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Author: April C. Armstrong *14

  • This Week in Princeton History for February 18-24

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, hazing makes national headlines, McCarter Theater opens, and more. February 18, 1878—During a particularly severe outbreak of hazing, a gunfight breaks out on Nassau Street between freshmen and sophomores, with one student being shot…

  • Caroline Le Count’s Visit to Princeton

    By April C. Armstrong *14 and Iliyah Coles ’22 Caroline Le Count, though not so well known today, was a prominent African American activist and educator in Philadelphia in the 19th century. The Philadelphia Citizen recently referred to her as “Philly’s Rosa Parks” because she worked to dismantle streetcar segregation in the city, a goal…

  • This Week in Princeton History for February 11-17

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, African American women express their views of campus, police are on the lookout for stolen silverware, and more. February 11, 1994—A group of students responds to an editorial cartoon with pleas for greater thoughtfulness…

  • This Week in Princeton History for February 4-10

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, frozen pipes make bathing impossible, the campus celebrates the issuing of a new postage stamp for Chinese New Year, and more. February 5, 1822—John Maclean, a tutor at the College of New Jersey, catches…

  • This Week in Princeton History for January 14-20

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a member of the Class of 1801 walks 20 miles round trip to attend a memorial for George Washington, a class is lit with electric lamps, and more. January, 14, 1800—John Johnston, Class of…

  • This Week in Princeton History for January 7-13

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the Princetonian criticizes the grading system, the Texas governor gives an on-campus club the designation “Texas Embassy in New Jersey,” and more. January 9, 1975—Princeton students are featured in the NBC documentary special The Changing…

  • This Week in Princeton History for December 31-January 6

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the construction of Lake Carnegie begins, the faculty approve a program in Women’s Studies, and more. January 2, 1905—Work begins clearing 170 acres of heavily wooded land for the construction of Lake Carnegie.

  • This Week in Princeton History for December 24-30

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Princeton pays its first phone bill, an undergraduate writes to his cousin to urge him to join him at school, and more. December 24, 1895—The College of New Jersey pays its very first telephone…

  • This Week in Princeton History for December 17-23

    In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a shipment of coal mitigates a fuel shortage, the Triangle Club performs for Eleanor Roosevelt, and more. December 17, 1917—A new shipment of coal just after the last bit available ran out means there…

  • The Princeton Pullman’s “Filipino Boys”

    We’ve previously told you about the Princeton Pullman, a specially-designed railroad car that took faculty and students across North America in the 1920s and 1930s to collect geological specimens and fossils. Today, we’d like to highlight one aspect of these journeys: the Filipino staff who attended to the practical needs of the travelers, one of…