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How Many Buildings are on Campus?
Question: How many buildings does Princeton University consist of? Answer: This question comes up frequently. In this case, the context and research purpose are as important as the question. What does the patron consider a building? Buildings on the main campus, on the Forrestal Campus, or buildings that the University owns in general? Because of…
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What materials on the 1896 Olympics do you have?
There are a number of collections at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library which document Princeton’s connection to the Olympic movement of the late 19th century, as well as several related resources in the Manuscript Division at Firestone. What follows is a list of our major holdings which relate in some way to the topic,…
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Do you have a copy of “An Address for All Occasions?”
This question came from two different inquirers, one being the Library of Congress. On National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition (Saturday, January 26, 2008), Scott Simon read something he called “A Timeless Political Speech.” You can listen to it at the Weekend Edition Saturday page of NPR’s web site. Simon said it was written by Andrew…
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Did Aaron Burr, Jr. argue against dueling?
Question: Did Aaron Burr, Jr. take part in a Whig or Clio debate in which he argued against dueling? What information on Aaron Burr, Jr. exists within university records? There is nothing in the records of either organization, in early University records, or in Burr’s memoirs that would confirm that such a debate took place.…
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Did James Madison suffer a nervous collapse due to the intensity of his studies?
Question: While at Princeton, did James Madison suffer a nervous collapse due to the intensity of his studies? The story of Madison’s supposed nervous collapse in the days before commencement and its place in Princeton lore are primarily the result of a brief note in MacLean’s “History of the College of New Jersey” which states…
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Alexander Hamilton’s connection to Princeton
Question: Is there any evidence about Alexander Hamilton’s potential admission to Princeton? When discussing the cannonball legend, it has sometimes been suggested that Hamilton took a certain delight in firing on Old Nassau since he had been admitted to the college and then later denied entrance. The oldest reference to Hamilton’s alleged admission to Princeton…
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Alexander Hamilton shooting the cannonball that destroys the portrait of King George
Question: What book contains the first reference to Alexander Hamilton shooting the cannonball that crashes through Nassau Hall and destroys the portrait of King George? According to a popular story told and retold over the years, during the Battle of Princeton young artillery commander Alexander Hamilton directed his cannons at the remaining redcoats who had…
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First use of Houseparties term?
Question: Can you definitively document the first use of “Houseparties” as a term for the Spring club bacchanal? Answer:Writing in the Princeton Alumni Weekly in 1960, Brown Rolston 1910 makes the claim that “It was my section of the Cottage Club and that of Cap and Gown which started Houseparties. It took considerable argument and…
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Introducing Dear Mr. Mudd
The staff of the Mudd Manuscript Library answers over 2,000 e-mail inquiries a year, and those which should be of interest to a wider audience will be shared via this blog. This blog category is named Dear Mr. Mudd because in a few instances some of the e-mails sent to our general library account are…
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