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John Winthrop House is the one of the twelve undergraduate residences at Harvard College and home to slightly under 400 students. Image File history File linksMetadata Winthropcrest. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Winthropcrest. ...
Harvard Yard Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, having been founded in 1636. ...
Commonly referred to as Winthrop House, it consists of two buildings, Standish Hall and Gore Hall, both built in 1912 as separate freshman dormitories. In 1931 they were joined as John Winthrop House, one of the seven original Harvard houses in which students reside from their sophomore until their senior years. Historically, Winthrop was one of the first Harvard houses open to Catholic and Jewish students.
The house's name honors two notable men who shared the name John Winthrop—the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as well as his descendant, a famous astronomer who was both a professor and president of the university. The house crest is the Winthrop family coat of arms: a lion with three chevrons in the background.
The current "Masters" of Winthrop House are Stephen Peter Rosen and Mandana Sassanfar.
The two John Winthrops
The first John Winthrop (1588-1649) was a member of the English gentry. In 1630, at the age of 41, Winthrop sold his home and sailed for New England, recording his visions that the New World could be a "city on a hill." He served as leader of the Massachusetts Bay Company, then later became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a position he held for over sixteen years. John Winthrop was the name of several prominent figures in colonial New England. ...
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called by the name Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was the direct predecessor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and then the state of Massachusetts. ...
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, centered around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. ...
His great-great-great-grandson John Winthrop (1714-1779) was the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy from the age of 24 until his death at 65. Regarded as the first American astronomer, Winthrop also served briefly as the president of Harvard from 1773-1774. John Winthrop (December 19, 1714 – May 3, 1779) (not to be confused with his great-great-great-grandfather John Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony) was the 2nd Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Harvard College. ...
Structure
Architecture The two halls which would become Winthrop House were built in the same year and share many attributes. Both are four-story U-shaped buildings surrounding courtyards, with a gated open side facing the Charles River. Both have fifth floor living spaces at their central axis only. The facade of Gore Hall is based on Sir Christopher Wren's late-17th century garden wing of the Hampton Court Palace. Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, 1711. ...
Hampton Court Palace with the Union Jack flying Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, United Kingdom. ...
Gore Hall contains the Winthrop House dining hall in a below-street-level space at its center. In the same spot, Standish Hall contains the Winthrop House Library, which contains the largest private collection of John Singleton Copley portraits. When Standish was still a stand-alone dorminatory for freshmen, the library was its dining hall. Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Winthroplibrary. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Winthroplibrary. ...
Gates Two gates, both built in 1914, connect Gore and Standish halls. The front entrance, facing Mill street, is the Winthrop Gate, which has the family coat of arms welded prominently in the front.
On the river side stands the Fly Club Gate, an English baroque structure named after one of Harvard's male-only final clubs whose members provided a grant to build it. The panther symbol of the Fly Club is centered within the ironwork above the entry, and inscribed is the dedication: "For Friendships Made in College the Fly Club in Gratitude has Built this Gate." The Fly Club is a male-only final club at Harvard University, founded in 1836. ...
The Basics A final club is an all-male undergraduate social club at Harvard College. ...
Traditional Social Events
Arbella Ball The Winthrop Arbella Ball is the house's annual spring formal dance. Named after the Arbella, John Winthrop's sailboat, the ball typically features a large chocolate fountain, floating candles, tons of flowers, delicious food, a live swing band playing before a temporary dance floor set up in the Gore Courtyard, and a DJ in the Winthrop Junior Common Room. John Winthrop was the name of several prominent figures in colonial New England. ...
Debauchery Ball Winthrop has also hosted an annual fall dance entitled the Debauchery Ball. Attendees are given "Bauch Bucks" — essentially, Monopoly money—when entering the dance. Throughout the night, people pay fellow dancegoers to do certain things, such as remove clothing or kiss somebody. At the end of the evening, the dancegoers with the most money win prizes. Because this dance sometimes lives up to its name, it sometimes proved controversial and its hosting has been irregular in recent years. Monopoly is one of the best-selling commercial board games in the world. ...
Stein Club In 1955, Edward Kennedy came up with the idea of turning up Winthrop's Junior Common Room into a bar every Thursday night. The masters were apprehensive, but after students' positive reaction to the house's first few Stein Clubs, they decided to allow students to hold them on a regular basis. Eliot House immediately seized this idea, and started their own Stein Club; and before long, many other houses copied Teddy Kennedy's idea, claiming it as their own. In recent years, Stein Club has been a great time for House residents to relax before hitting the books. Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Ted Kennedy, (born February 22, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is a Democratic U.S. senator from Massachusetts. ...
Eliot House is one of twelve upper-class residential houses at Harvard University. ...
Thropstock Thropstock is Winthrop's annual spring carnival. Thropstock features blow up rides and amusements, a picnic lunch, cotton candy, and live music. In 1968, the then-up-and-coming guitar rocker Jimi Hendrix played at Thropstock. Every year, Harvard student bands play at the event - recent guests include the Dharma Seals, So Long Princess, and Plan B for the Type A's. James Marshall Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and cultural icon. ...
Alumni Winthrop House's most famous former inhabitant was President John F. Kennedy. Harvard University maintains Kennedy's former dorm room in Gore Hall as a private room for guests of the university, especially political notables who visit the Kennedy School of Government. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ...
John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ...
Other famous Winthrop alumni include Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke; United States Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.); United States Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.); conservative African-American activist Alan Keyes; conservative anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist, Nixon administration cabinet official and Watergate figure Elliot Richardson; and Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The Federal Reserve System is headquartered in the Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. The Federal Reserve System (also the Federal Reserve; informally The Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. ...
Ben Bernanke The Honorable Ben Shalom Bernanke (born December 13, 1953) (pronounced ber-NAN-kee, bər-nan-kē or ), macroeconomist, is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve (the Fed). He was previously Chairman of the U.S. Presidents Council of Economic...
Barney Frank (born March 31, 1940) is an American politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. ...
Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Ted Kennedy, (born February 22, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is a Democratic U.S. senator from Massachusetts. ...
Alan Keyes is a former American diplomat and was a Republican presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000. ...
Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is the president of the noted anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform, and a well-connected conservative activist with close ties to business and the media. ...
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ...
The term Watergate refers to a series of events, spanning from 1972 to 1974, that began with U.S. President Nixons administrations abuse of power toward the goal of undermining the Democratic Party and the opposition to the Vietnam War. ...
Elliot Lee Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of President Richard Nixon, but he managed to avoid being tainted by the Watergate Scandal. ...
William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...
Robert E. Rubin Robert Edward Rubin (born August 29, 1938) is an American financier, businessman, and politican who served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury for a period spanning both the first and second Clinton Administrations. ...
External link - Winthrop House official site
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