Statue Views

University Hall

Inside Hall

JOHN HARVARD STATUE AND UNIVERSITY HALL

   In 1884 Samuel J. Bridge presented the University with a bronze statue of John Harvard as conceived by Daniel Chester French. At the unveiling, President Eliot recalled Harvard's bequest, saying, "He will teach that one disinterested deed of hope and faith may crown a brief and broken life with deathless fame." The statue is nicknamed "The Statue of Three Lies."
   Behind the statue, University Hall (1815), designed by Charles Bulfinch, divides the Old Yard from the New. The Hall was originally constructed to provide dining, classroom, and chapel space. Currently the building holds the offices of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of Harvard College, and the Dean of Students in the College.

THE THREE LIES 1) Since there are no known portraits of John Harvard, French used a student as a model. 2) Harvard College was not founded by John Harvard, but named after him. 3) The College was founded in 1636, not 1638, by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.   top: The statue of John Harvard sits outside University Hall. left: Some visitors touch John Harvard's shoe for good luck.