Continuing a 120-year-old tradition, the College will celebrate its alumni and welcome new students to the institution during the annual Dartmouth Night and Homecoming, to be held this year on Oct. 9 and 10.
The annual Dartmouth Night bonfire will take place on the Green on Friday, Oct. 9. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)
First held on Sept. 17, 1895, Dartmouth Night was introduced by President William Jewett Tucker to give the College a day to invite alumni back to their alma mater and to celebrate their achievements. It was an immediate success.
On that first night, alumni, faculty, and students gathered in a historic building called “The Old Chapel,” which was decorated for the occasion with paintings of famous alumni such as Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, and Thaddeus Stevens, Class of 1814, and the founder of the College, Eleazar Wheelock.
Just as they do today, the president and prominent alumni spoke, and the Dartmouth College Glee Club sang. Nine speakers, including judges, a congressman, a prominent doctor, and law school student M.B. Jones, Class of 1894, took the stage. (Jones was asked to represent the younger alumni.) President Tucker read four letters of regret, including one from the editor of The New York Times, Charles R. Miller, Class of 1872.
Visit the Dartmouth Alumni Relations website for this year’s Homecoming schedule.
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