Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history

A humorous illustration of women trying to buy football tickets in 1921

Illustration by Mark Steele

1921

Thirteen women, students at the School of Education, apply for tickets to the Yale Game. The Bulletin reports that three ticket clerks “whose temperaments are especially nervous have followed the advice of their physicians by resigning.”

1936

Historian Samuel Eliot Morison reports that the package sealed by President Josiah Quincy in 1836 and opened by President Conant during the Tercentenary hoopla contains 440 manuscripts, mostly replies from graduates invited to the bicentennial dinner (at $1.50 a head).

1941

Two freshmen enliven hour-exam period with a Crimson classified: “Wanted—Information where one may obtain a human corpse in reasonable condition.” The 42 phone calls in response range from students wishing to be embalmed after hourlies to funeral directors, the police department, and the morgue. The Yardlings plead simple curiosity as their impetus.

1961

A faculty committee explores what action, if any, the University should take (in light of local, state, and federal policies) to deal with possible danger from fire or fallout in the event of a nuclear attack.

1986

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences votes to establish an honors concentration in the field of women’s studies. The lone dissenter, professor of government Harvey Mansfield, calls the new program a “foolish and almost pitiful surrender to feminism.”

1991

Over 15 percent of the 1,608 seniors intend to pursue careers in teaching, research, or administration at the college or university level.

2001

The Crimson’s digital archive goes live online and gives readers access to articles as far back as the 1950s.

Related topics

You might also like

One of Harvard’s Oldest Structures Is Hiding Behind a Beer Garden

A crumbling wall in Harvard Square holds centuries of the city’s story, if you know how to read it.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

At Harvard’s Beck-Warren House, Ghosts Speak Many Languages

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Most popular

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

The Artemis II Mission Included a Harvard Space Medicine Experiment

Wyss Institute researchers are observing how human bone marrow responds to radiation and microgravity.

FAS Plans Administrative Overhaul

Facing financial pressures, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences seeks ways to streamline

Explore More From Current Issue

Firefighters battling flames at a red building, surrounded by smoke and onlookers.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

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

What Do Puppies Know?

Canine capabilities emerge early and continue into adulthood.

Modern building surrounded by greenery and a walking path under a blue sky.

A New Landscape Emerges in Allston

The innovative greenery at Harvard’s Science and Engineering Complex