Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Humorous illustration of campus police seeing late-night daters’ final kiss

Illustration by Mark Steele

1927

“To vagabond,” i.e., “to rove around classrooms where one does not belong,” has entered the undergraduate vernacular. The Bulletin reports a noticeable increase in the practice during the fall, as Crimson editors have begun printing daily lists of lectures deemed to be of general interest.

1932

Memorial Church, built in honor of the Harvard dead of “the World War,” is dedicated on the morning of Armistice Day.

1942

Gasoline shortages translate to a higher bike-theft rate, causing the City of Cambridge to mandate bicycle registration and licensing to make apprehending two-wheel thieves easier.

1982

Though MIT pranksters disrupt The Game with an inflatable “bomb” that erupts from the earth in front of the Crimson bench to blow up in a cloud of gray smoke, Harvard wins 45-7.

1987

Sally H. Zeckhauser becomes the first woman to serve as a Harvard vice president. The new administrative VP previously spent eight years as president and CEO of Harvard Real Estate Inc.

1992

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences approves a new undergraduate concentration in environmental science and public policy that will require students to study fields as diverse as chemistry and economics in a “broad integration of science and policy.”

Harvard has “locked the doors and [thrown] away the keys” for the Yard dorms, the editors report. The installation of card-reading devices and distribution of magnetic plastic cards to the freshmen will likely be extended to the Houses to crack down on crime, despite occasional glitches—a door held open too long for a good-night kiss summons a University police car to investigate.

Related topics

You might also like

At Harvard’s Beck-Warren House, Ghosts Speak Many Languages

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

Yesterday’s News

A co-ed experiment that changed dorm life forever

Most popular

Climate change panel debates solutions, including divestment tactic

A panel of experts debates the best path forward.

Scholars from Harvard and beyond address "hard problems" in the social sciences

Scholars from Harvard and elsewhere name their fields' most pressing problems, and open a forum for public debate on the Web.

Faculty Faith

In their early years, many American universities had openly religious agendas. Harvard’s own mission, according to a 1643 pamphlet, was...

Explore More From Current Issue

Purple violet flower with vibrant petals surrounded by green foliage.

Bees and Flowers Are Falling Out of Sync

Scientists are revisiting an old way of thinking about extinction.

A woman gazes at large decorative letters with her reflection and two stylized faces beside them.

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

Three climbers seated on a snowy summit, surrounded by clouds, appearing contemplative.

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.