CLASS OF EIGHTY-THREE.

The report of Mr. Frederick Nichols, secretary of the class of 1883, which has just appeared, makes a very interesting pamphlet not only for the members of that class but for the general public. Eighty-three was a thoroughly representative class, and one that Harvard may well be proud of, and a record of her past is a satisfactory example of what it is desirable that the record of every class at Harvard should be.

The only change from the conventional style of class reports is in the omission of the measurements of the class. "These tables have been necessarily so imperfect and so nearly worthless as standards of comparison that I have felt justified in discarding them, notwithstanding the violation of precedent."

From the list of names given at the opening of the report, we find that during its college course, the class included among its members some 274 men, of whom 205 received their degrees on last commencement.

The class began its freshman year with 245 members of whom 45 left during the year. At the end of its sophomore, junior and senior years, the class numbered 190, 193 and 201 respectively. Five other candidates for degrees brought the class on commencement day up to 206 members of whom 205 received their degrees.

The table of residences and birth places is as follows:

New England 136 145

Middle States 24 30

Western States 34 26

Southern States 1 1

Outside the United States 10 3

205 205

The birth places of 110, and the residences of 122, of those from New England, are in the State of Massachusetts, (Boston, 37).

The probable occupations of the class compared with those of preceding classes are as follows (we omit the classes of '72, '78 and '79 which are given in the report):

PROBABLE OCCUPATION.Class of Class of Class of Class of

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.

Business, 28 38 55 57

Law, 73 44 48 61

Undecided, 29 38 23 28

Medicine, 14 26 20 18

Teaching, 13 20 11 17

Ministry, 3 10 5 6

Chemistry, 1 6 6 4

Journalism, 0 2 5 5

Study, 3 6 1 3

Architecture, 0 2 0 2

Art, 0 1 0 0

Farming, 0 1 0 0

Physical Science, 0 1 1 2

Publishing, 0 1 0 0

Library Work, 1 1 0 0

Others, 6 0 6 2

Totals, 171 197 181 205

We also omit the classes of '72, '78 and '79 (which are given in Mr. Nichols report), in the comparative table of

RELIGIOUS VIEWS.Class of Class of Class of Class of

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.

Undecided, 28 25 25 28

None, 13 2 8 10

Liberal. 16 3 7 1

Agnostic, 2 15 4 14

Christian, 0 1 3 0

Non-sectarian, 4 13 1 8

Rationalism, 0 1 0 1

Deist, 0 1 1 4

Theist, 0 1 0 5

Uncertain, 0 1 0 0

63 63 49 71

Episcopalian, 34 48 37 37

Unitarian, 34 32 34 44

Congrega'st, 22 31 29 25

Baptist, 2 7 7 7

Presbyterian, 4 2 7 3

Swedenborgian, 1 4 1 2

Catholic, 3 2 0 3

Methodist, 0 3 4 2

Universalist, 1 3 7 4

Jewish, 0 1 0 1

Dutch Reform, 1 1 0 0

Various others, 5 0 6 6

Not heard from, 1 0 0 0

171 197 181 205

In the classes of '80, '81, '82 and '83 we find that the following is the comparative

AGE AT COMMENCEMENT.Class of Class of Class of Class of

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.

Yrs Mos Yrs Mos Yrs Mos Yrs Mos

Average, 22 1 22 11.7 22 6.28 22 7.1

Oldest, 31 1 31 11 31 5 31 7

Youngest, 19 7 19 5 19 6 19 6

Over 25, 5 17 10 15

Between 22 and 25, 94 98 96 107

Between 20 and 22, 69 80 72 76

Under 20, 3 3 3 3

In passing we may mention that the youngest man in '79, who graduated at the age of 18 years and 1 month, led his class.

The electives taken by the class during its four years of college life were distributed among the different subjects as follows:

Ancient Languages, 16; Chemistry, 148; English, 139; Fine Arts, 108; French 162; German, 275; Graduate courses, 5; Greek, 176; History, 387; Italian, 48; Latin, 171; Mathematics, 78; Music, 34; Natural History, 260; Philosophy, 206; Physics, 62; Political Economy, 185; Spanish, 47; and Roman Law, 20.

The ranks of the class for the four years is given as follows: Over 90 per cent, 7; between 80 and 90 per cent, 39; and over 67 per cent, 136. Twenty-nine men in the class received deturs, twenty-nine second year honors, twenty-two final honors, one hundred and twenty-four honorable mention and one hundred and twenty-three commencement parts. Five men received Boylston prizes, and three Bowdoin prizes. The subscriptions to the class and college funds compare as follows:

CLASS FUNDS.Total Average No. connect No. of

Class. Sub's. Subscription ed with Class Sub's.

1879 $9,035 $48.84 276 185

1880 8,605 48.34 252 178

1881 6,150 48.04 268 128

1882 9,595 63.96 253 150

1883 6,550 45.80 274 143

'83's fund was subscribed as follows:

1 subscription of $300 $300

1 subscription of 250 250

1 subscription of 150 150

1 subscription of 125 125

9 subscription of 100 900

8 subscription of 75 600

49 subscription of 50 2450

3 subscription of 30 90

63 subscription of 25 1575

2 subscription of 20 40

4 subscription of 15 60

1 subscription of 10 10

143 subscriptions $6550

COLLEGE FUND.Total Average No. connect- No. of

Class. Sub's. Subscription ed with Class Sub's.

1879 3,425 48.93 276 70

1880 2,620 45.97 252 57

1881 855 50.30 268 17

1882 700 50.00 253 14

1883 2,685 65.48 274 41

'83's fund was subscribed as follows:

3 subscriptions of $200 $600

9 subscriptions of 100 900

1 subscriptions of 70 70

17 subscriptions of 50 850

9 subscriptions of 25 225

2 subscriptions of 20 40

41 Subscriptions. $2,685

From a class of two hundred and one members, the secretary has succeeded in obtaining but fifty-one class lives.

After the various statistics there follows accounts of the different class suppers and the representation of '83 in the various college organizations. The report concludes with a very complete account of the athletic history of the college during the residence of '83, which is very valuable for reference, and with notices of the temporary members together with the present addresses of all the members.

The thanks of the class are due to Mr. Nichols for the careful and conscientious manner in which he has performed the various duties that pertain to his office.