Headlines from Harvard’s history

When the Law School made thin ice…and other headlines from Harvard’s history

Illustration by Mark Steele

1934

The College funds five $1,000 fellowships for prospective freshmen who live and attend school in the Midwest: an experiment by President James B. Conant to attract “the most promising young men throughout the whole nation.”

1939

“The Undergraduate Week,” by William R. Frye ’40, reports: “If Harvard ever was composed solely of the ‘upper crust’ of society, it is not so composed now”: the Student Employment Office, organized to provide jobs for men facing financial difficulties, is serving nearly one-third of the undergraduate body.

1964

Harvard opens a housing office; its first task is assigning apartments in one section of Peabody Terrace that has been finished nine months ahead of schedule.

1969

A faculty committee chaired by professor of economics Henry Rosovsky proposes a degree program and research center for Afro-American studies.

1984

The Law School faculty approves a pilot program to provide about $125,000 in loans to supplement the earnings of first- and second-year law students who take low-paying, law-related jobs in the public-service or public-interest sector during the summer.

2004

Dean of the Law School Elena Kagan decides on the spur of a frozen January moment to flood the field by Harkness Commons to form a skating rink that will remain open, she says, “until it melts.” 

2009

Harvard men’s basketball records its first win over a nationally ranked opponent, Boston College (which had beaten the nation’s top team only a week before), as shooting guard Jeremy Lin ’10 scores 27 points and makes eight assists and six steals.

Related topics

You might also like

A Forgotten Harvard Anthem

Published the year the Titanic sank, “Harvard’s Best” is a quizzical ode to the University.

Yesterday’s News

A co-ed experiment that changed dorm life forever

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

The rise of Cambridge cyclists, a lettuce boycott, and Julia Child’s cookbooks

Most popular

Harvard Faculty Group Proposes Limits on A Grades

The grade inflation measure requires a full faculty vote, expected in the spring.

Martin Nowak Sanctioned for Jeffrey Epstein Involvement

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences announces disciplinary actions.

Harvard Experts Say For Investors and the Power Grid, AI Is Risky Business

At the Institute of Politics, economists warn that AI’s rapid expansion could strain energy infrastructure, inflate capital cycles, and expose investors to risk.

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of a large mushroom cloud rising above the horizon.

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.

Four men in a small boat struggle with rough water, one lying down and others watching.

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

A jubilant graduate shouts into a megaphone, surrounded by a cheering crowd.

For Campus Speech, Civility is a Cultural Practice

A former Harvard College dean reviews Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber’s book Terms of Respect.