The Friday Five: Five Fun Facts about Harvard University

By: max meade Dec 19, 2014Aug 23, 2016

1. Eight US presidents graduated from Harvard, including President Barack Obama.

President Obama by Anna — “Obama” by Anna/ CC BY 2.0

2. Eight Harvard alumni signed the Declaration of Independence.

Signing of the declaration of independance — “Declaration of Independence Painting” by Snowlepard/ CC BY 2.0

3. Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were roommates as freshman at Harvard.

Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore at Harvard

4. Harvard Students have nicknamed the famous Statue of John Harvard “The Statue of Three Lies.”

Why? The statue isn’t actually of John Harvard, John Harvard didn’t actually found Harvard University, and Harvard wasn’t founded in 1638. Still, Harvard students rub the statue’s toe for good luck before exams. That’s why it’s so shiny.

John Harvard Statue by il.irenelee — “John Harvard Statue” by il.irenelee/CC BY 2.0

5. Harvard was the first college built in the US, founded in 1636.

Harvard dining hall by NKCphoto — “Harvard Dining Hall” by NKCphoto/CC BY 2.0

Categories: Germ U, School Life Tags: Al Gore, Friday Five, Fun Facts About Harvard, Germ University, Harvard University, John Harvard Statue, The Friday Five, Tommy Lee Jones

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.