.

Nov. 30, 1954 – Lawrence H. Summers, Harvard’s future 27th President, is born in New Haven, Conn.

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