In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, three professors miss an eclipse, four juniors secure an apartment in Plainsboro to avoid eating tofu, and more.

August 17, 1788—At a meeting of the faculty, Henry Purcell, a minister’s son, is “found guilty of profane swearing and other irregularities.”

August 19, 1887—Three Princeton professors who have traveled to Russia to observe a total solar eclipse 30 miles northeast of Moscow are unable to see it due to an overcast sky.

August 20, 1983—Dissatisfied with options on campus, four members of of the Class of 1985 obtain a lease on a 3-bedroom apartment in Plainsboro. They considered the Dickinson co-op, but it was “too radical,” the Princetonian will explain, for one of the roommates to bear, quoting Peter Noto: “Tofu this, tofu that. We’d have had beancurd coming out of our ears.”

August 22, 1911—The seventh annual conference of the Chinese Students Alliance of the Eastern States begins at Princeton today. There are 150 participants. The 15 women in attendance are staying at Cap and Gown Club.

For the previous installment in this series, click here.

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