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This Week in Princeton History for January 8-14


In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a graduate becomes governor of Georgia, the first gymnasium opens, and more.

January 8, 1999—Six cases of alcohol poisoning and other incidents attendant to the event will lead University President Harold Shapiro to ban the Nude Olympics, which occur for the last time at Princeton on this night.

Daily Princetonian cartoon depicting press attention at the Nude Olympics, 1991. For more about the history of this event and why it no longer occurs, please see our previous blog.

January 10, 1967—Princeton’s Draft Information Center opens. The Center will help students who object to fighting in Vietnam understand the options they have available to them to avoid the draft.

The Draft Information Center provided a variety of resources to students, including Counterdraft. Princeton Draft Information Center Records (AC382), Box 3.

January 12, 1877—Alfred H. Colquitt (Class of 1844), a former Confederate general and an opponent of Reconstruction, is inaugurated governor of Georgia.

Alfred H. Colquitt, Class of 1844. Undergraduate Alumni Records 1748-1920 (AC104).

January 13, 1870—The College of New Jersey formally opens its gymnasium with lectures, prayers, and a gymnastic demonstration.

College of New Jersey (Princeton) Gymnasium interior, ca. 1870s. Historical Photograph Collection, Grounds and Buildings Series (AC111), Box MP47, Image No. 1554.

For last week’s installment in this series, click here.

Fact check: We always strive for accuracy, but if you believe you see an error, please contact us.


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