HISTORY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

  Harvard is that the oldest institution of higher education within the u. s., established in 1636 by vote of the nice and general court of one's massachusetts bay colony. it was eventually named after the college’s first benefactor, the young minister john harvard of charlestown, who upon his death in 1638 left his library and half his estate towards the institution. a statue of john harvard stands nowadays in front of university hall in harvard yard, and is probably the university’s best known landmark. 

  Harvard university has 12 degree-granting schools additionally towards the radcliffe institute for advanced study. the university has grown from 9 students by having one master to actually an enrollment of a little over 20, 000 alittle candidates together with undergraduate, graduate, and skilled students. there will be a little over 360, 000 living alumni within the u. s. as well as over 190 different countries. 

harvard university archives 

  On sept. 8, 1836, at harvard’s bicentennial celebration, it was eventually announced that president josiah quincy had found the very first rough sketch of one's college arms – a defend when using the latin motto “veritas” ( “verity” or “truth” ) on 3 books – whereas researching his history of harvard university within the college archives. throughout the bicentennial, a white banner atop a considerable tent within the yard publicly displayed this style the very first time'>as a first. till quincy’s discovery, the hand-drawn sketch ( from records in an overseers meeting on jan. 6, 1644 ) had been filed away and forgotten. it became the premise of one's seal officially adopted by your corporation in 1843 and still informs the version used nowadays. * 

why crimson ?* 

  Crimson was officially designated as harvard’s color by a vote of one's harvard corporation in 1910. other then why crimson ? a set of two rowers, charles w. eliot, class of 1853, and benjamin w. crowninshield, class of 1858, provided crimson scarves on their teammates to create sure that spectators might differentiate harvard’s crew team from different groups throughout a regatta in 1858. eliot became harvard’s 21st president in 1869 and served till 1909 ; the corporation vote to actually make the colour of eliot’s bandannas the official color came soon after he stepped down. 

  Other then until the official vote by your harvard corporation, students’ color of alternative had at one purpose wavered between crimson and magenta – in all probability as a result of the objective of using colours to actually represent universities was still new within the latter half of one's 19th century. pushed by famous debate to choose, harvard undergraduates held a plebiscite on might 6, 1875, upon the university’s color, and crimson won by a large margin. the student newspaper – that had been popularly known as magenta – modified its name when using the terribly next issue. 

  *u. s. presidents and honorary degrees* 

after george washington’s continental army forced the british to actually leave boston in march 1776, the harvard corporation and overseers voted on april 3, 1776, to actually confer an honorary alittle upon the general, who accepted it that terribly day ( in all probability at his cambridge headquarters in craigie house ). washington next visited harvard in 1789, clearly as the first u. s. president. 

Different u. s. presidents to be brought an honorary alittle embrace : 

1781 john adams 

1787 thomas jefferson 

1822 john quincy adams 

1833 andrew jackson 

1872 ulysses s. grant 

1905 william howard taft 

1907 woodrow wilson 

1917 herbert hoover 

1919 theodore roosevelt 

1929 franklin delano roosevelt 

1946 dwight eisenhower 

1956 john f. kennedy