Harvard History

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

A man with a long beard and formal attire stands next to a chalkboard with an equation.

They Might Be (Harvard) Giants

Two tales of University greats—and an encounter with a Tiger

In the eighteenth century, Harvard presidents Edward Holyoke (left) and Benjamin Wadsworth both owned slaves.

Harvard acknowledges slave connections

A plaque begins an official acknowledgment of the University’s past.

by John S. Rosenberg

Harvard Asian-American leadership

A coincidence of leadership at Harvard, at a contested moment

by John S. Rosenberg

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