In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) delights the campus with a surprise appearance, protests greet a segregationist governor’s visit, and more.
May 8, 1989—A freshman diagnosed with the measles is admitted to the McCosh Health Center, prompting approximately 500 students to get a booster vaccine to prevent an outbreak on campus.
May 9, 1901—Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) surprises students with an unadvertised appearance in Alexander Hall, where he gives a reading of his work and entertains the crowd with stories about his adventures in Nevada and his attempts to learn German.
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May 11, 1967—Former Alabama Governor George Wallace speaks to an orderly but mostly unsympathetic crowd in Dillon Gymnasium as protesters make their feelings known across campus.
![](https://i0.wp.com/universityarchives.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2017/04/George_Wallace_Protesters_1967_PAW_AC109_Box_289_Folder_13.jpg?resize=732%2C1100&ssl=1)
May 13, 1884—Dr. M. Allen Starr, Class of 1876, is awarded the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons Alumni Association’s Prize of $500 for the best essay in medicine or surgery that shows original research.
![](https://i0.wp.com/universityarchives.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2017/04/Starr-M-Allen-1876_AC058_SP04.jpg?resize=375%2C500&ssl=1)
For last week’s installment in this series, click here.
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