A Record-Breaker Passes

Farewell to Walter Seward, Harvard's longest-lived alumnus

Walter Seward, LL.B. ’24, who died on September 14, a month shy of his 112th birthday, was the longest-lived Harvard alumnus known to University records. He practiced law into his nineties; for his final visit to the Law School, in 2004, Dean Elena Kagan declared Walter Seward Day in his honor (see “The Oldest Ever?” January-February 2006, page 79, for further details.)

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Law School Announces $31.4 Million Donation

The school’s largest-ever gift comes after a year of record fundraising.

Harvard Alumni Win Two 2026 Nobel Prizes

Karl Deisseroth revolutionized neuroscience. Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has adjudicated cases in international courts concerning genocide.

Olympian Juliet Hochman Trains Athletes to Push Their Limits

The Harvard triathlete and coach says she helps normal people to “do extraordinary things.”

Most popular

To Promote Healthy Habits in Patients, Start with the Doctors

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

Teen "Grind" Culture and Mental Health

Teens need better strategies to cope with lives lived partly online.

Keri Russell Calls ‘The Diplomat’ a Love Letter to Public Servants

A Harvard Kennedy School event looks behind the scenes of the Netflix drama. 

Explore More From Current Issue

Collage of book covers featuring various titles on a vibrant orange background.

These newly released novels, histories, and memoirs grapple with identity in all its forms.

Delicate green cocoa pods and small white flowers on a tree branch, surrounded by soft greenery.

Harvard researchers investigate climate’s impact on cocoa crops, innovations in nasal vaccines, and links between pain and skull marrow.

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.