Records of the Harvard University Department of Physics, 1879-1983 (textual records) and 2007-2013 (web archive)

The study of physics has been part of the Harvard College curriculum since 1642, when the text was by Aristotle and physics was found in a branch of the humanities called natural philosophy. However, development came quickly, and the 17th century saw Harvard's curriculum embrace the ideas of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Bacon, and Descartes through the selection of a new text, Charles Morton's Compendium Physicae and through the gift to Harvard of its first piece of physics apparatus, a telescope.

During the 18th century, the study of natural philosophy became a more prominent feature of the curriculum. Notable are that the first professorship at Harvard in the field was established, the collection of apparatus grew, the space occupied for physical studies was enlarged, and two expeditions for astronomical observation were carried out. Also during the 18th century, Harvard began creating its own texts for use in the curriculum; publication in physics by Harvard expanded throughout the century.

The 19th century began with an expansion of the Harvard curriculum to include applied science as well as pure science, and the "Department of Physics" was established as an entity separate from mathematics. The name reflected the updated vocabulary of science. Harvard's interest in applied science also took shape in the Lawrence Scientific School, a professional school offering systematic instruction in the practical sciences. Laboratory experimentation in physics by students and research by faculty were encouraged and a departmental library was established. This curricular expansion contributed to the fact that the department twice outgrew its space. Eventually the Jefferson Physical Laboratory was constructed to meet the demand for classroom, laboratory and office space. The first evidence of concern over the difficulty in finding qualified students surfaced in the late 19th century, when Harvard established curriculum guidelines and publications for instruction of secondary school physics.

In the first third of the twentieth century, after some administrative upheaval, the study of Physics at Harvard for both graduate and undergraduate students coalesced administratively under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The space occupied for study and experimentation grew with the construction of two new laboratories, one of which included a research library. The First World War initiated the Department of Physics' role in defense. Its members taught military personnel, served in the military, and performed defense research. The 1930s saw increased interest and investigation into the fields of nuclear science and computer science. In order to meet the research needs of its faculty, the Department oversaw construction of both a high-energy particle accelerator and an automatic calculating machine. Peacetime research was again interrupted for defense purposes during the Second World War. One of the most visible effects was the removal of the Harvard Cyclotron to Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1943. Again, Harvard personnel served in the military, instructed military personnel, or were members of defense research teams.

Following the War, a new cyclotron and nuclear laboratory were built, with funding for construction and research coming primarily from defense contracts. The strengths of the Department included experimental and high energy physics which led to the construction in the early 1960's of a number of specialized research facilities such as the Cambridge Electron Accelerator (CEA). The Department continued its commitment to secondary school physics education with the program "Harvard Project Physics." As faculty interest in the CEA grew, use of the cyclotron fell; by 1967 it was used primarily for medical purposes.

n the last third of the 20th century, the opening of the Science Center led indirectly to the Department revamping its curriculum, developing closer research and instructional relationships with the faculties of the other sciences, and moving its instructional library. The CEA was decommissioned in 1973 and its facilities became the Department's High Energy Physics Laboratory. In the 1980s the Department concentrated efforts to increase the number of minority students in its graduate program and to strengthen selected areas of research. In January of 1999, the University announced plans to spend $200 million on new science programs, including a new research center to investigate the region between quantum and classical physics.