Headlines from Harvard history

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Illustration by Mark Steele

1922

Jerome Napoleon Charles Bonaparte, A.B. 1899, declines an invitation to ascend the Albanian throne. “Sometimes Harvard indifference is really carried too far,” comment Bulletin editors.

1927

At a Harvard Club of Boston colloquium titled “What is the Sub-Freshman Thinking About?” the principal of Phillips Exeter Academy reports that many high-school seniors and college freshmen alike answer, “with surprising frankness, ‘Why, Mr. Perry, most of us are not thinking at all.’”

1942

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences approves a compulsory four-hours-a-week program of physical exercise for all undergraduates for the duration, with an emphasis on “physical conditioning and hardening,” not recreation.

1947

A Bulletin “agent” reports that graffiti have been scrawled on Claverly Hall: “Heloise loves Abelard” appears on one corner, “Henry Tudor is insatiable” on another.

On January 7, 300 men gather in a new glass-and-brick building north of Pierce Hall for the official opening of the University’s Computation Laboratory.

1987

“Harvard’s endowment is so large,” report Bulletin editors, “that market swings can have dramatic consequences. In January alone,…the endowment rose 13.75 percent, or $495 million, to reach an all-time high of $4.1 billion.” But University financial managers issue warnings amid the good news: “Expenses for personnel and physical-plant maintenance are rising at a time when federal support for research and for student aid is dropping.”

1997

The magazine’s editors report on the advent of Crimson Cash, which was rolled out in College dining halls the previous fall. It has just been extended to the College Library (replacing the 10 separate copier cards required for its 10 component libraries, recalls then-program administrator Jeff Cuppett), and is about to be extended to laundry and vending machines in all undergraduate dorms and Houses.

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

Long-discussed reorganization includes layoffs and the end of the Dudley Community.

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

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

Explore More From Current Issue

Smiling woman stands beside a large skull in a display cabinet.

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.

A smiling William C. Kirby in a suit with glasses stands outdoors, surrounded by greenery.

The president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors will step down in September.

A busy classroom filled with students working at computers, colorful decor, and a bright atmosphere.

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