Harvard History

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

A man sitting at a wooden table in a formal setting with portraits on the wall.

Cambridge Once Fought Harvard’s DNA Research. Now There’s a Play About It.

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

by Laurel M. Shugart

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

Brief life of Harvard astronomer William Cranch Bond, by Alan Hirshfeld

Brief life of Harvard's first astronomer: 1789-1859

by Alan Hirshfeld

Headlines from Harvard history, September-October 1910-1995

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Harvard's WHRB's unusual and ingenious mix of classical, jazz, country, and rock

For 75 years, WHRB has moved beyond the “warhorses.”

by Craig Lambert