Harvard University facts for kids

Harvard University
	The university in 1740
Motto	Veritas
Motto in English	Truth
Type	Private
Established	1636
Endowment	US $40.9 billion
President	Lawrence Bacow
Academic staff	2,107
Administrative staff	2,497 non-medical; 10,674 medical
Students	21,225
Undergraduates	7,181 total; 6,655 College; 526 Extension
Postgraduates	14,044
Location	Cambridge , Massachusetts , U.S.
Campus	Urban; 210 acres (85 ha) (Main campus); 22 acres (8.9 ha) (Medical campus); 359 acres (145 ha) (Allston campus)
Newspaper	The Harvard Crimson
Colors	Crimson
Athletics	41 Varsity Teams; Ivy League; NCAA Division I
Nickname	Harvard Crimson
Website	harvard.edu

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a member of the Ivy League. Harvard was started on September 8, 1636, and it is the oldest university in the United States. Harvard's current president is Lawrence Bacow. The school color is crimson, which is a dark red color.

Harvard is on the Charles River. Some students go to the Charles River for rowing. On the other side of the Charles River is the city of Boston. Boston's subway system has a stop at Harvard. Some of Harvard's graduate schools are in Boston, but most of Harvard's schools are in Cambridge. Together, these schools are Harvard University.

Harvard has many libraries like Widener Library. There are other facilities like skating rinks and the Malkin Athletic Center where students can swim and exercise.

Harvard is almost always ranked as one of the best universities in the world. Another famous school close to Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Eight Presidents of the United States have graduated from Harvard. Harvard has over $40 billion.

Notable alumni

George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
Natalie Portman, Actress & filmmaker
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder & CEO of Facebook
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

Images for kids

The official seal of the Harvard Corporation. Found on Harvard diplomas, it carries the University's original motto, Christo et Ecclesiae ("Christ and Church"), later changed to Veritas ("Truth").
Engraving of Harvard College by Paul Revere, 1767
John Harvard statue, Harvard Yard
Richard Rummell's 1906 watercolor landscape view, facing northeast.
Harvard Yard as seen from Holyoke Center
University seal
Memorial Hall
Memorial Church
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts Hall (1720), Harvard's oldest building.
Harvard Yard
left
Harvard Stadium, home of Harvard Crimson and the Boston Cannons
Harvard men's eight crew at Henley, 2004
The Cornell–Harvard hockey rivalry match, 2006
2nd President of the United States John Adams (AB, 1755; AM, 1758)
6th President of the United States John Quincy Adams (AB, 1787; AM, 1798)
19th President of the United States Rutherford B. Hayes (LLB, 1845)
26th President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Theodore Roosevelt (AB, 1880)
32nd President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt (AB, 1903)
35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy (SB, 1940)
President of Liberia and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (MPA, 1971)
43rd President of the United States George W. Bush (MBA, 1975)
Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates (COL, 1977; LLD, 2007)
Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon (MPA, 1984)
46th First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama (JD, 1988)
44th President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama (JD, 1991)
Co-Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg (COL, 2006)