Headlines from Harvard’s history

Cooking for the culinarily challenged…and other headlines from Harvard’s history

Illustration by Mark Steele

1919

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, “a pioneer without being precipitate,” votes to establish general examinations for the A.B. in all departments, consonant with President Lowell’s view that no mere aggregation of credits merits a degree unless the student can also prove that he knows “some one thing well.”

1929

The Student Council reports “a real and urgent need of advice” for undergraduates choosing vocations and urges establishment of an office to provide it.

1934

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration announces a special fund to help needy students finish the academic year, but Harvard College says it has money enough for its own students and will not apply for an allotment.

1959

Harvard and MIT establish a Joint Center for Urban Studies to search out the basic facts in the tangled problems of big-city growth.

1964

From President Pusey to undergraduates, Harvardians rally against a Metropolitan District Commission plan to build a 400-foot underpass at the junction of Memorial Drive and Boylston [now Kennedy] Street, near the Larz Anderson Bridge.

1999

On the same day a large student rally against sweatshop labor in clothing manufacturing occurs in the Yard, Harvard endorses a policy of “full disclosure” obligating manufacturers of licensed apparel to reveal the location of their factories.

Harvard Dining Services’ executive chef, Michael Miller, has developed a five-session, $25 course, “Cooking for the Culinarily Challenged,” to help students survive once they leave the Yard.

2004

The University launches the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, engaging seven of its schools and six affiliated hospitals in both research and clinical efforts focused on using stem cells to correct organ failure.

On April 1, for the first time in Harvard history, more women (1,016) than men (1,013) are offered admission to the College.

You might also like

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

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

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

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

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

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

Most popular

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

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

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

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

Explore More From Current Issue

Whimsical illustration of students rushing through ornate campus gate from bus marked “Welcome New Students.”

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

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

Room filled with furniture made from tightly rolled newspaper sheets.

A Paper House in Massachusetts

The 1920s Rockport cottage reflects resourceful ingenuity.