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This Week in Princeton History for May 10-16
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the debate team loses to Harvard on immigration restrictions, the grading system is radically changed, and more. May 10, 1947—In the Chicago Defender, W. E. B. Du Bois reports that Princeton University had written…
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This Week in Princeton History for May 3-9
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a “Wild West” show is in town, a junior asks his father to send news about riots at home, and more. May 4, 1807—Trenton’s True American prints a letter from “A Collegian” from Princeton…
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Princeton’s East College: Horses, Cannons, and Ghosts
By Iliyah Coles ’22 East College, built in 1833, was Princeton’s first building solely used to house students. It stood across from West College (now Morrison Hall) and Cannon Green, and the Bulletin Elm once stretched from East College to the Old Chapel. Before its demolition in 1897, East College had been the site of…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 26-May 2
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, late frosts mean no butter, employees bring their daughters to work with them for the first time, and more. April 26, 1790—In a letter to the New York Daily Advertiser, a writer describes unpleasant…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 19-25
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, an excavation for new construction finds evidence of the original indigenous inhabitants of the area, a sophomore sees the inauguration of George Washington, and more. April 21, 1802—A letter to the editor of Baltimore’s…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 12-18
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, women’s tennis plays its first game, violence breaks out over fashion, and more. April 12, 1971—Women’s tennis plays its first game, defeating Penn 5-to-1. April 14, 1947—As the New Jersey telephone workers strike enters…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 5-11
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Princetonians join NOW’s rally in Washington, the Board of Trustees urge parents not to send their children too much money, and more. April 5, 1877—Marveling at the possibilities the intention of the telephone has…
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Dear Mr. Mudd: Who Was Princeton’s First International Student?
Dear Mr. Mudd, Can you tell me who Princeton’s first international student was? Were there international students in the first graduating class? As with all questions about “firsts,” this one is too complicated to answer simply with someone’s name. We are aware that our records aren’t comprehensive, so we can only provide what we…
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This Week in Princeton History for March 29-April 4
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 1905 denounces racial exclusion, Elm Club opens, and more. March 29, 1940—Socialist presidential candidate Norman Thomas, Class of 1905, takes Princeton’s racial exclusion to task in the Princeton…
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Princeton Meets the Near East: John Van Antwerp MacMurray’s Ambassadorship in Turkey
By Diana Dayoub ’21 The connections between Princeton and the Near East are not self-evident. My tentative effort to uncover some link between the North American university I consider home now and the part of the Orient where I was born and raised seemed almost futile until I discovered the John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers…