Yesterday’s News

1911 Holworthy Hall, refurbished after 99 years, boasts hot-water heating and “shower baths” for the first time. 1916 More than...

Illustration by Mark Steele

 

1911 Holworthy Hall, refurbished after 99 years, boasts hot-water heating and “shower baths” for the first time.

1916 More than 1,500 undergraduates and graduates have spent the summerin military training camps as part of anational “preparedness movement.”

1926 The Memorial Hall dining room closes because of students’ preference for “the nasty, unhygienic, and unsociable fashion of ‘eating around’ at cafeterias and lunch counters.”

1931 Adams, Eliot, Kirkland, Leverett, and Winthrop Houses open their doors as the House plan goes into full operation. For the first time, all the dorms in Harvard Yard will be occupied by freshman.

1936 Harvard adopts a new parietal rule: “Students living in the Houses will be given permission to entertain ladies in their rooms without a chaperon only if there are two or more ladies present.”

1941 President Conant is spending two days a week in Washington chairing the National Defense Research Commission. The Crimson, meanwhile, endorses “all-out war” to crush fascism.

1946 A record 11,700 students areenrolled in the University, 75 percent of whom are veterans.

1956 A fire severely damages the tower and roof of Memorial Hall during renovations.

1966 Radcliffe freshmen register alongside their Harvard counterparts for the first time.

Creation of the Institute of Politics is officially announced at a dinner on October 17 attended by eight members of the Kennedy family. (See "A Living Political Monument.")

1971 Derek Bok is installed as the twenty-fifth president of Harvard.

1976 The Harvard-Radcliffe class of 1980 is admitted under a gender-blind admissions process, resulting in thelowest male:female ratio to date—1.9:1.

Most popular

Jimmy Carter and James Agee ’32

Why this “sovereign prince of the English language” touched the president’s heart

Eric Mazur on new interactive teaching techniques

"Active learning" may overthrow the style of teaching that has ruled universities for 600 years.

Dietary guidelines change with respect to fats, cholesterol, meat and sugar

Changes to guidelines for fats, cholesterol, meat, and sugar are among the highlights

Explore More From Current Issue

A girl sits at a desk, flanked by colorful, stylized figures, evoking a whimsical, surreal atmosphere.

The Trouble with Sidechat

No one feels responsible for what happens on Harvard’s anonymous social media app.

A bald man in a black shirt with two book covers beside him, one titled "The Magicians" and the other "The Bright Sword."

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

An axolotl with a pale body and pink frilly gills, looking directly at the viewer.

Regenerative Biology’s Baby Steps

What axolotl salamanders could teach us about limb regrowth