Radcliffe College was a liberal arts women's college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, closely associated with Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. It began to merge with Harvard in 1977, a process which finished in 1999. Radcliffe's campus now functions as a research institute within Harvard, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The date of establishment or date of founding of an institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point. ... The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. ...   Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ... Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires and the Pioneer Valley. ... A website (or Web site) is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital assets and hosted on a particular domain or subdomain on the World Wide Web. ... A liberal arts college is an institution of higher education found in the United States, offering programs in the liberal arts at the post-secondary level. ... Womens colleges in the United States were primarly founded during the early 19th century. ...   Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1636,[2] Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning still operating in the United States. ... The Seven Sisters is the name given in 1927 to seven liberal arts womens colleges in the Northern United States. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. ...

History

The "Harvard Annex," a private program for the instruction of women by Harvard faculty, was founded in 1879 after prolonged efforts by women to gain access to Harvard. Backed by the Woman's Education Association of Boston and led by a committee of women managers, the Annex was incorporated in 1882 as the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women, with Elizabeth Cary Agassiz as president. Agassiz and the WEA hoped that by raising an endowment they would convince Harvard to take on the work of educating women. The university however, resisted. ^[1]. In 1904, a popular historian wrote of its genesis: "...it set up housekeeping in two unpretending rooms in the Appian Way, Cambridge.... Probably in all the history of colleges in America there could not be found a story so full of colour and interest as that of the beginning of this woman's college. The bathroom of the little house was pressed into service as a laboratory for physics, students and instructors alike making the best of all inconveniences. Because the institution was housed with a private family, generous mothering was given to the girls when they needed it." ^[2] 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

It was chartered as Radcliffe College by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1894 (the Boston Globe reported "President of Harvard To Sign Parchments of the Fair Graduates").^[3]. It is named for Lady Ann Mowlson, born Radcliffe, who established the first scholarship at Harvard in 1643. The first president was Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, widow of Harvard professor Louis Agassiz. Radcliffe built its own campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from that of Harvard. This article is about the U.S. State. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Lady Anne Moulson (sometimes Ann and/or Mowlson), born Anne Radcliffe (sometimes Radclyffe) (?-1661), was an early benefactor of the fledgling colonial Harvard College. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (nee Cary) (1822 - 1907) was a U.S. educator. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...   Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ...

By 1896, the Globe could headline a story: "Sweet Girls. They Graduate in Shoals at Radcliffe. Commencement Exercises at Sanders Theatre. Galleries Filled with Fair Friends and Students. Handsome Mrs. Agassiz Made Fine Address. Pres Eliot Commends the Work of the New Institution." The Globe said "Eliot stated that the percentage of graduates with distinction is much higher at Radcliffe than at Harvard" and that "although it is to yet to be seen whether the women have the originality and pioneering spirit which will fit them to be leaders, perhaps they will when they have had as many generations of thorough education as men."^[4]

During World War II, Harvard and Radcliffe signed an agreement which allowed women to attend classes at Harvard for the first time, officially beginning joint instruction in 1943. From 1963, Radcliffe students received Harvard diplomas signed by the presidents of Radcliffe and Harvard, and joint commencement exercises began in 1970. The same year, several Harvard and Radcliffe dormitories began swapping students experimentally, and in 1972 full co-residence was instituted. The schools' departments of athletics merged shortly thereafter. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women at the same school facilities. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Refers to a set of physical activities comprising sports and games. ...

In 1977, Harvard and Radcliffe signed an agreement which put undergraduate women entirely in Harvard College, maintaining for them only a nominal enrollment in Radcliffe College. In practice most of the energies of Radcliffe (which remained an autonomous institution) were devoted to its other initiatives, such as the Bunting fellowship program, rather than to female undergraduates. During this time, the Harvard undergraduate community and class was officially known as "Harvard and Radcliffe" or "Harvard-Radcliffe", and female students continued to be awarded degrees signed by both presidents, even though Radcliffe usually had little to no impact on the average undergraduate's experience at the university. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelors degree. ...

