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This Week in Princeton History for December 22-28
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a dorm thief is caught, a movie about an alum premieres in town, and more. December 22, 1898—A granite monument in Arlington National Cemetery at the grave of Major General William W. Belknap, Class…
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This Week in Princeton History for December 15-21
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the University gets a radio station, a movie filmed on campus premieres in town, and more. December 15, 1940—WPRB’s predecessor, WPRU, gets its start with daily broadcasts from 7:15 to 9:15 a.m. and from…
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“The New Order”: How Japan’s Attack on Pearl Harbor (Briefly) Led to Women Enrolling in Classes at Princeton University
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan”: so began Franklin Delano Roosevelt on December 8, in a speech asking the United States Congress for a declaration of war. Princeton University didn’t…
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This Week in Princeton History for December 1-7
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the Daily Princetonian elects its first female chairperson, Andrew Carnegie gives Princeton a lake, and more. December 2, 1978—The 102-year-old Daily Princetonian elects Anne C. Mackay-Smith ’80 its first female chairperson. In June 1980,…
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This Week in Princeton History for November 24-30
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the campus mourns the death of John F. Kennedy, the first classes are held in Nassau Hall, and more. November 25, 1963—In observation of the National Day of Mourning for United States President and…
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This Week in Princeton History for November 17-23
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, an alum takes the school flag to the moon, Ella Fitzgerald performs, and more. November 17, 1983—Diplomats from the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Great Britain are in Alexander Hall to commemorate the bicentennial of the…
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This Week in Princeton History for November 10-16
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Arthur Conan Doyle gives a reading of Sherlock Holmes, Theodore Roosevelt lectures, and more. November 10, 1975—As part of the U.S. Postal Service’s Bicentennial campaign to honor Revolutionary War patriots, a nine-cent postcard depicting…
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History of Women at Princeton University
Written by Vanessa Snowden For much of its history, Princeton University had the reputation of being an “old-boys’ school.” Starting in the fall of 1969, Princeton became co-educational, and nine women transferred into the Class of 1970, with slightly greater numbers in the two subsequent classes. Women who matriculated as freshmen in 1969 graduated in…
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This Week in Princeton History for October 27-November 2
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, reports of Martians landing nearby distress the University community, Bruce Springsteen packs Jadwin Gym, and more. October 29, 1955—A Princeton undergraduate is arrested for disturbing the peace when found kicking a pineapple juice can…
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Princeton and Apartheid: The 1978 Nassau Hall Sit-In
Princeton di-vest! Oh yeah Just like the rest! Oh yeah And if you don’t! Oh yeah We will not rest! Oh yeah We gonna fight And fight And keep on fightin’ some more Princeton di-vest! (Student protest chant, quoted in Princeton Alumni Weekly 24 April 1978) Following the recent “Coming Back: Reconnecting Princeton’s Black Alumni”…
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