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

A History of Harvard Magazine

Harvard’s independent alumni magazine—at 127 years old 

The Artist Edward Gorey—and Pets—at Harvard

Winter exhibits at Houghton Library   

A (Truly) Naked Take on Second-Wave Feminism

Playwright Bess Wohl’s Liberation opens on Broadway.

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

The Life of a Harvard Spy

Richard Skeffington Welch’s illustrious—and clandestine—career in the CIA

Harvard Law School Releases Digital Archive of Nuremberg Trials

Thousands of documents chronicle the Nazi regime and the legal effort to exact justice.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three book covers displayed on a light background, featuring titles and authors.

Must-Read Harvard Books Winter 2025

From aphorisms to art heists to democracy’s necessary conditions 

A person walks across a street lined with historic buildings and a clock tower in the background.

Harvard In the News

A legal victory against Trump, hazing in the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, and kicking off a Crimson football season with style