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

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

The Harvard-Trained Doctor Who Urged a Revolution

Before his heroic death, General Joseph Warren was dubbed “the greatest incendiary in all of America.”

The Costly Choice Native Americans Faced

How the Revolution reshaped indigenous New England

Most popular

How the American Revolution Freed a Future Abolitionist

Darby Vassall, an enslaved child freed after the Battle of Bunker Hill, dedicated his life to fighting for liberty.

America’s National Parks Are a $56 Billion Economic Engine

Harvard’s Linda Bilmes on measuring the economic value of public lands

Michael Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit” reviewed by Spencer Lenfield

Michael Sandel makes the case against meritocracy.

Explore More From Current Issue

Historical scene in colonial Boston depicting British soldiers confronting civilians, with smoke rising, in a city street.

Houghton Library Displays Revolution-era News and Propaganda

A new exhibit reveals how early Americans learned about the war.

Historical scene depicting a parade with soldiers and a town square in the background.

When the Revolution Hit Cambridge, Harvard Moved to Concord

College students broke hearts and windows during their year in exile.

Woman in historical dress standing in front of green foliage, smiling brightly.

This Harvard Graduate Brings Women of the Revolution to Life

Historical reenactor Lauren Shear reveals tricks of the trade for playing Tory loyalists, Revolutionary poets, and more.