This month in Harvard history

May 1943 – Shortly before Commencement, the Qing (Ch’ing) Dynasty stone dragon just west of Widener Library is set on a new base. The dragon had been a Tercentenary (1936) gift from Harvard alumni in China. A provincial governor had originally received it from the Chinese Emperor Chia-ch’ing (reigned 1796-1820).

May 4, 1943 – At the Boston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Boston firm of Perry, Shaw & Hepburn accepts the J. Harleston Parker Gold Medal for Houghton Library as the best architecture in New England for 1942. The City of Boston has given the award annually since 1923.

May 19, 1953 – Provost Paul H. Buck, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, presides over his last faculty meeting before retiring from both positions on June 30.

By unanimous acclamation, the faculty adopts a resolution of appreciation, proposed by (and prefaced by a tribute from) Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., the Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, with a laudatory second from Physics Professor Edwin C. Kemble.

May 1967 – More than 800 guests fill the Palmer Dixon Tennis Courts to celebrate John Finley’s 25th anniversary as Master of Eliot House.

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