Headlines from Harvard's history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Illustration by Mark Steele

1913

In response to a petition from the Woodrow Wilson Club of Harvard, a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court rules that college students may vote in Cambridge if they make the city their domicile, even though the parents who support them live elsewhere.

1928

The Harvard Club of Boston has introduced “the most novel of winter resorts”—a tanning salon. At 50 cents a sun bath, “over 300 men visit the beach regularly” to take their ease, clad only in goggles. Beginners are allowed two or three minutes a side; the “hardened” have 10 each way, and not a minute more.  

1933

Lampoon editors sneak into the Crimson building and publish a spoof “extra” announcing the selection of “Henry E. Clarke ’04… a [nonexistent] business Messiah” as Harvard’s new president.

1958

For the first time in its history, the Harvard Fund Campaign has garnered more than a million dollars in a single year.

The Phillips Brooks House Association has officially merged with the Radcliffe Voluntary Service Organization, following the pathbreaking coeducational initiatives of the College’s United Nations Council and the Harvard Dramatic Club.

1963

On the Peace Corps’ second anniversary, the 43 College alumni serving abroad place Harvard second only to Berkeley as a source of A.B.s in the Corps.

1978

At its March and April meetings, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences discusses the proposed “Core Program,” described by its chief proponent, Dean Henry Rosovsky, as not going “back to basics—I detest that phrase—but forward to modern liberal education.”

1993

About 50 students from the newly formed Minority Coalition for Diversity make an unscheduled appearance during the College’s Junior Parents Weekend to denounce “Harvard’s failure to realize institutional diversity.” 

Related topics

You might also like

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

The rise of Cambridge cyclists, a lettuce boycott, and Julia Child’s cookbooks

Wadsworth House Nears 300

The building is a microcosm of Harvard’s history—and the history of the United States.

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

Most popular

Harvard Revamps Controversial Public Health School Center

The health and human rights center had drawn attention for its Palestine-related program.

Harvard Students, Alumna Named Rhodes and Marshall Scholars

Nine Rhodes and five Marshall scholars will study in the U.K. in 2026.

Explore More From Current Issue

People gather near the John Harvard Statue in front of University Hall surrounded by autumn trees.

A Changed Harvard Faces the Future

After a tense summer—and with no Trump settlement in sight—the University continues to adapt. 

Two women in traditional Japanese clothing sitting on a wooden platform near a tranquil pond, surrounded by autumn foliage.

Japan As It Never Will Be Again

Harvard’s Stillman collection showcases glimpses of the Meiji era. 

Aisha Muharrar with shoulder-length hair, wearing a green blazer and white shirt.

Parks and Rec Comedy Writer Aisha Muharrar Gets Serious about Grief

With Loved One, the Harvard grad and Lampoon veteran makes her debut as a novelist.