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

Elif Batuman

The “Harvard Novel” Enters the Twenty-first Century

On Elif Batuman’s fictions

by Beth Blum

Cover of Chinese edition of book, Harvard A to Z

Bookish

Course catalog redux, a Chinese take on Harvard “glitz and glamour,” and the mathmetician-movie buff

by Primus VI

Official portrait of Lawrence H. Summers

Portraying Larry Summers

Celebrating the twenty-seventh president—and assessing his legacy

by John S. Rosenberg

Humorous illustration of campus police seeing late-night daters’ final kiss

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

George Reisner, 1924

George Reisner

Brief life of a pioneering Egyptologist: 1867-1942

by Peter Der Manuelian

Henry Lee Higginson

Ahead of His Time

The inclusive Henry Lee Higginson, and Robert Caro’s productive fellowship

by Primus VI

Prince Charles with Francis H. Burr in 1986

Charles III, When Young

The Prince of Wales’s star turn at Harvard’s 350th anniversary gala, in 1986

Wisteria in Pebble Garden at Dumbarton Oaks

From the Soil Up

The art of conserving an historic garden at Dumbarton Oaks

by May Wang

Illustration of Sharon Beckman ’80 swimming the English Channel

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Photograph of Milman Parry in Paris, circa 1925-1928

Milman Parry

Brief life of a Homeric scholar with a big idea: 1902-1935

by Robert Kanigel