Harvard History & Traditions

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

Magna Carta on display in Houghton Library

University News |

An Original Magna Carta, Hidden in Plain Sight

A rare original surfaces at Harvard at an “almost providential” moment. 

by Nina Pasquini

Alumnus Paul Lee ’46 carries the (replica) Little Red Flag at the 2012 Harvard-Yale game. Steve Goodhue ’51 is beside him; Spencer Ervin ’54 and Jeff Lee ’74 stand behind.

Alumni | March-April 2020

Seeking a Flag-Bearer!

Are you eligible to carry the (replica) Little Red Flag?

Cartoon shows an audience viewing a 3D rendering of the Holland Tunnel, with a ship floating above it and a car emerging from one end

John Harvard's Journal | March-April 2020

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Photograph of Samuel Eliot Morison

The College Pump | March-April 2020

Giants

Morison, Handlin, and a new view of the Mem Hall fire

by Primus VI

Vegan muffins, hash, bacon, and other plant-based options are served at a cafeteria counter

Harvard History & Traditions |

While You Were Away

End-of-semester news and fun from around campus

by John S. Rosenberg

Drawing of Harvard and Oregon football players at the Rose Bowl, with the goalposts depicted at two long-stemmed red roses with a bar between them

John Harvard's Journal | January-February 2020

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Photograph of Peter Ashton and field team in Borneo

The College Pump | January-February 2020

From Borneo to Rodeo

Trekking, shuttling, and semi-friending

by Primus VI

A Hasty Pudding Theatricals poster from 1910 showing a debutante curtseying

Treasure | January-February 2020

Pudding Pots & Parody

“Shingles” and other art of the Hasty Pudding from the Harvard Theatre Collection.

by Jonathan Shaw

Paul Lee (left) holds the Little Red Flag replica in 2012. Also shown (clockwise from top left) are Spencer Ervin, Jeffrey Lee, and Stephen Goodhue.

Alumni | November-December 2019

Seeking a Flag-Bearer!

Who’ll carry the traditionalists’ Little Red Flag?

An early group photo of Band members wearing bowler hats

Performing & Recorded Arts |

A Hundred Years of Music

The Harvard Band celebrates a century.

by Sol Hurwitz

Unhappy bell-ringer replaced by an automated bell switch sits high in the steeple looking out over part of the Harvard campus below

John Harvard's Journal | November-December 2019

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history