Headlines from Harvard history

Headlines from Harvard history

1914

A $50,000 budget deficit (due partly to construction expenses) for the 1913-14 fiscal year prompts a proposal to raise College tuition from $150 to $200, the first increase since 1870.

 

1924

The editors note that although a violent reaction against the lecture system is occurring nationwide, Harvard intends to retain the tried and true teaching method. The editors suggest that “the best method of instruction is neither lecture system nor the discussion method, but a combination of the two.”

 

1934

The Harvard Psychological Laboratory announces, after a pioneer investigation of the field, that radio has a somewhat dulling effect on the higher mental processes of its listeners.

 

1939

The Student Employment Office has added baby-tending to its regular list of jobs. Those undergraduates who wish to sign up must first pass a course in essential techniques, offered by the superintendent of Stillman Infirmary, and will then earn 20 cents an hour, plus carfare.

 

1964

Radcliffe students may now go from Lamont Library’s rear entrance to the classrooms on the sixth floor but not into the rest of the building.

 

1969

Harvard deans agree it would be wrong to speak for their schools on public issues, yet some demand the right to act as individuals and protest the war in Vietnam. Dean of the Medical School Robert H. Ebert is one of 600 medical men involved in a streetcorner campaign of talking to passers-by about the war and handing out cards of protest to be signed and sent to President Nixon.

 

1974

Associate professor of the history of science Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz ’44 becomes the first woman appointed master of a House—Currier. Her husband is named co-master.

 

1989

The University plans to begin a trademark licensing program, controlling the use of the Harvard name on “insignia goods,” such as clothing, mugs, glasses, watches, and pens. Royalties from the program will be directed to a fund for student aid.

You might also like

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Snapshots of Harvard History | Summer 2025

Including profundity and pretzels

A Magna Carta at Harvard Law School

A rare original surfaces at Harvard at an “almost providential” moment. 

Most popular

The Latest In Harvard’s Fight with the Trump Administration

Back-and-forth reports on settlement talks, new accusations from the government, and a reshuffling of two federal compliance offices

Eat Your Potatoes Mashed, Boiled or Baked, but Hold the Fries

Baked, boiled, and mashed potatoes are better.

How AI Could Be Raising Your Energy Bill

Utilities shift AI infrastructure costs onto consumers.

Explore More From Current Issue

A computer bank, hovering ove a city, with electric wires coming out from the bottom and attaching themselfs into the city

How AI Could Be Raising Your Energy Bill

Utilities shift AI infrastructure costs onto consumers.

group of people with camera equipment above the fjords in Iceland

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s Adventure Documentaries

Filmmaker John Armstrong’s “outdoor adventures” find the human spirit.

Illustration of a head in a cloud of oranges

Can an Orange a Day Stave off Depression?

A research study digs into the gut microbiome.