A Harvard Diploma From 1765, Signed by President Edward Holyoke, Colonial Scientist John Winthrop, And Minister Nathaniel Appleton

Harvard College in 1765 looked very different than the university of today. There was but one school, and most of the men who attended went on to lives as clergymen.  But this period saw great change and that percentage was already beginning to diminish.

Preeminent colonial scientist John Winthrop (the great-great-grandson of the great early American figure) was brought in as Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard in 1738 and taught until his death in 1779. He was the first important scientist to teach at Harvard and a highly regarded pioneer in mathematics and astronomy in the American colonies.

The presidency of Edward Holyoke brought many distinctive features to Harvard that endure to this day. The earliest evidence for the singing of the now-traditional Commencement hymn (a setting of Psalm 78: “Give ear, my children“) comes from Holyoke’s 1737 installation. Two venerable Harvard structures arose during his term: Holden Chapel (1744) and Hollis Hall (1763). A third, Old Harvard Hall, was lost to fire in 1764 (along with nearly all the College library and scientific equipment housed within its walls).

Nathaniel Appleton was the minister and religious leader of the town of Cambridge and university.

Document Signed, October 21, 1765, the Harvard Diploma of Nathaniel Battle of Dover, Massachusetts.  This diploma is signed by Harvard President Edward Holyoke and by Professor of Math and Philosophy John Winthrop, as well as Nathaniel Appleton.  It is interesting that the diplomas of that date do not specify reference Harvard, but refer to the school as Cambridge in New England.

A rare document showing Harvard in an early and momentous period. Within a few years, the Revolution would break out, in which many Harvard graduates (like John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock) would take a leading role.