Headlines from Harvard history, November-December 1912-1992

Headlines from Harvard history

1912

Noting that the $50,000 maintenance fund necessary for a new music building to replace Holden Chapel is $15,000 short, the editors remind readers that “ a healthy and useful university is forever uncovering new needs….”

 

1927

Economics surpasses English as a concentration choice for the first time, with more than 400 freshmen entering the field.

 

1937

Courtesy of NBC and the BBC, the Harvard Club of London hosts a live broadcast of The Game, including Harvard and Yale cheers transmitted back to the teams in the Harvard stadium. (Harvard won, 13-6.)

 

1947

Professors attempting to separate “the sheep from the goats” (as the editors remark)—by locking classroom doors at exactly seven minutes past the hour—run afoul of the Cambridge fire department, which notifies lecturers that obstructing emergency exits is illegal.

 

1952

In a straw poll of undergraduates, loser Adlai Stevenson nevertheless gets the largest slice of “Harvard’s normally Republican majority” since Woodrow Wilson beat a split G.O.P. in 1912. The faculty members who are polled go for Eisenhower, 379-298.

 

1967

The Program for Science in Harvard College gets under way; one goal is a $14-million science center north of the Yard.

 

1982

MIT pranksters disrupt The Game with a balloon that erupts from the earth and inflates in front of the Crimson bench—but Harvard wins 45-7.

 

1992

Harvard has “locked the doors and [thrown] away the keys” for the Yard dorms, the editors report. The installation of card-reading devices there will likely be extended to the Houses to crack down on crime, despite occasional glitches—a door held open too long for a good-night kiss summons a University police car to investigate.

Related topics

You might also like

One of Harvard’s Oldest Structures Is Hiding Behind a Beer Garden

A crumbling wall in Harvard Square holds centuries of the city’s story, if you know how to read it.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

At Harvard’s Beck-Warren House, Ghosts Speak Many Languages

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Most popular

Ken Burns on America’s Unfinished Revolution

At Radcliffe, the filmmaker joined Harvard historians to discuss what the nation’s founding means today.

Paul Ryan Warns Congress Is Losing Power—and Blames Both Parties

At Harvard Kennedy School, the former House speaker reflected on executive overreach, DEI, and “wokeism.”

Department of Education Investigates Harvard Admissions and Antisemitism Claims

The University calls federal actions “retaliatory.” 

Explore More From Current Issue

Firefighters battling flames at a red building, surrounded by smoke and onlookers.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

Graduates celebrate joyfully, wearing caps and gowns, with some waving and smiling.

Inside Harvard’s Most Egalitarian School

The Extension School is open to everyone. Expect to work—hard.