Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

A drawing showing a large crossbar being hauled into place between two tall smokestacks to make a giant "H" for "Harvard"

Illustration by Mark Steele

1921

In a story that catches national attention, two freshmen propose inserting a huge crossbar between the two chimneys of the Boston Elevated Railway’s powerhouse, near the freshman dorms, forming a giant H—thus transforming an unattractive spot into a beautiful yet effective advertisement for Harvard. “Sweet are the uses of advertisement,” quips the Bulletin.

1936

The heaviest double-eclipsing star and the heaviest star ever accurately measured to date—29 Canis Majoris, 23 million times the weight of Earth—has been discovered by Sergei I. Gaposchkin of the Harvard Observatory staff through the study of photos taken at the observatory.

1941

President Roosevelt sends President Conant and two other scientists to England to observe recent scientific research there as a means ofimproving American research on national-defense problems.

1961

Noting that the College’s Central Kitchen has installed automatic milk-pouring machines in four House dining halls, the Bulletin’s Undergraduate reports seeing one fail to turn itself off—and expresses hope that the dining-hall staff “will never be replaceable by machines.”

The Bulletin estimates that 30 to 40 alumni or faculty members have already been named to high-level jobs in the new Kennedy administration.

1966

Male undergraduates debate the wisdom of allowing Radcliffe students to use Lamont Library, but vote to give voting rights to three Radcliffe representatives on the Harvard Policy Committee, the student government organization.

1981

After more than a year in captivity, the American embassy hostages in Tehran are freed, among them Elizabeth Ann Swift ’62, John W. Limbert ’64, Ph.D. ’74, and Moorhead C. Kennedy, J.D. ’58.

1996

Refurbished, rechristened Annenberg Hall opens to student diners for spring semester, as major renovations begin turning the Harvard Union into a humanities complex, the Barker Center.

2006

A January posting on the University’s employment website reveals that the College seeks a “Director of Internal Communications,” a new position, “to assume leadership of branding efforts” to further a strategic priority: “building a Harvard College community” by creating a “unified brand” for publications and web-based media.

Related topics

You might also like

Government Seeks More Harvard Admissions Data

Justice Department says it needs proof that Harvard is complying with a 2023 court ruling.

Harvard Faculty Group Proposes Limits on A Grades

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

Harvard Funds Student “Bridges” Projects

Eight new initiatives to build community on campus will get underway early next year. 

Most popular

Summers Will Retire as Harvard Professor

The former University president is stepping down in the wake of Harvard’s Epstein probe.

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Explore More From Current Issue

A close-up of a beetle on the textured surface of a cycad cone and cycad cones seen in infrared silhouette.

Research in Brief

Cutting-edge discoveries, distilled

Four Labrador puppies—two black and two yellow—sitting in green grass.

What Do Puppies Know?

Canine capabilities emerge early and continue into adulthood.

A woman in a black blazer holds a bottle of beer.

Introductions: Mallika Monteiro

A conversation with a beer industry executive