Diary, 1725-1736 Digital

Wadsworth's diary primarily documents Harvard College affairs and his administrative responsibilities, including his installation as president and descriptions of the meetings held and votes taken by the Board of Overseers. The diary also lists College bills paid and contracts and leases signed on behalf of the College, describes various College commencements and valedictory orations, and mentions freshman students who boarded with Wadsworth during his tenure as president. Many of the entries included in this diary describe the penalties imposed upon students for various infractions including those for tardiness, theft, absences from class, drunkenness, lying, the killing of animals, and cursing. Entries in this diary also report on the construction of the president's new house (later known as Wadsworth House), Isaac Greenwood's appointment as Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and the appointment of a committee charged with the task of revising the College laws. Brief mentions of the purchase of an African enslaved person, a smallpox epidemic, the death of King George, and a local earthquake are also included. A published transcription of the diary appears in Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. 31, pp. 439-507.