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This Week in Princeton History for November 14-20
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, football rivalry with Yale begins, an African American graduate breaks through a color barrier, and more. November 14, 1969—Charles Conrad, Jr. ’53 is in command of the Apollo 12 mission, the second mission in…
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This Week in Princeton History for November 7-13
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a member of the Class of 1903 casts his vote, students burn the American flag in protest, and more. November 7, 1955—Today’s issue of Life features Princeton mascot Michael A. Briggs ’57.
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This Week in Princeton History for October 31-November 6
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the football team scores a historic win, the campus mourns a favorite squirrel, and more. November 1, 1877—The Princetonian complains that everyone is annoyed “by the too boisterous singing of Freshmen” on the north…
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This Week in Princeton History for October 24-30
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a member of the Class of 1922 tries to avert nuclear war, a brawl breaks out in chapel, and more. October 24, 1914—Princeton University plays its first game in the newly constructed Palmer Stadium,…
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Kidnapping Handsome Dan XII
Princeton University’s intense football rivalry with Yale is a longstanding tradition. The tiger has been challenging the bulldog on the gridiron for well over a century. The mascots have done figurative battle with one another about as much as the students have, a fight commemorated in song, line drawings, and magazine covers. In 1979, a…
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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 History for November 9-15
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the school holds its first Commencement, a “food revolt” causes tension between students and administrators, and more. November 9, 1748—The College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) holds its first Commencement in Newark, where…
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The Origins of the “Ivy League”
Q. Dear Mr. Mudd, Where did the term “Ivy League” come from, and what schools are in it? A. The eight universities belonging to the Ivy League are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. The idea dates back to October 1933 when Stanley Woodward, a sports writer for the New York Herald Tribune,…
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A Princeton Thanksgiving
Last year, Princeton University extended its Thanksgiving break, after lengthy discussions on the merits of canceling Wednesday classes before the holiday. Now, students have the equivalent of a five day weekend to observe Thanksgiving. Most will probably leave campus for feasts involving turkey and cranberry sauce, but that hasn’t always been the Princeton way. Thanksgiving…
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Accessing Early University History through Publications
Written by Rossy Mendez It can often be a daunting task to find University-related publications from the nineteenth century. Fortunately, a number are available in Princeton’s collections and online. You can search for these publications directly through the main library catalog or by using the finding aids site to search across the university’s special…
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