Headlines from Harvard history

Headlines from Harvard history

 1921

The Commencement audience witnesses for the first time a “considerable group” of women standing to be declared graduates of a relatively new department of the University, the School of Education.

 

 1936

The United States Senate has approved a bill providing for a series of Harvard Tercentenary postage stamps as the University continues to prepare for its forthcoming anniversary. 

 

 1961

College diplomas are printed in English for the first time, rather than engraved in Latin, provoking protest from students and alumni. President Pusey compensates by conferring the degree in Latin for the first time since 1895.

 

 1971

What is believed to be the first campus drug raid carried out by Cambridge police occurs after a potted marijuana plant is sighted on a dormitory windowsill. 

 

 1971

Susan Cochran ’73, manager of the ski team, becomes the first Radcliffe student to win a Harvard H. 

 

 1986

Professor Walter J. Kaiser, marshal of Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, instructs his charges to enter Memorial Hall “boustrophedon­ically.” Brandishing his silver-tipped baton, he adds, “I should tell you that Life magazine will be taking pictures of the procession. So do make a special effort to look intelligent.” (Classics professor emeritus Mason Hammond informs bemused nonclassicists that boustrophedonic is a Greek term meaning “as the oxen turn at the end of a plowed furrow.”)

 

 1991

Derek Bok leaves office and donates his 1969 red, semi-automatic, sun-roofed VW bug, with 45,718 miles on it, to the Phillips Brooks House Association. PBH ultimately decides to auction off the car. 

 

 1991

The new head of University Dining Services, Michael P. Berry, impresses undergraduates with such culinary initiatives as themed dinners, more vegetarian options, and environmental awareness: “Cereal now comes in bulk dispensers instead of wasteful ‘snack packs.’” A grateful senior class honors him with a picture of themselves.

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

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

The Medical School goes coed, University poet wins Nobel Prize. 

Snapshots of Harvard History | Summer 2025

Including profundity and pretzels

Most popular

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Man splashing water on his face at outdoor fountain beside woman holding cup near stone building.

Why Heat Waves Make You Miserable

Scientists are studying how much heat and humidity the human body can take.

Two people moving large abstract painting with blue V-shaped design in museum courtyard.

A Harvard Art Museums Painting Gets a Bath

Water and sunlight help restore a modern American classic.

Illustrated world map showing people connected across countries with icons for ideas, research, and communication.

Why Harvard Needs International Students

An ed school professor on why global challenges demand global experiences