Tag History
Two vice presidents have Madison in common
Kamala Harris and Dick Cheney don’t have much in common, as they’re on different sides of the political spectrum. Except one thing: The new vice president and the former vice president both lived in Madison at the same time in the late 1960s, each with a close connection to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
New public history collective focuses on neglected history of Latinx in Wisconsin
The project will not only add critical perspectives and missing facts to the historical record, but will also help combat ongoing racism and bias. Read More
Born of activism, UW’s Afro-American Studies Department celebrates 50 years of scholarship, teaching excellence
Five decades after its founding, UW–Madison’s Afro-American Studies Department is being recognized this year for its contributions to campus — both scholarly and social — and for its groundbreaking work nationally. Read More
When bomb tore through Sterling Hall 50 years ago, he was inside: ‘I still have flashbacks’
Bill Evans remembers feeling the building shudder, then seeing a wave of dirt and dust blow by a lab door. He immediately reported that something terrible had happened. Read More
At University Hospital, damage and shock in aftermath of 1970 Sterling Hall bombing
The blast shattered most of the hospital's east-facing windows, including those in the intensive care unit. “Our assignment was to pick glass off of patients,” remembers a nursing student. Read More
Happy birthday – and Father’s Day – to Bascom Hall
Florence Bascom was proud of her father John Bascom because he was a strong early advocate for women in academia. She proposed renaming University Hall in her father’s honor, and on June 22, 1920, a formal dedication took place. Read More
Black History Month: For Mabel Watson Raimey, perseverance was the only option
Raimey is believed to have been the first African-American woman to graduate from UW–Madison. And that is just the beginning of her story. Read More
‘Radical Pedagogy’ exhibition opens Oct. 11 in new Lathrop Gallery Space
The photographs, visual art and films bear witness to the influence of Margaret H’Doubler, who made dance a rigorous academic discipline and the body the route to scientific inquiry, self-discovery, creativity and citizenship. Read More
‘These spaces are sacred’: Ho-Chunk speaker urges mindfulness, reverence of campus indigenous sites
She invited audience members to picture the land as it once was, with wigwams up and down the Isthmus and a gathering space for international council meetings of tribal leaders near today’s Wisconsin State Capitol. Read More
Sifting and winnowing turns 125: The tumultuous story of three little words
Sifting and winnowing has a special meaning at UW–Madison. Those words were first shared on Sept. 18, 1894, by the UW Board of Regents in defense of a professor named Richard Ely. How did an agricultural phrase come to symbolize academic freedom? Read More
Ongoing campus effort will seek to deepen understanding of Ho-Chunk history
A series of special events stretching through 2020 will focus campus attention on the history and traditions of the Ho-Chunk, the indigenous people whose ancestral homeland includes Teejop (Four Lakes), where UW–Madison now exists. Read More
In Classics Camp, middle schoolers are introduced to the wonders of ancient Greece and Rome
The kids make their own togas and wax writing tablets, visit museums on campus to see ancient artifacts and learn about kid-worthy topics like the Trojan War, Roman weapons and Greek toilets. Read More
Berlin conference explores influence of UW–Madison’s Professor Mosse
George Mosse was a pioneering historian and authority on Nazism who himself fled the Nazi regime. Students flocked to his UW classes, drawn by his charismatic style and his insights into European cultural history. Read More
Mildred Fish-Harnack honored as hero of resistance to Nazi regime
UW-Madison alumna Mildred Fish-Harnack became a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany and was the only American civilian to be executed on the direct order of Adolf Hitler. On July 12, a statue called "Mildred" is being dedicated in a Madison park. Read More
Blank’s Slate: UW celebrates Pride Month, Stonewall
Chancellor Blank and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor share how campus is marking the 50th anniversary of a groundbreaking moment in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Read More
Old Watrous mosaic looks as good as new — meaning more like it did in 1963
Cricket Harbeck, who restored Bascom Hill's Lincoln statue, returned to campus in May for another project: cleaning up “Man—Creator of Order and Disorder,” a mosaic by James Watrous. Read More
UW to digitize historic WHA rural and women’s programs
The UW–Madison Archives was awarded a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources to support digitizing 250 transcription discs from between 1920 and 1950. Read More
Lost since 1943 crash, WWII pilot returned to Alabama family
The rest of "Buster" Stone's World War II bomber-escort mission never saw him again, but in August 2018 a team from UW–Madison unearthed the wreckage of his plane and his remains from a crash site in France. And the Stone family had Buster back. Read More
First female valedictorian became renowned suffragist
Clara Bewick Colby was among the first class of six women at the University of Wisconsin to graduate with bachelor’s degrees. Later, large crowds would attend her speeches on women’s rights. Read More
Pandey, Wendland land American Council of Learned Societies Fellowships
Both plan to use their fellowships to work on writing books. Nandini Pandey's will be called "Diversity and Difference in Imperial Rome," and Claire Wendland's is "Partial Stories: Maternal Death in a Changing African World." Read More