This blog includes text and images drawn from historical sources that may contain material that is offensive or harmful. We strive to accurately represent the past while being sensitive to the needs and concerns of our audience. If you have any feedback to share on this topic, please either comment on a relevant post, or use our Ask Us form to contact us.

This Week in Princeton History for July 11-17


In this week’s installment of our recurring series, a baseball player turns pro, a former instructor laments the loss of the gymnasium, and more.

July 11, 1818—London’s Literary Gazette overviews the state of American college education, singling out Princeton as the only institution with “any systematic lectures on moral philosophy.” The writer goes on,

The Americans have no standard for pronunciation; their English is nevertheless tolerably incorrupt, yet they read Latin and Greek in the Scottish manner, owing to the dead languages having been taught by persons belonging to that country.

July 14, 2003—Thomas Pauly ’04 signs a contract with the Cincinnati Reds.

July 16, 1979—The Department of Health, Education and Welfare announces a grant of $250,000 to Firestone Library to index and catalog collections of Chinese materials, English and American literary manuscripts, and the American Civil Liberties Union records. The grant will also support microfilming of a file of Arabic manuscripts.

July 17, 1944—In a letter to Dean Kenneth H. Condit that is printed in this date’s issue of the Princeton Bulletin, former graphics instructor Harry M. McCully writes from New Guinea, where he is serving in the Army, “Mother sent me a clipping about the fire in the Gym…I know it was a sad day at Princeton.”

Trophy room of Princeton’s University Gymnasium after fire, 1943. Department of Facilities Records (AC041), Box 34.

For the previous installment in this series, click here.

Fact check: We always strive for accuracy, but if you believe you see an error, please contact us.


One response to “This Week in Princeton History for July 11-17”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.