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Dear Mr. Mudd: Who Are You?
By Spencer Shen ’16 Dear Mr. Mudd: Q: Who are you? A: Actually, I’m Dr. Mudd. I was a practicing cardiologist before joining the faculty of the California Institute of Technology. Later, I became a professor, a member of the Board of Trustees, and the Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of…
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Can Nathaniel FitzRandolph’s Descendants Attend Princeton University for Free?
Q. Dear Mr. Mudd, I read that Nathaniel FitzRandolph’s descendants get free tuition at Princeton University. Is this true? A. According to legend, an agreement between Nathaniel FitzRandolph and the College of New Jersey (as Princeton was then known) was made in 1753. In exchange for donating the land on which Nassau Hall now resides, the…
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African Americans and Princeton University
Dear Mr. Mudd: Q. What information do you have about African Americans and Princeton University? A. Until the twentieth century, Princeton’s history has mostly been dominated by white men, typically from prosperous backgrounds. Though decidedly pro-Union during the Civil War, the campus had strong Southern influences, and its reputation as the “northernmost university town of the…
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Eating Clubs and “The Street”
Dear Mr. Mudd: Q. What are “eating clubs”? Did F. Scott Fitzgerald make them up? What is “The Street”? A. Princeton alumnus F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise (1920) gave the world a glimpse into the exclusive social enclaves known as the Princeton eating clubs through the eyes of fictional student Amory Blaine.…
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The Rittenhouse Orrery
Dear Mr. Mudd: Q: What is an orrery, and how did Princeton University come to own one? How was it damaged in the Battle of Princeton? A: An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. Orreries were regarded as essential teaching equipment for 18th-century lectures on “natural philosophy” (the physical sciences). Although invented…
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Which came first? The Tiger or his stripes?
Dear Mr. Mudd, What is the origin of the Princeton Tiger? Which came first the tiger or his stripes? In 1992 the Office of Communications produced a photo essay concerning this very topic! The answer is that Princeton adopted the stripes long before the actual tiger! Here is an excerpt from that essay: On October…
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Is or was there a Princeton Law School? Not really!
A question that is frequently asked of us here at the archives is whether or not there was ever a “Law School.” The answer to that is, not really! Initial attempts to create a law school at the College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was then known) were unsuccessful. The College trustees appointed a…
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When did people start referring to the College of New Jersey as Princeton?
Dear Mr. Mudd: Q: From your FAQ website: “In 1896, when expanded program offerings brought the College university status, the College of New Jersey was officially renamed Princeton University in honor of its host community of Princeton.” I am currently editing a novel that includes both Nassau Hall and Princeton; would the use of “Princeton”…
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MYTHBUSTER — “I Love Lucy” and a lost Presidential election?!
Is there any truth to the story that a commercial for Adlai Stevenson’s campaign interrupted an episode of “I Love Lucy” and cost him the 1952 election? This story has appeared in various books and articles, but none has a verifiable citation. For example, in the book “Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia”…
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Princeton and the Olympics
Dear Mr. Mudd, What are the connections between Princeton and the Olympics? With the upcoming 2012 Olympics on the horizon, this is a popular question. We have a blog entry from a few years ago concerning what Mudd has in its collections relating to the 1896 games. Princeton University’s ties with the Olympics began at…
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