Yesterday's News

Happenings at Harvard in Januarys and Februarys past

1929

The Student Council criticizes the administration’s plan to erect one of the newly endowed Houses east of DeWolfe Street, arguing that the future Dunster House will be too far from such “immovable centers” as Widener, Mallinckrodt Laboratory, and the University Museum. 

1934

The editors publish a list of nearly 200 books Widener Library cannot afford to buy because of the Depression, prompting gifts of books and money from Bulletin readers. 

1939

A group of undergraduates begins raising money for 15 scholarships to bring South American students to Harvard; U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull calls it a great idea. 

1949

Lamont Library opens, prompting a special 18-page issue of the Crimson that raves about its comfort, brightness, and efficiency.

1954

The Faculty’s Educational Policy Committee approves a program of early admission and advanced placement for able and mature students. 

1959

Assistant U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Elliot Richardson ’41, LL.B. ’44, proposes that the federal government help out the parents of college students by means of tax exemptions, tax deductions, or tax credits. 

1969

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

The Harvard-Radcliffe Policy Committee proposes that a co-residential trial exchange of students in the undergraduate Houses begin at once. A committee survey has indicated that 80 percent of Radcliffe students and 65.5 percent of Harvard students support the plan. 

1989

Judith Richards Hope, J.D. ’64, becomes the first woman appointed to serve on the Harvard Corporation. 

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Releases Database of 1,613 People Enslaved by University Affiliates

Research continues to track down living descendants.

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

The Costly Choice Native Americans Faced

How the Revolution reshaped indigenous New England

Most popular

Harvard Faculty Approve a Cap on A Grades

Reforms to reduce grade inflation will take effect in the fall of 2027.

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Harvard Discloses Top Earners’ Compensation

The University files its annual report for tax-exempt organizations.

Explore More From Current Issue

Alene Anello smiling surrounded by four chickens in a natural outdoor setting.

This Harvard-Trained Lawyer Fights for the Rights of Chickens

Alene Anello wants to apply animal cruelty laws to birds raised for meat.

Woman with long hair, smiling, wearing a black sweater, in a textured beige background.

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

Mercy Otis Warren in period attire writes at a desk by candlelight, surrounded by books.

The Woman Who Penned the Case for War

Mercy Otis Warren’s poetry and plays incited the Patriot movement.