Harvard University

Harvard University International Student Insurance

Harvard University, established in 1636 and located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest higher institution of learning in the United States. It was named after its first benefactor, Minister John Harvard, who left his library and half his estate to the new school when he died in 1638. The famous Harvard coat of arms is a shield bearing the Latin word “veritas,” which means “truth.” The school’s color is crimson, and its athletic nickname is the Harvard Crimson.

On Campus

Harvard Library is the largest academic library in the world and includes more than 20 million books, 400 million manuscript items, 10 million photographs, and 124 million archived web pages. Its 20 museums and digital collections hold more than 28 million works of art, artifacts, specimens, and more and collectively attract more than 650,000 visitors annually. Other trademark features on campus include Harvard Yard, which contains administrative offices, academic buildings, and dormitories; scenic views along the Charles River; and Mt. Auburn Street, the center of Harvard nightlife.

Notable Alumni

Notable Harvard alumni include eight U.S. Presidents, among them John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg; poet Robert Frost; actors Tommy Lee Jones, Natalie Portman, and Matt Damon; authors Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag, and John Updike; and astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.