Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Illustration of football players hanging their laundry out to dry

Illustration by Mark Steele

1932

Herbert Hoover carries the College (1,211 votes) in the Crimson’s presidential poll. The Alumni Bulletin attributes Norman Thomas’s strong showing (484 to FDR’s 620) to “an extraordinary increase of independent thinking among the students.”

Harvard football candidates are now required to change their socks and underwear at least three times a week. Long hair and moustaches, coincidentally, are becoming passé for members of the team.

1947

President James Bryant Conant criticizes the Soviet Union for its unwillingness to agree to international control of the atomic bomb, which he characterizes as “a sword of Damocles hanging over our industrialized civilization.”

1952

Harvard begins its largest financial aid program, allocating almost $1 million in scholarships, loans, and jobs for more than one third of the undergraduate student body.

1967

Institute of Politics scholars studying the draft system recommend higher pay for draftees and enlistees, abolition of special deferments for students and teachers, and a lottery to determine “who should serve when not all serve.”

1972

The new Harvard Center for Research in Children’s Television, with administrative support from the Children’s Television workshop, will explore the effects of visual media on children.

1987

“Ambitious plans are afoot to wire the University for the information age,” the editors report. The Corporation has been asked to authorize a new network that will introduce, among other things, “state-of-the-art telephone service.”

1997

In accordance with Harvard’s non-discrimination policy, the University’s Board of Ministry recommends that same-sex blessing or commitment ceremonies be permitted in Memorial Church.

Related topics

You might also like

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

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

Wadsworth House Nears 300

The building is a microcosm of Harvard’s history—and the history of the United States.

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

Most popular

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?

Historian Alexander Keyssar on why the unpopular institution has prevailed 

Arthur Kleinman on the societal and medical ramifications of caregiving

A scholar experiences the moral acts that come before—and go beyond—modern medicine.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustration of tiny doctors working inside a large nose against a turquoise background.

A Flu Vaccine That Actually Works

Next-gen vaccines delivered directly to the site of infection are far more effective than existing shots.

A vibrant bar scene with tropical decor, featuring patrons sitting on high stools.

Best Bars for Seasonal Drinks and Snacks in Greater Boston

Gathering spots that warm and delight us  

People gather near the John Harvard Statue in front of University Hall surrounded by autumn trees.

A Changed Harvard Faces the Future

After a tense summer—and with no Trump settlement in sight—the University continues to adapt.