Headlines from Harvard history

A morgue for movies, and more from the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Illustration by Mark Steele

1917

The editors advise Harvard men who want to serve their country in case of war to contact Professor R. M. Johnston, who is “acting in correspondence with the Intercollegiate Intelligence Bureau.” College-educated men are particularly sought after, because “Intelligent, unhysterical effort in the handling of American resources, human and physical, in the months to come, may effect far-reaching results.” 

1927

The College Entrance Examination Board announces a new, standardized admissions exam called the Scholastic Aptitude Test. 

The Department of Fine Arts, backed by the Fogg Museum and the University Library, announces plans to establish a library of those “motion picture films” voted worthy, by a faculty committee, of preservation as works of art. 

1957

The “Harvard ‘Veritas’ Committee” circulates a letter urging fellow alumni to complain to the Board of Overseers about the appointment of J. Robert Oppenheimer ’26 as the biennial William James Lecturer. 

1962

The Radcliffe Government Association’s rules committee recommends that any student past her freshman year be allowed to sign out of her dorm in the evening until any hour without advance permission. But, reports the Undergraduate columnist, a “determined number of ’Cliffies” insist that committee members mistakenly consider the average Radcliffe girl a stable and responsible adult capable of making reasoned decisions about “social problems.” Says one opponent, “People our age are notorious for being foolish.”

1972

The Committee on Housing and Undergraduate Life votes to condemn the term-paper industry after 40 to 60 student papers are stolen during intersession. Attorneys from Harvard and other Boston-area universities meet to consider possible court action to close the firms down.

Related topics

You might also like

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.

When the Revolution Hit Cambridge, Harvard Moved to Concord

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

The Costly Choice Native Americans Faced

How the Revolution reshaped indigenous New England

Most popular

Harvard Discloses Top Administrator and Investment Manager Compensation

Investment pay drops—top six managers’ earnings total a little more than $25 million

Profile of novelist Yangsze Choo

Malaysian-born Yangsze Choo writes novels infused with the tropical mysteries of her childhood.

At Harvard, Mitt Romney Warns Against ‘Authoritarian’ Presidential Power

The former senator touched on polarization, tech governance, and diplomacy during a conversation at the Institute of Politics.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman in glasses gestures while speaking to two attentive listeners at a table.

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

Woman with long hair, smiling, wearing a black sweater, in a textured beige background.

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

Alene Anello smiling surrounded by four chickens in a natural outdoor setting.

Harvard-trained lawyer fights for the rights of chickens

Alene Anello wants to apply animal cruelty laws to birds raised for meat.