History of Harvard University History of Harvard University Harvard College, around which Harvard University eventually grew, was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. For centuries, its graduates dominated Massachusetts' clerical and civil ranks and beginning in the 19th century its stature became national, then international, as a dozen graduate and professional schools were formed alongside the nucleus undergraduate College. Historically influential in national roles are the schools of medicine (1782), law (1817) and business (1908) as well as the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1890). Since the late 19th century
Harvard University The facilities were made possible by a gift from Yale University alumnus Edward Harkness. Radcliffe Yard, formerly the center of the campus of Radcliffe College and now home of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, is adjacent to the Graduate School of Education and the Cambridge Common. Between 2014 and 2016, Harvard University reported crime statistics for its main Cambridge campus that included 141 forcible sex offenses, 33 robberies, 46 aggravated assaults, 151 burglaries, and 32 cases of motor vehicle theft. Harvard also has commercial real estate holdings in Cambridge and Allston, on which it pays property taxes.