On This Day In History: Harvard University – America’s Oldest Learning Institution Was Founded – On Oct 28, 1636

AncientPages.com - On October 28, 1636, Harvard University - America's oldest learning institution, was formed.

Harvard Yard winter 2009.

Harvard Yard winter 2009. Image credit: chensiyuan - CC BY-SA 4.0

It was initially called "New College" or "the college at New Towne." In 1639, the College was renamed Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard of Charlestown left half of his estate to help finance the University.

A statue of John Harvard stands today in front of University Hall in Harvard Yard and is perhaps the University's best-known landmark.

The University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 20,000-degree candidates, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. There are more than 360,000 living alumni in the U.S. and over 190 other countries.

John Harvard statue, Harvard Yard.

John Harvard statue on Harvard Yard. Image credi: Jessica Williams  - CC BY-SA 3.0

According to its financial backing, the University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is currently a leading academic institution, estimated at 24.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Harvard University has around 20,000 students across the College, graduate, and professional schools in Cambridge and Boston. When people refer to Harvard students, they often mean the subset of roughly 6,400 students who attend Harvard College. Students arrive every year in late August.

Students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries; from cities, suburbs, small towns, and farms; from the public, private and parochial schools; from every ethnic and religious background.

Several U.S. presidents graduated from Harvard, and 75 Nobel Prize winners studied or lectured there.

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