Heraldry of Harvard University

Harvard University adopted an official seal soon after it was founded in 1636 and named "Harvard College" in 1638; a variant is still used. Each school within the university (Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, etc.) has its own distinctive arms as well, as do many other internal administrative units such as the Harvard College residential "Houses" and the Harvard Library. Many extracurricular organizations—​​such as clubs, societies and athletic teams—​​have their own arms as well, often based on those of Harvard itself.

Harvard University Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Harvard University

Description

The Harvard University Coat of Arms, or shield, has a field of the color Harvard Crimson, and in the foreground has three open books, with the Latin word "VERITAS" (truth) inscribed across the them. This shield provides the basis for the shields of the University's various schools.

History

The Harvard Board of Overseers originally designed the shield in meetings in December 1643 and January 1644. However, the design was forgotten until rediscovered by University President Josiah Quincy and revealed in the bicentennial celebrations of 1836. In 1843, the Harvard Corporation officially adopted it as seal, and the seal in use today is very similar.^[1]

References

Sources

• Hammond, Mason (July 1981). "A Harvard Armory: Part I". Harvard Library Bulletin XXIX (3): 261–297. 
• Hammond, Mason (October 1981). "A Harvard Armory: Part II". Harvard Library Bulletin XXIX (4): 361–402. 
• Hammond, Mason (Summer 1986). "A Harvard Armory: Part III". Harvard Library Bulletin. XXXIV (3): 251–293. 
• Hammond, Mason (Summer 1987). "Official Terms in Latin and English for Harvard College or University". Harvard Library Bulletin XXXV (3): 294–310. 
• Harvard University. Corporation. Seals, 1650-[1926]. UAI 15.1310, Harvard University Archives.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (September 1933). "Harvard Seals and Arms". Harvard Graduates' Magazine 42. 
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1936). "Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century. Part I": 11. 
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1995). "The Founding of Harvard College": 3,193,325,328–30. 
• Rosenmeier, Jesper (January 1968). "Veritas: The Sealing of the Promise". Harvard Library Bulletin XVI (1): 26–37. 
• Spindle, Robert B. (May–June 1996). "02138. Arms and the (10,000) men.". Harvard Magazine. Vol. 98 no. 5. Letter to the editor. 
• Bethell, John T. (March–April 1996). "Variations on a Theme". Harvard Magazine. Vol. 98 no. 4. 
• Williams, George Huntston (2014). Divinings: Religion at Harvard: From Its Origins in New England Ecclesiastical History to the 175th Anniversary of The Harvard Divinity School, 1636–1992. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 82. ISBN 978-3-525-55056-4. 
• Harvard University. Corporation. Seals, 1650-[1926]. UAI 15.1310, Harvard University Archives.

External links

• Seal of approval, May 14, 2015, Harvard Gazette

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