Harvard's Trailblazing Students: Firsts And Their Legacies

who was the first what student at harvard university

Harvard University has a long and fascinating history, with many firsts. From Benjamin Woodbridge, the first graduate in 1652, to the first medical instruction given to students in 1781, Harvard has been at the forefront of education for centuries. The University has also been a trailblazer in terms of gender equality, with women always being a part of the University, even if they weren't taught there until 1879. Alice Hamilton became the first woman appointed to Harvard's faculty in 1918, and in 2007, Drew Gilpin Faust became the first female president of the University. Harvard has also welcomed international students, with Kentarō Kaneko being one of the first two Japanese students to attend in 1874, and Naina becoming the first Indian woman to graduate from the Business School in 1982.

Characteristics	Values
First graduate	Benjamin Woodbridge
First woman to be appointed to Harvard's faculty	Alice Hamilton
First woman president of Harvard University	Drew Gilpin Faust
First Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School	Naina
First Japanese student to attend Harvard	Kentarō Kaneko

What You'll Learn

The first black graduates of Harvard Law School were George Lewis Ruffin, Archibald Grimke, Clement Morgan and William Henry Lewis
Alice Hamilton was the first woman to be appointed to Harvard's faculty
John Warren was the first Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at Harvard Medical School
John Harvard was the College's first benefactor
Harvard was the first college in the American colonies

The first black graduates of Harvard Law School were George Lewis Ruffin, Archibald Grimke, Clement Morgan and William Henry Lewis

Benjamin Woodbridge was the first graduate of Harvard College. Kentarō Kaneko was one of the first two Japanese students to attend Harvard, earning a degree from the Law School in 1874.

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Alice Hamilton was the first woman to be appointed to Harvard's faculty

Alice Hamilton was a pioneer for women at Harvard, and her appointment to the faculty was a significant step forward for gender equality at the university. She paved the way for future generations of women to pursue academic careers and leadership positions at Harvard.

Another notable woman in Harvard's history is Grace Hopper, a computing pioneer who was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer. She wrote what became the world's first programming manual. In 2007, Drew Gilpin Faust became the 28th President of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role.

Harvard has also been a trailblazer in other areas of diversity and inclusion. For example, Kentarō Kaneko was one of the first two Japanese students to attend Harvard, earning a degree from the Law School in 1874. He went on to help draft the Japanese constitution in 1889.

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John Warren was the first Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School officially opened in 1783 with high ceremony, under the name of the 'Medical Institution of Harvard University'.

John Warren was not the only professor at the newly founded Medical School. Benjamin Waterhouse was named to a second Medical School professorship, in the 'Theory and Practice of Physic'.

Harvard College, which was founded in 1636, was the first institution of higher learning in the American colonies.

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John Harvard was the College's first benefactor

John Harvard was the first benefactor of Harvard College. The college was named after him, a colonial philanthropist who established the first scholarship fund at Harvard in 1643.

Harvard College's first graduate was Benjamin Woodbridge, who was born in England but came to America in 1634 with his brother. He had been a member of Magdalen College in Oxford. Benjamin Woodbridge was one of nine bachelors who commenced at Cambridge in 1612, the year of the first class to graduate at Harvard College.

Harvard has a long history of notable alumni, including Kentarō Kaneko, one of the first two Japanese students to attend the university. Kaneko earned a degree from the Law School in 1874 and went on to help draft the Japanese constitution in 1889. Naina, the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School in 1982, is another notable alumna. She rose through the financial ranks in India and was named by Fortune magazine as "the third most powerful businesswoman in Asia".

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Harvard was the first college in the American colonies

Harvard has a long history of being the first to do many things. It was the first to award honorary "doctorates" in the 17th century, the first to have a woman on its faculty (Alice Hamilton in 1918), the first to have a female president (Drew Gilpin Faust in 2007), and the first to have a Japanese student (Kentarō Kaneko in 1874). It also had the first Indian woman to graduate from its Business School (Naina in 1982).

Harvard was founded on the plans of the English colleges which constitute the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Its first graduate was Benjamin Woodbridge, who was born in England but came to America in 1634.