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The Changing Shape of American Football at the College of New Jersey (Princeton)
With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, our thoughts have turned toward the history of American football. We’ve repeated the fact several times: On November 6, 1869, the first intercollegiate football match ever was played on College Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey, between the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and Rutgers…
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This Week in Princeton University History for February 1-7
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Paramount Pictures pulls a movie over collegiate protest, Eleanor Roosevelt is on campus, and more. February 1, 1929—Under pressure from Princeton University’s president, John Grier Hibben, Paramount Pictures withdraws Varsity, a controversial movie set…
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Woodrow Wilson and the Eating Clubs
Written by Anna Rubin ’15 We are pleased to announce another newly digitized collection: the Woodrow Wilson Correspondence in the Office of the President Records. Wilson was president of Princeton University from 1902-1910, Governor of New Jersey 1911-1913, and U.S. President 1913-1921. This collection contains correspondence between Wilson and University faculty, administrators, alumni, and parents,…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 25-31
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a dissertation defense occurs 46 years late, Robert Frost gives a poetry reading, and more. January 25, 1992—75-year-old professor emeritus Milton Babbitt earns his Ph.D. in musicology 46 years after he initially submitted his…
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Princeton University During World War II
By April C. Armstrong *14 and Allie Lichterman ’16 In October 1939, as the Nazi war machine crushed Poland, Princeton University’s newly admitted freshman Class of 1943 voted Adolf Hitler the “greatest living being.” A year later, the next freshman class concurred with this decision. These votes reflect the widespread American apathy toward the Nazi…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 18-24
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a sleigh ride results in the arrest of 24 undergraduates, Theodore Roosevelt lectures on police reform, and more. January 18, 1879—A Columbia student is surprised when an innocent-seeming sleigh ride with Princeton students in…
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Princeton University During World War I
By Spencer Shen ’16 On the afternoon of September 24, 1914, President John G. Hibben gave an address to incoming freshman in Marquand Chapel, acknowledging that “the opening of this new academic year…presents to our minds a striking contrast: the peaceful setting of this assembly against the dark background of the terrible European war.” With…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 11-17
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the campus tries to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, a professor expresses irritation with William Jennings Bryan, and more. January 11, 1945—Princeton University Librarian Julian P. Boyd’s lunch with…
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Who Founded Princeton University?
Q. Dear Mr. Mudd, Who founded Princeton University? A. The founding of Princeton University is nearly as complex as the courses that have been and continue to be taught within its hallowed lecture halls. The College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was known until 1896) was a child of the Great Awakening, an institution born…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 4-10
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the school’s president petitions Bill Clinton for an end to a “discriminatory policy,” Nassau Hall gets new tigers, and more. January 4, 1836—Two students “having been detected in having ardent spirits in their rooms”…
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