Headlines from Harvard history, January-February 1918-1973

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

1918

To save coal for the war effort, the University closes various buildings on selected days and cuts off heat to student dormitories after 9 p.m.

1928

Harvard Medical School researchers George R. Minot and William P. Murphy prove that eating half a pound of mammal liver or kidney daily will improve and maintain the health of a patient with pernicious anemia. Though the kidney and liver may be either raw or cooked, Minot and Murphy observe that most patients prefer to ingest the substance as raw pulp or mash.

1933

The Board of Overseers approves the creation of President Lowell’s long-cherished project, the Society of Fellows.

1938

The Nieman Fellowships are created when the President and Fellows, in accordance with the provisions of a $1-million bequest from Mrs. Agnes Wahl Nieman, approve a plan “to promote and elevate the standard of journalism in the United States.”

1953

Professor Kirtley Mather, on retiring as president of the American Association for the Promotion of Science, warns that the stultifying atmosphere imposed upon scientists by political trends is hurting the field and stifling intellectual freedom.

1968

President Nathan M. Pusey speculates that undergraduate tuition will be $4,000 by 1988. (It hit $12,015.)

1973

Assistant professor Ivan Tcherepnin proposes a new course, Music 159: “Composition with the Electronic Medium.” Though he anticipates resistance from his department—which is inherently distrustful of the new technology—his course is approved for the following year. The concern is raised, however, that offering credit for “tinkering with electronics” could set the stage for credit courses in such topics as basket-weaving and woodworking.

Related topics

You might also like

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

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

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

Most popular

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex. 

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

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Two laboratory researchers, one seated and one standing, in a scientific lab with equipment.

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

A glowing bulb shape surrounded by colorful, swirling energy lines against a blue background.

Harvard researchers achieve medical breakthroughs in cancer therapy and infection control.