This month in Harvard history

Sept. 19, 1782 — The Harvard Corporation votes to establish the Medical School, following a detailed plan from President Joseph Willard and Professor Edward Wigglesworth. The plan calls for new books in chemistry and medicine, “a complete anatomical and surgical apparatus,” three new professorships, and organized lectures with required clinical components.

September 1877 — Justin Winsor becomes College Librarian and operates on the revolutionary principle that books should be used as much and as conveniently as possible. His ideas soon take practical form with the expansion of the undergraduate reserved-book system (begun two or three years earlier) and the introduction of stack privileges for students and officers of the University.

September 1920 — The Graduate School of Education opens.

Sept. 25, 1933 — The Society of Fellows sits down for the first of its weekly dinners.

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