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This Week in Princeton History for March 18-24
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the Class of 1877 takes a look at the Milky Way, a campus publication urges the institution to examine its own prejudices while continuing to fight bigotry beyond it, and more. March 18, 1932—Campus…
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This Week in Princeton History for February 11-17
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, African American women express their views of campus, police are on the lookout for stolen silverware, and more. February 11, 1994—A group of students responds to an editorial cartoon with pleas for greater thoughtfulness…
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This Week in Princeton History for January 14-20
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 1801 walks 20 miles round trip to attend a memorial for George Washington, a class is lit with electric lamps, and more. January, 14, 1800—John Johnston, Class of…
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What Archival Silence Conceals—and Reveals: Recovering Princeton University’s 19th-Century African American Graduate Alumni
Archival silences distort the past, shaping our current and future self-understanding, so preserving Princeton’s history sometimes means attempting to correct the work of our predecessors. My struggle to bring 19th and early 20th-century African American graduate alumni to light illustrates one way white supremacy of that era continues to influence us today. It also supports…
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“A Tribute to Brian Taylor ’84”
By Justin Feil In honor of the first men’s basketball home game tonight, we pay homage to one of the Tiger court’s greatest. It was big news when Brian Taylor ‘84 (originally Class of 1973) chose to play basketball for Princeton University. It was bigger news when he became the first Princeton player, and one…
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This Week in Princeton History for October 30-November 5
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a letter provokes debate over race, undergraduates complain of excessive demands on their time, and more. October 30, 1942—A. M. Shumate ’29’s letter to the editor of the Princeton Alumni Weekly takes Daily Princetonian…
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This Week in Princeton History for March 27-April 2
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, eastern colleges convene to discuss the future of African Americans, a new invention draws interest, and more. March 27, 1972—A petition to end coeducation is circulating among undergraduates, the Daily Princetonian reports, quoting one…
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Integrating Princeton University: Robert Joseph Rivers ’53
As we have previously pointed out, Princeton’s first African American undergraduates were not purposefully admitted: they were instead brought as part of a Navy training program during World War II. In 1945, Trustee Laurence G. Payson wrote to fellow member of the Class of 1916 John McFerran Barr to explain the presence of black students…
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This Week in Princeton History for October 17-23
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a junior is arrested for anti-censorship activism in South Africa, the school celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding, and more. October 17, 1967—Bob Durkee ’69’s in-depth award-winning article, “A New Era for the Negro…
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William Taylor’s “Doggie Wagon”
Searching for materials in archival collections means, at times, trying to figure out how the people of the past would have labeled their photos, named their articles, or categorized their artifacts. They didn’t always use the same terms we would now. For this Black History Month, we examine William Taylor and how he illustrates the…
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