Headlines from Harvard history, January-February 1918-1973

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

1918

To save coal for the war effort, the University closes various buildings on selected days and cuts off heat to student dormitories after 9 p.m.

1928

Harvard Medical School researchers George R. Minot and William P. Murphy prove that eating half a pound of mammal liver or kidney daily will improve and maintain the health of a patient with pernicious anemia. Though the kidney and liver may be either raw or cooked, Minot and Murphy observe that most patients prefer to ingest the substance as raw pulp or mash.

1933

The Board of Overseers approves the creation of President Lowell’s long-cherished project, the Society of Fellows.

1938

The Nieman Fellowships are created when the President and Fellows, in accordance with the provisions of a $1-million bequest from Mrs. Agnes Wahl Nieman, approve a plan “to promote and elevate the standard of journalism in the United States.”

1953

Professor Kirtley Mather, on retiring as president of the American Association for the Promotion of Science, warns that the stultifying atmosphere imposed upon scientists by political trends is hurting the field and stifling intellectual freedom.

1968

President Nathan M. Pusey speculates that undergraduate tuition will be $4,000 by 1988. (It hit $12,015.)

1973

Assistant professor Ivan Tcherepnin proposes a new course, Music 159: “Composition with the Electronic Medium.” Though he anticipates resistance from his department—which is inherently distrustful of the new technology—his course is approved for the following year. The concern is raised, however, that offering credit for “tinkering with electronics” could set the stage for credit courses in such topics as basket-weaving and woodworking.

Related topics

You might also like

They Might Be (Harvard) Giants

Two tales of University greats—and an encounter with a Tiger

A Harvard President’s VW Beetle That Kept On Giving

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

The Year a Beat Poet Squatted at Harvard

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

Most popular

Keri Russell Calls ‘The Diplomat’ a Love Letter to Public Servants

A Harvard Kennedy School event looks behind the scenes of the Netflix drama. 

Harvard Law School Announces $31.4 Million Donation

The school’s largest-ever gift comes after a year of record fundraising.

Harvard College Applications Surge 15 Percent

Of 1,648 students in the class of 2030, 39 percent will pay no tuition.

Explore More From Current Issue

A smiling man in a brown plaid suit stands outdoors with greenery in the background.

The professor and former Harvard College dean is the next president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors

Panoramic view of Harvard University with autumn foliage and a river under a cloudy sky.

The University is expanding industry ties and investing its own funds to support research, but neither will replace lost federal dollars.

Illuminated hanging sculptures resembling organic forms, casting warm light in a dim space.

Artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien turn a colonial symbol from Cambodia inside out.