Yesterday's News

1924 In a Crimson poll on Prohibition, the Harvard community votes nearly two to one to keep the Volstead Act in force, and 1488 to 940 in...

1924 In a Crimson poll on Prohibition, the Harvard community votes nearly two to one to keep the Volstead Act in force, and 1488 to 940 in favor of more rigorous enforcement.

Illustration by Mark Steele

1949 Statistics compiled by the Alumni Records Office indicate that "John Harvard," for the first time in history, lives west of the Hudson River: 50.5 percent of Harvard graduates now live outside New England and New York State, and their number is growing.

1954 The College announces that maids will no longer make students' beds, the first step in phasing out a housekeeping arrangement that began 295 years earlier.

1969 The Faculty votes to withdraw academic credit for Reserve Officers' Training Corps activities at Harvard—home of the oldest ROTC program in the country.

1979 The Science Center is evacuated after about 250 milliliters of nitroglycerine is discovered in a basement lab. The undergraduate who produced it, some in his dorm room, where he had been conducting experiments, leaves Harvard for the semester.

   

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

Harvard Football: Harvard 35, Princeton 14

Still undefeated after subduing the Tigers, the Crimson await Dartmouth.

Explore More From Current Issue

People gather near the John Harvard Statue in front of University Hall surrounded by autumn trees.

A Changed Harvard Faces the Future

After a tense summer—and with no Trump settlement in sight—the University continues to adapt. 

Three book covers arranged in a row on a beige background with a red border.

Must-Read Harvard Books Winter 2025

From aphorisms to art heists to democracy’s necessary conditions