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Opinion Amid standoff with US government, a brief history of Harvard University

Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard was the first college in the American colonies. It remains among the most prestigious universities in the world.

Despite what the plaque says, this statue is not of John Harvard. (Wikimedia Commons)

New DelhiMay 25, 2025 03:18 PM IST First published on: May 24, 2025 at 01:33 PM IST

A US federal judge on Friday (May 23) barred the Donald Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students a day after the policy was brought in.

Harvard University, one of the world’s most prestigious educational institutions, has been at the crosshairs of the administration since Trump took office in January. The latest development is the most serious escalation in the c0nflict yet.

Foreign students have made up more than a quarter of the university’s strength for the past three years, and the order could have significant repercussions. Here’s a brief history of how Harvard, a university often described as “older than the United States”, came to be.

When was Harvard University founded?

On October 28, 1636, Harvard, the first college in the American colonies, was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, almost a century-and-a-half before the the US Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

Originally called the New College, its mission was to train the clergy, much like many colleges in the renowned universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in England.

Who founded Harvard University?

According to its official website, Harvard received its now-famous name on March 13, 1639.

The university was named after the “renowned benefactor seated in “lies.”” This refers to a black statue on the campus, supposedly representing one John Harvard, a Puritan minister, with an engraving that says “founder”.

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However, this statue in all likelihood does not depict this man. And although he is often associated with the founding of the university, John Harvard was not really its founder nor did he study there (he studied at Cambridge). He was, however, its first major benefactor, who donated half of his estate and his library, which consisted of over 400 books.

The real founder of Harvard University was not an individual, but the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which took a vote to set up the institution. The city of Cambridge was then called “Newetowne”. In 1642, the first Harvard Commencement was held, with nine graduates.

And what is the “Ivy League”?

The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper at Harvard University, recorded in 1893 that the term for prestigious East Coast US colleges stems from a practice related to the actual Ivy plant. On one customary day in June before the graduation, known as Class Day, students would plant the ivy, in one of the several rituals commemorating the day.

The term “Ivy League” now refers to eight prestigious East Coast universities, including Yale, Princeton, and Columbia.