Harvard History

Stories that explore the institution’s rich history, from archival moments to evolving traditions.

Cover of "Harvard's Best" featuring a woman in a red and black gown holding a sword.

A Forgotten Harvard Anthem

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

Photograph of E.O. Wilson observing ants

Speaking Pheromone

How science is done, in the lab of E.O. Wilson

by Richard Rhodes

Illustration showing how Harvard Business School settled on its new name in 1961

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Drawing of Poco from Harvard Celebrities: A Book of Caricatures and Decorative Drawings, 1901

The Poco of Pocos

Brief life of a Harvard “character”

by Hanna Rose Shell

Photographic portrait of James Agee

Origin Stories

Bow and Arrow’s mechanic, James Agee’s creative turbulence

by Primus VI

A brown grandfather clock

How Harvard Profited On Keeping Time

Harvard’s clocks and the standardization of time

by Jacob Sweet

Yesterday’s News: Headlines from Harvard’s History

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Portrait photograph of Sidney Verba

Sidney Verba, and a classy class reporter

Harvard’s mensch, and a record-setting recorder of Crimson lives

by Primus VI

Photograph of Commencement guest speaker Ruth J. Simmons

Harvard Graduation Morning Exercises Commencement 2021

The Morning Exercises—further adapted for the era of COVID and streaming—come with strong messages about racial justice.

by John S. Rosenberg , Jacob Sweet

University Hall

Faculty of Arts and Sciences Rule Changes Teaching Awards

Honors teaching excellence, and the memory of Nathan Glazer, in last regular meeting of the academic year

by John S. Rosenberg

Drawing of a female mallard flying down to her nest on a Harvard rooftop with food for her seven ducklings, each bearing a letter on its chest spelling out H-A-R-V-A-R-D.

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history