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What Archival Silence Conceals—and Reveals: Recovering Princeton University’s 19th-Century African American Graduate Alumni
Archival silences distort the past, shaping our current and future self-understanding, so preserving Princeton’s history sometimes means attempting to correct the work of our predecessors. My struggle to bring 19th and early 20th-century African American graduate alumni to light illustrates one way white supremacy of that era continues to influence us today. It also supports…
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This Week in Princeton History for February 5-11
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the library makes a significant change in how it catalogs books, the Board of Trustees is divided over a hiring decision, and more. February 5, 1976—University Librarian Richard Boss announces that new materials will…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 29-February 4
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the death of a member of the Class of 1919 sparks national debate, the chess club organizes, and more. January 29, 1975—Alum Henry Pitney van Dusen (Class of 1919) enters into a suicide pact…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 22-28
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the Board of Trustees decides to move the institution from Newark to Princeton, a donor’s bequest causes controversy, and more. January 22, 1773—Between 3:00 and 4:00AM, students wake up and help put out a…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 15-21
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, students and guests attend the first art lecture, the Board of Trustees ends gender-based admissions quotas, and more. January 15, 1877—Professor Edward Delano Lindsey gives the first lecture of a course in Art in…
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Princeton University and the Spanish American War
This post is part of a series on education and war related to our current exhibition, “Learning to Fight, Fighting to Learn: Education in Times of War,” on display through June 2018. Please stop by to learn more. When the United States intervened on behalf of Cuba in 1898, the naval ship USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor.…
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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…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 1-7
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Baker Memorial Rink opens, the status of graduate alumni is in dispute, and more. January 1, 1891—Students gather to ring in the new year, but become so absorbed in their recreational activities that they…
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This Week in Princeton University History for December 25-31
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a chaplain tries to negotiate the release of hostages in Iran, the New York Times announces a new partnership, and more. December 25, 1980—John T. Walsh, Princeton University’s Southern Baptist chaplain, meets with Iran’s Ayatollah…
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