Tag Archives: Firestone Library

This Week in Princeton History for April 27-May 3

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In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, James McCosh is elected president of the College, thousands turn out to witness Firestone Library open for the first time, and more.

April 27, 1980—Princeton Against Registration and the Draft (PARD) holds its second protest of Jimmy Carter’s proposal for requiring registration for selective service, in spite of the country not being at war.

April 29, 1868—The Board of Trustees elects James McCosh as president of the College of New Jersey.

James McCosh, ca. 1870s. Historical Photograph Collection, Individuals Series (AC067), Box AD13.

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This Week in Princeton History for December 10-16

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In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a graduate receives his second Nobel Prize, a Native American member of the Class of 1762 complains of “too much confinement” in Nassau Hall, and more.

December 10, 1972—John Bardeen *36 accepts his second Nobel Prize in physics and becomes the only two-time laureate in the same field.

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To honor of the accomplishments of John Bardeen *36, Princeton University chose him as the first recipient of the James Madison medal in 1973. Note that the graduation year on the medallion is incorrect. Bardeen earned his Ph.D. in 1936, not 1939. Princeton University Memorabilia Collection (AC053), Box E-1. Photos by April C. Armstrong.
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This Week in Princeton University History for December 25-31

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a chaplain tries to negotiate the release of hostages in Iran, the New York Times announces a new partnership, and more.

December 25, 1980—John T. Walsh, Princeton University’s Southern Baptist chaplain, meets with Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini to discuss the release of American hostages.

Photo from the Daily Princetonian.

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This Week in Princeton History for December 11-17

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, an atomic bomb survivor speaks on campus, a numismatist gives a lecture to women in town about an archaeological dig, and more.

December 11, 1995—Hiroshima bombing survivor Michiko Yamaoka tells an audience in a crowded McCormick 101 about her experience with the world’s first nuclear attack and its aftermath and why she believes the weapons must never be used. Saying her hatred for the United States and Japan for going to war has been replaced by a hatred for war itself, she instead urges communication. “I realized how important it was to meet people across boundaries that had separated us, to have a meeting of the hearts.”

Melted roof tile from Hiroshima University. Atomic-Bombed Roof Tiles from Hiroshima University (AC408), Box 1. To read more about the impact of the blast in Hirsohima, see our previous blog post. To learn more about Princeton University’s involvement in the development of the atomic bomb, visit our current exhibition on display through June 2018.

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This Week in Princeton History for October 2-8

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, smoking in class comes to an end, a woman against female suffrage speaks in Alexander Hall, and more.

October 3, 1981—A hawk crashes through a window in Firestone Library, knocking a 6-inch hole in the glass. Startled students studying near the window capture the injured bird, which will ultimately be released near Lot 21.

October 4, 1960—Students protest a new rule against smoking in class.

Cartoon from the Daily Princetonian.

October 5, 1915—Minnie Bronson of the Princeton Branch of the New Jersey Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage gives an address in Alexander Hall.

October 6, 1930—The Daily Princetonian receives a note in response to a subscription postcard from Wilson Aull of the Class of 1891 accusing the paper of being “a traitor to the U. S. Constitution” because of its stand on the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition). Aull declines to subscribe.

For last week’s installment in this series, click here.

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This Week in Princeton History for September 11-17

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, books move to Firestone Library, the academic calendar shifts to make room for reading week, and more.

September 11, 1948—The transfer of 800,000 books from East Pyne Hall to Firestone Library, a process that has taken a total of 10 weeks, successfully finishes today.

Students move books from Chancellor Green to Firestone Library, 1948. Historical Photograph Collection, Campus Life Series (AC112), Box MP04, Image No. 59.

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This Week in Princeton History for August 1-7

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a movie featuring the campus premieres, the library implements a new security policy, and more.

August 1, 1944—Wilson, a biopic film about Woodrow Wilson of the Class of 1879 partially set and filmed on campus, premieres at Roxy Theatre in New York.

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Ticket to the premiere of Wilson, August 1, 1944. Woodrow Wilson Collection (MC168), Box 45, Folder 6.

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This Week in Princeton History for March 21-27

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a fugitive steals a professor’s car to make his getaway, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel makes a big splash, and more.

March 22, 1980—About 45 Princeton students join 30,000 protesters in Washington, D.C. at an anti-draft rally.

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Princeton’s banner at the Washington anti-draft rally, March 22, 1980. Photo from the Daily Princetonian.

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This Week in Princeton History for March 7-13

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Nassau Hall is almost totally destroyed, undergraduates rescue stranded train passengers, and more.

March 9, 1770—The Providence Gazette reports that James Caldwell (Class of 1759) is on his way back to Princeton from Charleston, South Carolina with ₤700 he has raised for the College of New Jersey.

Caldwell_Board_of_Trustees_26_Sep_1770

The Board of Trustees acknowledged Caldwell’s efforts at their next meeting on September 26, 1770. By then he had reportedly raised over ₤1,000. Minutes of the Board of Trustees of the College of New Jersey/Princeton University, Vol. 1, Board of Trustees Records (AC102).

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This Week in Princeton History for September 7-13

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In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Firestone Library opens, the campus reels from domestic terrorism, and more.

September 7, 1948—With much of the interior construction not yet complete, Firestone Library opens to students and faculty for the first time.

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Interior of Firestone Library, ca. 1948. Historical Photograph Collection, Grounds and Buildings Series (AC111), Box AD04, Image No. 8223.

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