Harvard History

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

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

The Year a Beat Poet Squatted at Harvard

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

by Constantine Archimedes Valhouli

Peter J. Gomes portrait installed at Harvard

Harvard installs a portrait of the late Reverend Peter J. Gomes.

by John S. Rosenberg

Harvard crew of 1926 rowing the icy water of the Charles River

Headlines from Harvard history

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Excerpt of a letter from John Quincy Adams

J.Q. Adams on patronage and rhetoric, and Daniel Merton Wegner on cats

J.Q. Adams on patronage and rhetoric, Daniel Merton Wegner on cats

The views of Charles William Eliot and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (whose images follow) aided the descendants of immigrants in keeping out new immigrants, as depicted in Joseph Keppler’s 1893 political cartoon “Looking Backward,” from Puck.

Harvard's eugenics era

When academics embraced scientific racism, immigration restrictions, and the suppression of “the unfit”

by Adam S. Cohen

Elderly man in a suit sitting in a chair, hands clasped, wearing glasses.

Henry Rosovsky: a tribute from Harvard Magazine

A tribute to Henry Rosovsky from Harvard Magazine

by John S. Rosenberg

Babar receives an honorary degree from Harvard

Headlines from Harvard history

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Portrait of Richard Henry Dana Jr. in 1842

Shaping Richard Henry Dana Jr.

How Richard  Henry Dana Jr. came to hate slavery and injustice

A grand chandelier at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre

In Sanders Theatre, a “constellation” of a chandelier

by Peter DeMarco

Headlines from Harvard history

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

A long run in The Nutcracker, and the Blackout of '65

Nutcracker notes, and a memorable blackout