On this Day in NU History
October 2009 Archives
October 31, 2009
October 31, 1924: Five cars are destroyed after a homecoming bonfire burns out of control near the fraternity quads.
October 30, 2009
October 30, 1956: Members of the Psi Upsilon fraternity withdraw Chinese-American student Sherman Wu on the basis of his race.
The incident would inspire folksinger Pete Seeger's "The Ballad of Sherman Wu."
October 29, 2009
October 29, 1945: Edwin H. Armstrong, professor of electrical engineering at Columbia University and inventor of the FM radio, delivers a speech on the uses of radio in war and peace at the Technological Institute auditorium.
October 28, 2009
October 28, 1908: John F. Hayford is named as the first dean of Northwestern's new engineering school.
2009 is the centennial of the engineering school, which became today's Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Read more about the history of the school.
October 27, 2009
October 27, 1962: Northwestern defeats Notre Dame at home 35-6, extending its record to 5-0, and earning the team the #1 AP ranking.
October 26, 2009
October 26, 1975: Northwestern's Pick-Staiger Concert Hall opens with a concert from the University Symphony Orchestra and pianist Ralph Votapek.
October 25, 2009
October 25, 1996: Moody E. Prior, a longtime member of the Northwestern English faculty and dean of the Graduate School from 1951 to 1964, dies at the age of 95.
The Archives holds the Moody Prior Papers.
October 24, 2009
October 24, 1896: Northwestern defeats the University of Chicago, 46-6, in the school's first conference football game after the establishment of the conference now known as the Big Ten.
October 23, 2009
October 23, 1959: Psi Upsilon's pet skunk, "P.U.," moves into the charter's house. Several weeks later, the skunk was tested for rabies after it scratched and bit several members of the fraternity.
October 22, 2009
October 22, 1959: Louise W. Coon, widow of Owen L. Coon, donates $100,000 to the university for the law library at the soon-to-be-built Robert McCormick Hall.
October 21, 2009
October 21, 1970: Dedication of the University Library building takes place. Newton Minow serves as a guest speaker.
Read more about the construction of the Library.
October 20, 2009
October 20, 1955: Poet E.E. Cummings gives a reading from his works in the auditorium of Northwestern's Technological Institute.
October 19, 2009
October 19, 1964: Richard Donham resigns as dean of the Northwestern business school. John A. Barr is selected to take his place in December of 1964.
October 18, 2009
October 18, 1955: Regina Dombeck is elected as the first Homecoming Queen in the history of the university. Dombeck won the Miss Chicago title in 1954.
October 17, 2009
October 17, 1936: The Wildcats defeat Ohio State 14-13 in Dyche Stadium. Northwestern will go on to win the conference with a perfect 6-0 record.
October 16, 2009
October 16, 1977: Former Northwestern president (1949-1970) J. Roscoe Miller dies of a heart attack at the age of 71.
Read more about Miller's presidency.
October 15, 2009
October 15, 1993: University Hall is rededicated after the completion of an extensive renovation and restoration project.
October 14, 2009
October 14, 1961: The Northwestern University Traffic Institute celebrates its 25th birthday, with roughly 20,000 graduates since the program's founding.
October 13, 2009
October 13, 1960: Northwestern Vice-President and Business Manager William S. Kerr first announces plans to extend the Evanston campus east by creating the lakefill.
The original estimate for the total cost of filling in the land is just over 5 million dollars. Read more about the Lakefill.
October 12, 2009
October 11, 2009
October 11, 1980: Northwestern's Theatre and Interpretation Center is dedicated with a gala performance and ball.
The performance features Northwestern celebrity alums, including Charlton Heston, Ann-Margaret, Richard Benjamin, Cloris Leachman, Jerry Orbach, and McLean Stevenson.
October 10, 2009
October 10, 1950: Northwestern announces its plan to build a 28 ton, 4.5 million volt Van de Graaff type ion accelerator just south of the Technological Institute.
October 9, 2009
October 9, 1879: Northwestern student newspaper The Vidette reports that black and gold have been established as the university colors.
The colors would subsequently be changed to purple and gold, with gold being eliminated in 1892, leaving the university with just royal purple as its official color.
October 8, 2009
October 8, 1886: Kenneth W. Colegrove is born in Waukon, Iowa. Colegrove, an expert in Japanese politics and law, served on the faculty of the political science department from 1919 to 1952.
Read more about Colegrove's life and career.
October 7, 2009
October 7, 1964: Formal dedication ceremonies for the new lakefill campus are held on the roof of the Vogelback Computer Center, the first building constructed on the lakefill.
Read more about the construction of the Lakefill.
October 6, 2009
October 6, 1955: Dedication ceremonies are held for Bobb Hall and McColloch Hall, the new freshman dorms.
October 5, 2009
October 5, 1935: Northwestern loses to Purdue 7-0 at Dyche Stadium in the first night game ever played in the Big Ten.
Kickoff was moved to the evening in order to avoid having the game being played at the same time as game 4 of the World Series between the Cubs and Tigers.
October 4, 2009
October 4, 1967: O.T. Hogan, founder of the United Insurance Company of America, donates $1.5 million for the construction of a new biological sciences facility designed by Walter Netsch.
October 3, 2009
October 3, 1953: The Northwestern University Marching Band introduces English lyrics to the University Hymn, which was previously sung only in Latin. The English lyrics were composed by Thomas Tyra, class of 1954.
October 2, 2009
October 2, 1926: Northwestern defeats South Dakota, 34-0, in the first game ever played in Dyche Stadium. The stadium was not dedicated, however, until November 13, 1926, when the Wildcats defeated the University of Chicago, 38-7.
Read more about the construction of the stadium.
