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This Week in Princeton History for May 23-29
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a firecracker explodes in Nassau Hall, an athlete pitches the first no-hitter ever recorded in baseball history, and more. May 24, 1916—Princeton professor Alfred Noyes gives a public reading of his poetry, including his…
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An Update on the Earliest Records of Jewish Students at Princeton
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the search to find the first Jewish student at Princeton. As I noted, the “first” student in any category is probably impossible to determine. However, I was able to find a record suggesting possible Jewish presence dating back to 1859, when Albert Mordecai of the Class of 1863 arrived to…
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This Week in Princeton History for May 16-22
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Thomas Mann says he has found a new home, a miniseries about a professor premieres, and more. May 16, 1959—In today’s issue of Nation, Princeton University’s resident psychiatrist, Louis E. Reik, writes of Cold…
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This Week in Princeton History for May 9-15
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, President Taft is visiting, fire ravages the campus, and more. May 11, 1912—U.S. President William Howard Taft is the guest of John Grier Hibben at Prospect House on campus, having come to celebrate Hibben’s…
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Mother Loves Me
With Mother’s Day coming up, we thought now was a great time to highlight this theater poster from our General Princeton Theater Collection (AC385). “Mother Loves Me” was a 1958 one-act musical comedy written and produced for Theatre Intime by Clark Gesner ’60, a member of the Triangle Club who also contributed to a few…
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This Week in Princeton History for May 2-8
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the first Triangle Show is performed, two freshmen kick a soccer ball to Manhattan and back, and more. May 2, 1983—Reporters descend on Princeton University to ask current students for their reaction to the…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 25-May 1
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, John F. Kennedy urges students to enter politics, the campus bids farewell to a landmark, and more. April 25, 1957—Senator John F. Kennedy addresses the Class of 1957 in Dillon Gymnasium, urging their involvement…
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Grading at Princeton University
We sometimes get questions about what people see in alumni files. One of the more challenging things about reading academic records is dealing with unfamiliar grading rubrics. For example, we shared F. Scott Fitzgerald’s grade card with you a while ago. Though a dropped semester and repeated classes would indicate he did not do so…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 18-24
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 Abraham Lincoln, Fidel Castro pays a visit, and more. April 19, 1865—Someone etches “We Mourn Our Loss” into a window on the third floor of Nassau Hall in reference to the assassination…
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Dear Mr. Mudd: Who Was Princeton’s First Jewish Student?
Q. Dear Mr. Mudd, Who was the first Jewish student at Princeton? A. An exhibit at the Historical Society of Princeton speculated that Albert Mordecai of the Class of 1863 was “very likely the first” Jewish student at the College of New Jersey (now named Princeton University). Although Mordecai might well have been the first Jewish student…