19th-century

July 3rd, 1883

A violent storm destroys the Chadbourne Gymnasium, the setting for the annual alumni dinner, smashing dishes, tables, and the building itself. Continue reading »

July 2nd, 1881

James A. Garfield, Class of 1856 and 20th President of the U.S., is shot by a disgruntled office seeker in a Washington, D.C., railroad station. Continue reading »

December 28th, 1871

One of Williams’s favorite sayings is born. At the annual dinner of the Williams Alumni Association James A. Garfield waxed rhapsodic about former President Mark Hopkins’s impact on education at the college. As no one took notes, we are uncertain of the exact words Garfield used. The saying, however, was… Continue reading »

June 29th, 1871

The Society of Alumni appoints a committee to “examine into the expediency of admitting women as students to college.” Prof. John Bascom, David Dudley Field, Francis H. Dewey, Clement Hugh Hill, and Rev. Henry Hopkins were appointed to study the introduction of coeducation and submit their report at the 1872… Continue reading »

November 10th, 1868

Williams students rebel against a faculty ruling that awards a zero for any absence from recitation, whether the absence was officially excused or not. In the student newspaper Vidette, Marshall Hapgood, non-graduate of the Class of 1872, described the students’ disagreement with a new faculty regulation . “Tuesday, November 10… Continue reading »

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