On this Day in NU History

September 30, 1995: Northwestern defeats Indiana 31-7 in Dyche Stadium, earning the Wildcats a #25 ranking in the AP Poll.

September 29, 1951: Dr. Alberto Gainza Paz begins a several day visit at Northwestern. Gainza Paz, a journalist and political activist who served as the editor of La Prensa, fled the nation after dictator Juan Peron destroyed the publication.

September 28, 1938: The Willard Hall dormitory is dedicated on the 99th anniversary of Frances Willard's birth. Members of Alpha Phi present of portrait of Willard to be displayed in the dormitory.

Read a brief biographical sketch about Frances Willard, social reformer, first Dean of Women at Northwestern, and second president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

September 27, 1958: After posting an 0-9 record in 1957, Northwestern kicks off the 1958 football season by defeating #10 Washington State, 29-28.

September 26, 1913: A gift of $250,000 is given to the university by banker N.W. Harris for the construction of a new humanities building to be known as Harris Hall.

September 25, 1948: Northwestern begins its Rose Bowl campaign with a 19-0 win over UCLA.

September 24, 1933: Northwestern president Walter Dill Scott is awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor by the French Ambassador to the US, Andre de Laboulaye.

Scott was honored for offering his expertise in psychological testing to the French army. (He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1919 by the US Government for similar services.)

September 23, 1955: Walter Dill Scott, President of Northwestern from 1920 to 1939, dies at the age of 86.

The University holds Walter Dill Scott's papers.

September 22, 1921: Leighton Mount, a Northwestern freshman, goes missing after the traditional freshman-sophomore class fight.

Mount's remains were found buried under a lakefront pier in the spring of 1923, attracting national media coverage. The cause of death was never determined.

September 21, 1932: Noted Northwestern geology professor U.S. Grant dies at the age of 65 following an operation.

September 20, 1939: Franklin Bliss Snyder addresses the student body for the first time in his new position as President of the University at the opening convocation, held at Evanston's First Methodist Church.

Snyder had joined the faculty of the English Department in 1909, and later served as Dean of the Graduate School, and then Vice President and Dean of Faculties, before being appointed President.

September 19, 1979: Sculptor Bruce White's steel sculpture "Aurora I" is installed at Northwestern as part of a sculpture loan program at the university.

September 18, 1993: Northwestern upsets #22 ranked Boston College on the gridiron by a score of 22-21. The game was televised nationally on ESPN.

September 17, 1952: Northwestern receives a $25,000 grant for the study of multiple sclerosis. The sum was given by Women's Division of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

September 16, 1963: James M. Slavin, former Denver Chief of Police, is appointed director of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute.

September 15, 1959: Jim Andreotti, Gene Gossage, Ron Burton, and Mike Stock are named co-captains of the 1959 Wildcats football squad.

September 14, 1887: C.S. Cook becomes professor of physics at Northwestern.

September 13, 1995: A demolition crew attempts to raze the Lindheimer Observatory by exploding 50 lbs of dynamite at its base, but the structure remains standing.

After a failed attempt to pull the observatory down with a truck and steel cables the next day, the structure was finally collapsed by the extended use of blowtorches.

September 12, 1981: Dennis Green coaches his first game as head coach of the Northwestern football team. The Wildcats lose at home to Indiana, 21-20.

September 11, 1940: Northwestern University's Board of Trustees issues a general statement of principle in support of the selective service, describing it as a "timely, efficient, democratic method of strengthening the armed forces of the nation."

September 10, 1963: Northwestern scientists announce an in-progress plan to land an unmanned astronomical observatory on the moon.

September 9, 1952: Northwestern President J. Roscoe Miller denies the existence of Communists in the faculty and administration.

He was responding to a claim made by Dr. Bella V. Dodd, former member of the Communist party, that over 1,500 Communist party members were faculty members at American universities.

September 8, 1869: University Hall officially opens. Construction costs total $125,000.

Read more about the history of Northwestern's iconic University Hall.

September 7, 1945: Northwestern's Naval ROTC program receives a 19-ton cannon to be used for training purposes, but not for firing.

September 6, 1944: Professor William F. Bryan, chairman of the English department, announces his retirement after serving on the Northwestern faculty since 1910.

September 5, 1941: Northwestern Law School professor Newman F. Baker dies in a car accident en route to New Orleans from Baton Rouge.

September 4, 1961: The Northwestern Medical School receives a grant of $250,000 for the establishment and improvement of clinical research centers.

September 3, 1945: Northwestern University signs an agreement with WBKB to televise its football games in the fall. NU is the first Midwestern school to have its football games televised.

September 2, 1995: Northwestern defeats Notre Dame 17-15 in Notre Dame Stadium to open the 1995 season, a season which saw the Wildcats win an outright Big Ten Championship and earn its second ever trip to the Rose Bowl.

September 1, 1890: Henry Wade Rogers is elected president of the university. Rogers held office for ten years.

Read more about Henry Wade Rogers