Yesterday's News

1914 Harvard spoils the dedication of the Yale Bowl by defeating the Elis, 36-0. The popular jest is that Yale supplied the bowl and Harvard...

1914 Harvard spoils the dedication of the Yale Bowl by defeating the Elis, 36-0. The popular jest is that Yale supplied the bowl and Harvard provided the punch.
 

1924 The Debating Union sponsors a discussion of the resolution "That Harvard is, and should continue to be, indifferent." The vote from the floor at the close of the meeting runs 30-3 in favor of the statement that Harvard is indifferent, 34-9 in favor of the idea that it should be.

 

1934 A Crimson poll of faculty and students reveals sentiments approaching two to one against New Deal policies.

 

1939 The American Independence League, dedicated to keeping the United States out of the European war, has one of its largest chapters at Harvard, where more than 700 students are members.

 

1949 Brand-new ashtrays on tables signal that smoking is now permitted in all but the west end of Widener's main reading room. Librarians explain that the departure of undergraduates to Lamont has made it possible to ventilate the area and thus permit readers to light up.

Illustration by Mark Steele

1954 Harvard announces plans for a new health center on Mount Auburn Street that will offer professional care 24 hours a day, 52 weeks a year.

 

1959 Harvard refuses more than $350,000 in student-loan money offered by the National Defense Education Act if needy students submit an oath and affidavit both of loyalty and non-Communist affiliation; President Pusey says the demand singles out college students as a group not worthy of the nation's trust.

 

1969 More than a thousand students enroll in the seven courses offered by the department of Afro-American studies.

 

1979 Coming off a dismal 2-6 season, Harvard faces an undefeated Yale team before 72,000 spectators at the Yale Bowl and pulls off a 22-7 rout.

 

1984 The Faculty of Arts and Sciences reports that the number of tenured women has almost doubled in the past three years, to 21 of 355 senior faculty members (5.9 percent).      

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

See Their Faces

Confronting “some of the most challenging images in the history of photography”

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

A lively concert in a modern auditorium with an audience seated on multiple levels.

Concerts and Carols at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Tuning into one of Boston's best chamber music halls 

Map showing Uralic populations in Eurasia, highlighting regional distribution and historical sites.

The Origins of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages

A small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

Students in purple jackets seated on chairs, facing away in a grassy area.

A New Prescription for Youth Mental Health

Kenyan entrepreneur Tom Osborn ’20 reimagines care for a global crisis.