Reunions


How Harvard Lost the JFK Library

In 1963, one month before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy ’40 visited Harvard to choose a site for his presidential library and archives. But after years of local controversy, the JFK library at Harvard never came to be.


The Fall of Harvard’s Global Development Powerhouse

For nearly three decades, the Harvard Institute for International Development advised foreign governments on some of their most pressing economic and political issues. Then, in 2000, it was shuttered amid scandal.


‘This Could Happen to My Friend’: How the Diallo Shooting Galvanized Harvard Students Against Police Brutality

On Feb. 4, 1999, four New York Police Department officers fired 41 shots at Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant. More than a year later, the four officers were acquitted of all charges — and Harvard students refused to stay silent.


How Fed Chair Ben Bernanke ’75 Discovered Economics at Harvard

As a still-undecided sophomore, Ben S. Bernanke ’75 did what hundreds of Harvard students have done for decades: enroll in Economics 10, the school’s introductory economics course sequence. The decision would launch him on his path to leading the Federal Reserve.


The Strauch Committee Considers Equal Admissions for Women

The Strauch Committee — tasked with determining whether to combine the Harvard-Radcliffe admissions offices and deciding whether to continue to enforce gender ratios in admissions — released its final report in 1975.


Napster Sparks Debate About Music Piracy at Harvard

When Napster was founded in May 1999, students across the country jumped at the opportunity to download their favorite music without the hassle of buying a new CD. But for universities, the novel technology posed a new problem: legal threats from the music industry.


From the Gridiron to the Lab: Christopher Nowinski’s Journey

When former Harvard football player Christopher J. Nowinski ’00 first set foot on campus, he had no idea that the hits he took on the field could cause permanent brain damage. Twenty-five years after his graduation, Nowinski’s ground-breaking work on concussions is paving the way for a safer future.


When Bill Gates Wrote Microsoft’s First Code on a Harvard Mainframe

Bill Gates arrived at Harvard College in September 1973 as a quiet freshman from Seattle in Wigglesworth Hall. He left campus two years later not with a degree, but with a piece of software that would launch Microsoft and begin reshaping the digital landscape.


Service and Action: PBHA Becomes Political

Since its founding in 1904, the PBHA has served as Harvard’s flagship service organization — a place where students could give back to their city through volunteer work. In 1975, the PBHA expanded its mandate, inflected with the era’s activist ethos.


‘Hilarious, Mesmerizing, Spellbinding’: Class of 1975 Recalls Muhammad Ali’s Sold-Out Speech

The Class of 1975 invited Ali to speak at the annual Class Day celebration after Mel Brooks and Bill Cosby declined invitations. Ali was able to work Harvard into his calendar — and delivered a speech that many undergrads recalled decades later.


Interim President Garber Asks Alumni to Stick by Harvard Despite ‘Difficult Year’

Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 had a speech prepared for Alumni Day about the University’s resilience after a year of nonstop turmoil on campus. But before Garber could begin speaking, an animal rights activist leaped onstage and doused him with gold glitter.


Dominance on the Ice: The 1999 Women’s Ice Hockey Team's Long Legacy

In what marks the 25th anniversary of the Harvard women’s ice hockey team’s historic triple-crown season, the team’s national championship run and the grit, perseverance, and dominance the squad displayed throughout that entire season is still spoken about with hushed reverence.


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