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

The Year a Beat Poet Squatted at Harvard

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

A Harvard President’s VW Beetle That Kept On Giving

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

Cambridge Once Fought Harvard’s DNA Research. Now There’s a Play About It.

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

Most popular

A Look at Harvard’s Distinctive Doctoral Regalia

On regalia, a Jack-of-all-trades retirement, and a Bok’s office bon mot.

Ronny Chieng Tells Harvard to ‘Destroy AI’ as Graduates Cheer

The comedian and The Daily Show host gave the keynote address for Class Day 2026.

Mindfulness—the unconventional research of psychologist Ellen Langer

Psychologist Ellen Langer's unconventional research. Plus, read about applying mindfulness techniques to eating.

Explore More From Current Issue

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

Decorative wrought iron gate framed by leafy branches, captured in sepia tones.

Former Indiana University president Thomas Ehrlich looks back on curriculum, co-education, and other major trends.

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows