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

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.

Most popular

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

Explore More From Current Issue

A vibrant illustration of a red car parked, surrounded by cheerful people and historic buildings.

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

A football player in a white jersey evades a defender in a green uniform on the field.

Despite personnel losses, Crimson captain Xaviah Bascon is upbeat about the 2026 season.

Three actors perform on stage, with one actor interacting closely with another, set against abstract backgrounds.

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.