Overview:

The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts opened in 1963. It was designed by the French architect Le Corbusier. These records consist of architectural designs and plans and the original wooden cases in which the drawings were held.

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The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, located in Harvard Yard, was dedicated on Commencement Day in 1915. Construction began in 1912 and was completed in 1914. These records are architectural drawings and plans, including plans for the building itself as well as interior fixtures, from pre-construction through construction and alterations.

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This collection consists chiefly of ephemera and information about baseball at Harvard; it also includes baseball clothing and equipment. The earliest original artifacts are tickets in the 1867 folder.

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This collection documents people (and one cat) who were known, respected, and/or beloved by the Harvard community for their personal characteristics or talents, regarless of their official relationship, or lack of relationship, with the University. It contains newspaper clippings, publications, memorabilia, and ephemera.

Overview: Harvard College was founded by a vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts on October 28, 1636; subsequent legislative acts established the Board of Overseers, but it was the Charter of 1650 that established the Harvard Corporation and defined its authority as the College's primary governing board. For most of Harvard's history to the present, the College has operated under the Charter of 1650, but between 1672 and 1707 alternate Charters were recognized when the document became a...

Overview:

The Chest of 1900 was a time-capsule project undertaken by Harvard University to mark the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. It contains student essays, diaries kept by students, employees and faculty members, publications and photographs.

Overview: The collection consists of Theses, Quaestiones, and Orders of Exercises for Commencement used in Harvard Commencement exercises from the 17th century into the early 19th century as precursors to the modern Commencement program. The Theses (for undergraduates) and Quaestiones (for Master's degree candidates) are broadsides, written in Latin, that list prompts used in the commencement tradition of public student disputation which began at Harvard College in 1642. Broadside Theses were printed...

Overview: Harvard University was one of the first large organizations to establish its own internal construction management group, beginning in the 1960s, which centralized all administrative responsibilities involved in the building process. These responsibilities included awarding bids, overseeing daily activities of the contractors and architects, acting as a liaison to offices, organizations, and individual members of the Harvard community and any communities affected by the construction project,...

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The records document some of the activities related to the Harvard Bicentenary Celebration held on September 8, 1836. Materials include extracts listing the votes of the Corporation about the 1836 celebration, a plan for the evening illumination of Holworthy Hall, a volume of autographs signed by Harvard graduates and guests, blank tickets for the “Dinner of the Alumni” held during the celebration and letters from Harvard alumni confirming their attendance at the dinner.

Overview: This collection of printed documents, both published and unpublished, reflects the history, growth and management of the Harvard College Library from 1773 to 1879. Documents include Visiting Committee reports, library and sales catalogues, library regulations, circular letters to patrons and alumni, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, fundraising appeals, blank receipts for gifts to the library, and blank forms regarding borrowing privileges, book order requests, and arrival...

Overview: This collection contains drafts of five miscellaneous votes by the Harvard Faculty between 1742 and 1803 related to student behavior, both in specific cases and in the development of College rules. The Harvard Faculty, initially known as the Immediate Government, began holding meetings in 1725 to discuss educational and administrative concerns of the College. The group primarily consisted of the president of Harvard College, the professors, and the tutors. The documents in this collection...

Overview:

This collection chiefly consists of final examinations given by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, especially the undergraduate examinations from Harvard College. It also includes examinations from the Harvard Law School, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, the Graduate School of Business Administration, and the Lawrence Scientific School. Other types of examinations include questions for entrance, mid-year, honors, Ph.D., make-up, reading, divisional and general examinations.

Overview:

Negative microfilm copies of student record cards for Harvard College, Radcliffe College, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Scope and Contents:

Academic student records for students who attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Education (HGSE) doctoral programs and separated from the School between 1952 and 1983.

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These records contain ceremonial greetings to and from Harvard University. The senders and recipients are other universities as well as learned and professional societies. The occasions that prompt exchanges of greetings are often significant anniversaries.

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Includes two U-matic S videos, one 1” video reel, a program and a full event script with notes on when to cue the video produced by Tommy Walker Productions for the September 6, 1986 event celebrating Harvard's 350th anniversary at Harvard Stadium.

Overview: Following the English tradition, students at Harvard College dined in commons, eating at least one daily meal together in a dining hall along with the tutors and graduate students. This practice continued at Harvard into the middle of the 19th century. The Harvard Commons Records document the maintenance and development of commons at Harvard College in the 18th and early 19th centuries and the Steward's role in overseeing those commons. They also document a rebellion by the students in 1807...

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Reports by the chief librarians of Harvard College and Harvard University.

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The mathematical theses consist of equations and drawings which illustrate the equations. At the time of their creation, the purpose of these finely executed documents on large sheets of paper was to demonstrate a student's mastery of one or more mathematical concepts, yet the enduring value of many of the them lies in the fact that they are works of art.

Scope and Contents:

Chiefly black and white 35mm negatives accompanied by a few strips of contact prints in some folders. The primary photographer was likely Rick Stafford.

Overview:

The Official Register of Harvard University is a set of publications that has been published annually by Harvard since 1900. While specific titles included within the register have varied over time, much of the content has remained consistent, including annual reports of the president and treasurer, course catalogs, announcements of departments and divisions, student handbooks, and directories.

Overview:

The Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory was established in 1940 to conduct research on speech, hearing, and communications during World War II. It continued to operate after the War and in 1962 it was renamed the Laboratory of Psychophysics. These records document the activities of the laboratory.

Overview: The records of the Harvard lotteries are comprised of materials created in the process of administering the Harvard College lotteries sanctioned by Massachusetts General Court Acts of July 2, 1772, June 14, 1794, and March 14, 1806 to raise money for dormitory-building projects. The collection consists of five series containing lottery tickets, newspaper and broadside lottery announcements, accounting records, and administrative lists used to manage the lottery drawings. Most of the...

Overview: The Arnold Arboretum was established between the trustees under the will of James Arnold and the President and Fellows of Harvard College on March 29, 1872. Subsequent gifts enlarged the endowment of the Arboretum and its living collection of trees and wood plants, as well as its library and herbarium. In 1945, a major reorganization of botany collections and departments (known as the Bailey Plan) at Harvard, including the removal of the Arboretum’s library and herbarium from Jamaica Plain...

Overview: Disorderly conduct by students was a problem for Harvard administrators from the College's earliest days. The College Laws, first compiled in 1642 and revised regularly, attempted to define appropriate student conduct by setting limits on student privileges and detailing prohibited behavior (known as "disorders"). Vandalism, truancy, drunkenness, swearing, gambling, and loud noise were common disorders throughout the 17th and 18th centuries at the College, but larger displays of student...