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Month: May 2022

  • This Week in Princeton History for May 30-June 5

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series, students ask for rules to be enforced, the town is trying to address a major rat problem, and more. May 30, 1878—“Troubled at the spirit of luxuriousness now gaining foothold in the College, and more especially by the barking of the spaniels kenneled in our dormitories,” the…

  • This Week in Princeton History for May 23-29

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series, chapel services are praised, a donor comes through, and more. May 24, 1851—A letter to the editor of the Trenton State Gazette describes chapel services: If any of our alumni, or other college acquaintances, who associate the service of daily prayers with the old ‘Prayer Hall,’ its…

  • This Week in Princeton History for May 16-22

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series, the administration bans automobiles on campus, a student writes to a friend to say being admitted to Princeton has not improved him, and more. May 18, 1925—In response to student complaints, starting today, private automobiles, motorcycles, and carriages will no longer be permitted on Princeton’s campus, except…

  • This Week in Princeton History for May 9-15

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series, Lyndon B. Johnson asks Princeton intellectuals to “cool it,” students mourn the death of a classmate, and more. May 9, 1807—The New York Weekly Inspector identifies the recent rebellion at Princeton as part of larger trends in American society: The conduct of students on this occasion, although…

  • This Week in Princeton History for May 2-8

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series, Bob Hope jokes with students, a Pennsylvania newspaper questions James McCosh’s decision-making, and more. May 2, 1836—The Mammoth Exhibition of the Zoological Institute in New York (an early traveling circus) is in town. Those who pay the 25-cent admission fee are promised a view of exotic animals,…