Records of the Harvard Bicentenary Celebration

The Bicentenary Celebration of Harvard University was held on September 8, 1836. The celebration began when Harvard students, alumni, guests, and members of the Harvard Corporation assembled at University Hall in Harvard Yard. Bound books were then presented for the signatures of alumni and guests, and during the day more than 1,100 names were collected. Following the gathering at University Hall, the procession left Harvard Yard and entered the Congregational Church for the celebratory exercises. Harvard President Josiah Quincy delivered the Bicentenary address; prayers were offered, and music was performed. After extensively reviewing the Harvard College books, Quincy revealed the first sketch of the Harvard shield drawn in 1643 (in 1843 a version of the design was formally adopted as the seal of the Harvard Corporation). After the exercises in the church concluded, the procession moved to the Dinner Pavilion, erected within the College grounds. Approximately 1300 alumni and guests assembled for dinner; many toasts, songs, and speeches accompanied the festivities. During the evening the windows of the College buildings were illuminated with lights in the shapes of diamonds, stars, and pyramids by students. In the center windows of Holworthy Hall an oversized “200” was lit, and bonfires brightened the neighboring hills. The Bicentenary Celebration concluded in the evening without a mishap “with a dignity and decorum worthy of the solemn festival of an ancient literary institution.”