Harvard University, founded as a college in 1638, is the oldest, richest, and best equipped of the institutions of learning in the United States. It is located at Cambridge (q.v.), Copyright 1890 in U.S. Massachusetts, and its numerous buildings (nearly fifty) are the Company. chief features of the town. It was named in honour of the Rev. John Harvard, who was probably born in Southwark in 1607, graduated in 1635 at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, came to New England in 1637, and, dying in 1638, bequeathed to the proposed college his library of over 300 volumes and £779. During the colonial period the avowed object of Harvard College was 'the education of the English and Indian youth in knowledge and godliness,' mainly with a view to their entering the Puritan ministry: only one Indian ever graduated (in 1665). In its infancy the college was supported by voluntary contributions from the churches, and by grants from the Massachusetts colony, but for a long time it was a rather obscure and feeble school. Its expansion into a university, its deliverance from sectarian control, and its independence from the state have been accomplished during the 19th century. During the same period its resources have enormously increased, and almost wholly from private donations. It was mainly under the rule of the state until 1863, when by statute the government was vested in a board of thirty overseers, in six classes of five members each, chosen by the alumni; one class being renewed annually. The overseers direct the courses of study and general management, but the nominations of professors and other officers are made by the 'corporation,' consisting of the president and five fellows, a self-perpetuating body, originally created by charter in 1650, and holding all the property of the university as trustees. The nominations made by the 'corporation' require confirmation by the overseers.
The halls for 'recitations' and lectures, and for students' lodgings, as also the chapel, library, and law-school, are in a square called the college yard, containing about 15 acres, planted with beautiful elms. The other buildings are in other parts of the town, not far distant, and occupy about 60 acres. The Agassiz museum of comparative zoology is world-famous. The Peabody museum of American archaeology and ethnology dates from 1866; and in 1890 a sum of $50,000 was given to found a museum of Semitic antiquities. The most imposing edifice is Memorial Hall, built in honour of the alumni who fell during the civil war. It is 310 feet in length, and 115 in breadth, and has a tower 200 feet high. An ample vestibule contains busts and mural tablets. The principal hall is 164 by 60 feet, and 80 feet to the ceiling. This has a fine collection of historical portraits. It is used as a dining-hall, and accommodates nearly 700 at table. At the eastern end is a beautiful theatre for public exercises on ceremonial occasions. Memorial Hall, built of brick and freestone, in Norman style, richly ornamented, needs only the mellowing touch of age to be one of the most impressive collegiate buildings in the world.
In the academic department the requirements for admission are high, and as a consequence few students enter before the age of eighteen. There is a choice of two lines of study, both including ancient classics, mathematics, and other sciences; but in one line the classics are prominent, in the other the sciences. There are also various minor elections of study; but no degree is given without some full course, thoroughly carried out. As the university is amply endowed, there are many scholarships in all the departments, besides prizes and aids of many sorts, amounting to about 45,000 per annum. Morning prayers are conducted by clergymen of different denominations in turn; and students must attend Sunday services at the church designated by their parents. The general library contains above 250,000 volumes; and other libraries raise the total to 360,000 volumes. There is a well-equipped observatory, besides a botanic garden and an arboretum. There are no fees payable to professors; each student on matriculation pays a general fee, and may attend as many courses as he elects. Expenses vary with the habits of the student, but necessary expenses need not exceed 1000 (£200) per annum.
The following are the departments included in the university: Harvard College, the Divinity School, the Law School, the Lawrence Scientific School, the Medical School, the Dental School (in Boston), the Bussey Institution (a school of agriculture), the School of Veterinary Medicine (in Boston), and the Graduate Department. Further, Radcliffe College (formerly called Harvard Annex) was organised in 1879 for the collegiate instruction of women by professors and instructors of Harvard; a four years' course preparing for a certificate corresponding to the B.A. degree. The total strength of the teaching staff in 1895 was close on 300 (about 100 being professors proper), and of the students near 3000, of whom 1700 were at the college—the others being at the various other connected institutes or departments. The total income is considerably more than 1,000,000 a year; the invested funds (exclusive of lands, buildings, books, and apparatus) amount to about 8,500,000. Though wholly unsectarian, the college has largely been in the hands of Unitarians. Amongst the alumni have been the Adamses, the Danas, Channing, Theo. Parker, Motley, Prescott, Bancroft, Emerson, Wendell Phillips, O. Wendell Holmes, Parkman, Lowell, Child, and Norton.
See J. Quincy, History of Harvard University (1860); Rendle's monograph on John Harvard (1885); Thayer, An Historical Sketch of Harvard University (1891); Four American Colleges (1895); Birkbeck Hill, Harvard College, by an Oxonian (1895).