Harvard History
Stories that explore the institution’s rich history, from archival moments to evolving traditions.
A Forgotten Harvard Anthem
Published the year the Titanic sank, “Harvard’s Best” is a quizzical ode to the University.
Conant in the Blow
Seventy years ago, on September 21, came the New England Hurricane of 1938: a.k.a. the Long Island Express...
Yesterday's News
Headlines from Harvard history
Pay Dirt in Yard Dig
Five pieces of lead type turned up near Matthews Hall this year, a stop-the-presses flash from the past. They were unearthed by students and faculty of Anthropology 1130: “Archaeology of Harvard Yard.”
Yesterday's News
1928 Following Harvard’s first spring reading period, the College Library reports about 650 more visitors than in the previous year. 1933...
Ko K'un-hua
Yale was the first American college to offer instruction in Chinese, in 1877; apparently, no one signed up. The next year, a group of Boston and...
Yesterday's News
1923 The committee examining Harvard’s admissions process discourages giving preferential treatment to alumni children because...
Tough Turkeys
"Your wooden arm you hold outstretched to shake with passers-by." Turkeys are menacing innocent students at the Business...
Yesterday's News
1913 The Alumni Bulletin welcomes the founding of the Harvard University Press as an “eminently appropriate [way to] powerfully...
Frank Roosevelt at Harvard
A profile of the president as alumnus