Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Illustration showing groups on both sides of the Charles River pushing two halves of a brick bridge together to span the river

Illustration by Mark Steele

1915

The University’s new professor of hygiene institutes precautionary measures in the weekly inspection of milk, butter, and cream supplies in various Harvard dining halls to forestall the “epidemics and ‘flashes’ of typhoid which have wrought havoc in other colleges….”

1925

The Massachusetts legislature passes an act to permit construction of a footbridge over the Charles River from the Cambridge side to the site of the Business School’s proposed buildings.

1935

President Conant’s proposal to eliminate Latin as an entrance requirement for A.B. candidates creates a furor.…The Faculty Council decides that knowledge of either Latin or Greek will remain a requirement for the A.B. degree.

1960

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences approves Social Studies as the second interdepartmental honors concentration for undergraduates, almost 60 years after History and Literature became the first.

1965

Chanting “Raise Cops’ Pay,” a shifting group of about 200 undergraduates stage a spring “riot” on Sunday, May 9, between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., heading to Radcliffe twice and to Lesley College once for panty raids, largely unmolested by either Cambridge or Harvard police. The outbreak apparently forestalls a planned sit-in at Lamont by a Radcliffe group, WILL (Women to Invade Lamont Library).

Harvard asks the Cambridge City Council for permission to spend $2 million to depress Cambridge Street and build a pedestrian mall over it from Littauer Center and Phillips Brooks House to the fire station.

1985

A small protest fails to keep South Africa’s consul general from a Harvard Conservative Club luncheon at Lowell House, and the crowd grows to nearly 200; some block a Harvard police car, others scuffle with a police escort. (The consul leaves via steam tunnel.) The incident prompts the reconvening of the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities (set up in 1969) for the first time in seven years.

2000

A University committee recommends extending job training and health-insurance benefits to almost all University employees, including casual workers and those employed through subcontractors. Hundreds of students, meanwhile, turn out to hear Matt Damon ’92 endorse the living-wage campaign being sponsored by the Progressive Student Labor Movement.

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

Harvard Stabilizes Finances With Strong Endowment Returns, Philanthropy

Small operating surplus is dwarfed by reduced federal research support and endowment tax liabilities.

Treat AI Like a New Species, Harvard Scientist Says

Joshua Joseph discusses how society can manage and coexist alongside self-governing AI agents.

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Explore More From Current Issue

A girl in blue boots stands on a cliff, holding a leash attached to a glowing, digital dog.

Establishing legal responsibility for autonomous agents

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.

Bronze statue of a seated figure holding a book, with a campus setting in the background.

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?