Featured series 
Tag: Harvard History
-
Nation & World
As the Civil War finally ends, a relieved, sad, graduation day
The Commencement of 1865 and the day of commemoration that followed it hold a unique spot in Harvard history. Though some military actions were still taking place, the Civil War had essentially ended in April of that year. John Langdon Sibley, head librarian at Harvard, wrote in his diary that there had already been a…
-
Nation & World
Commencement orators talk the talk
A journalist, a landscape architect, and a Latin scholar are today’s Commencement orators. They fulfill a University tradition dating back to 1642. They also embark on three journeys that hint at the wide array of academic paths leading outward from Harvard.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
May 13, 1958 — On the steps of Widener Library, the Harvard Glee Club and the Radcliffe Choral Society perform choruses from Bach’s B-minor Mass. Although the groups have performed together for decades, the occasion marks the Choral Society’s first participation in a Glee Club outdoor concert.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
May 21, 1940 — “The Harvard Crimson” publishes a statement endorsed by hundreds of students vowing “never under any circumstances to follow the footsteps of the students of 1917” who had gone off to fight in World War I. Thirty-four members of the Class of 1917 defend their actions in a statement published on May…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
May 26, 1902 — The Harvard Corporation approves the construction of a temporary addition to the south side of Boylston Hall. Completed over the summer and measuring 83 by 33 feet, the add-on consists of a single large laboratory for elementary-chemistry classes and a general-use basement. The addition opens in the fall, with a stucco…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
May 12, 1638 — By order of the Great and General Court, “Newetowne” is renamed “Cambrige” (Cambridge).
-
Nation & World
Play space
The Adams House Pool Theatre sits in the heart of Westmorly Court, one of the several “Gold Coast” dormitories that now make up Adams House. Originally built as a pool, the space has become home to unconventional, spirited productions and has gained a reputation as an alternative venue on campus.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
April 6-7, 1951 — The Law School holds an Institute for Practicing Lawyers focusing on legal problems of mobilizing for the Korean conflict.
-
Nation & World
Jefferson Lab Harvard’s newest historic site
The American Physical Society (APS) designated Jefferson Physical Laboratory a historical site in a special ceremony on Monday (April 27).
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
April 10, 1950 — Ralph J. Bunche — AM ’28, PhD ’34, Director of the United Nations Trusteeship Department, and future winner of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize — is appointed to a government professorship. He is the first black named to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Bunche expects to do teaching and research…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
April 23, 1900 — Harvard runners take to the new Soldiers Field track for the first time. April 25, 1900 — Wu Tingfang, Chinese Minister to the United States, visits…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
April 5, 1898 — Responding to the Spanish-American War, 1st Lt. Wirt Robinson, Instructor in Military Science, solicits volunteers to drill under his supervision. Sixty students show up the next day. By May, more than 400 have responded.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
April 29, 1636 — John Harvard marries Ann Sadler (sister of John Sadler, future Master of Cambridge University’s Magdalene College). Just over a year later, they emigrate to New England.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
March 1901 — On Phillips Field (bounded by Linnaean, Walker, and Shepard Sts.), Radcliffe begins building Bertram Hall, its first dormitory.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
March 9, 1857 — The faculty adopts the recommendation of a joint faculty/Overseers committee that annual examinations of each Class in each subject before an Overseers Visiting Committee be in writing instead of by recitation. Papers are to be set and marked by instructors, with Overseers essentially functioning as proctors. Thus begins Harvard’s modern ritual…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Ca. February 1963 — In the latest of a long series of skirmishes with Harvard, Cambridge City Councilor Alfred E. Vellucci proposes that the Lampoon Castle be converted into a public restroom.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Feb. 28, 1902 — The Athletic Committee approves the formation of a swimming club.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Feb. 20-March 8, 1901 —French literary critic Gaston Deschamps gives a series of eight Sanders Theatre lectures in French on “Modern French Drama,” sponsored by the Cercle Français (French Club).
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Feb. 29, 1672 — President Charles Chauncy dies in office. Feb. 10, 1853 — Jared Sparks steps down as President; James Walker, Class of 1814, immediately succeeds him to become Harvard’s 18th President. Feb. 26, 1862 — President Cornelius Conway Felton dies in office. February 1900 — Through the efforts of the Cambridge Cantabrigia Club,…
-
Nation & World
Plummer, Noble honored at Memorial Church
It was only last year that a crowded room in Salem, Mass., chuckled as the Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes of the Memorial Church remarked that the city had erected a statue of “Bewitched” actress Elizabeth Montgomery — an irony as her sole relationship to Salem was her role as a TV witch. Salem’s real…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Dec. 29, 1627 — John Harvard enters Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, England.
-
Nation & World
Renewing a venerable experiment
Even as we absorb the implications of the global financial crisis and plan for how we might react to it, our commitment to provide our undergraduates with an unparalleled academic experience remains as strong as ever. Progress continues with our new Program in General Education and with planning for our ambitious House renewal effort. It…
-
Nation & World
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Doctor of Laws
In one of the his last public speeches before succumbing to brain cancer in August 2009, Senator Ted Kennedy accepted an honorary Doctor or Laws degree from Harvard. President Drew Faust conferred the degree before a standing-room-only audience at Sanders Theatre on December 12, 2008.
-
Nation & World
Faust presents Kennedy with honorary degree
President Drew G. Faust recalls decades of accomplishments in the life of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In one of his final public appearances before his death in August 2009, Faust confers upon Kennedy the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
-
Nation & World
Remarks of Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer’s remarks at Harvard University’s Convocation, where Sen. Edward M. Kennedy received an honorary degree.
-
Nation & World
Remarks of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Remarks by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at Harvard University’s 2008 Convocation.
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Nov. 14, 1953 — Before several hundred onlookers, the Harvard Engineering Society unveils a plaque on the south tower of Harvard Stadium to mark the structure’s 50th anniversary. Unveiling honors fall to Mrs. George B. de Gersdorff, “whose husband, a member of the Class of 1888, prepared the architectural designs for the Stadium.” (Quoted from…
-
Nation & World
This month in Harvard history
Nov. 14, 1953 — Before several hundred onlookers, the Harvard Engineering Society unveils a plaque on the south tower of Harvard Stadium to mark the structure’s 50th anniversary. Unveiling honors fall to Mrs. George B. de Gersdorff, “whose husband, a member of the Class of 1888, prepared the architectural designs for the Stadium.” (Quoted from…