On October 1, 1999, this quaint arrangement came to an end, as Radcliffe College was finally fully absorbed into Harvard University; female undergraduates were henceforward members only of Harvard College while Radcliffe College evolved into the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.^[5] Today the Radcliffe Institute awards dozens of annual fellowships to prominent academics. Its Schlesinger Library is one of America's largest repositories of manuscripts and archives relating to the history of women. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. ...

Several undergraduate student organizations in Harvard College still refer to Radcliffe in their names, (for example the Radcliffe Union of Students, Harvard's feminist organization, Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra and Radcliffe Choral Society). Two athletic teams still compete under the Radcliffe name: varsity crew, which still rows with Radcliffe's black-and-white oarblades and uniforms instead of Harvard's crimson-and-white (in 1973 the team had been the only varsity team which voted not to adopt the Harvard name); and club rugby. In addition, the Harvard University Band still plays a Radcliffe fight song. The logo of the Pierian Sodality of 1808 The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO) is a collegiate symphony orchestra comprised of Harvard students and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... A rugby union scrum. ... The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student marching band of Harvard University. ... A fight song is primarily a sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. ...

Notable alumnae and list of presidents

Main article: List of Radcliffe College people

A number of Radcliffe alumnae have gone on to become notable in their respective fields such as authors Gertrude Stein and Margaret Atwood, Benazir Bhutto, ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan and actress [[Stockard Channing]. The following is a list of individuals associated with Radcliffe College through attending as a student, or serving as college president. ... Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 29, 1946) was an American writer and catalyst in the development of modern art and literature, who spent most of her life in France. ... Margaret Eleanor Atwood, OC (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian writer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Popular culture

• "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can": an episode of The Simpsons where Lisa Simpson is tempted by the Siren-like representatives of the Seven Sisters (and George Plimpton), who offer a free ride to the Sister school of her choice (and a George Plimpton hot plate) if she will throw a Spelling Bee [1].
• Radcliffy: An adjective coined by the dating website OkCupid to describe a characteristics stereotypically associated with females who go to Harvard University.[2]
• All About Eve: The film's script references Radcliffe twice: Once, when Margo (Bette Davis) says to Karen (Celeste Holm), "Please don't play governess, Karen. I haven't your unyielding good taste. I wish I could have gone to Radcliffe too, but father wouldn't hear of it. He needed help behind the notions counter. I'm being rude now, aren't I? Or should I say, ain't I?" [3] ; and again, as Lloyd (Hugh Marlowe) tells Karen, "That bitter cynicism of yours is something you've acquired since you left Radcliffe!," Karen replying, "The cynicism you refer to, I acquired the day I discovered I was different from little boys!" [4]

Im Spelling as Fast as I Can is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character on the animated television series The Simpsons, and is voiced by Yeardley Smith. ... The Seven Sisters is the name given in 1927 to seven liberal arts womens colleges in the Northern United States. ... George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1636,[2] Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning still operating in the United States. ... All About Eve is a 1950 movie drama written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, from the story The Wisdom of Eve, by Mary Orr. ... Bette Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989), born Ruth Elizabeth Davis, was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. ... Holm, circa 1950 Celeste Holm (born April 29, 1919, but some sources indicate 1917) is an American stage, film, and television actress. ... Marlowe in Night and the City (1950) Hugh Marlowe was a film, television, stage and radio actor. ...

See also

• Quadrangle (Harvard)

The Quadrangle, looking north toward Pforzheimer House. ...

References

• Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993 (2nd edition).

Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz is the Sydenham Clark Parsons Professor of History at Smith College. ...

Footnotes

Books about Radcliffe

• Dowst, Henry Payson; John Albert Seaford (1913). Radcliffe College. H. B. Humphrey Company. . Brief text; content is mostly illustrations by John Albert Seaford Online page images and PDF at Google Books

External links

• Radcliffe Institute For Advanced Study—Harvard University
• Her Two Lives The biography of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study's Founder by author Elaine Yaffe
• Radcliffe Crew