Special Collections & University Archives, Colgate University

Wowza, Colgate once had its very own subcritical nuclear reactor stashed in the basement of Lathrop Hall. C. A. Dana Professor of Physics Emeritus, Charles Holbrow, led students in the Physics and Astronomy Club through its construction which included clad slugs of unenriched uranium and an 80 Ci Pu-Be (plutonium beryllium) neutron source loaned by the federal Atomic Energy Commission. Installed in the basement of Lathrop Hall in 1968, the reactor was moved to the attic of McGregory during construction of the link between the halls. It was decommissioned in the 1990s, though Professor Holbrow held onto the 80 Ci Pu-Be until after 9/11, when the Department of Energy recalled all loans of plutonium. h/t to Sofia Beaufrand '22 and Visiting Assistant Professor of History and Bicentennial Research Fellow, Jennifer Hull, for this rediscovered history! #tbt #colgate200 #colgatescua #colgateuniversity #universityarchives #archivesofinstagram #science #nuclear (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKa-NbhSoI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=72248mm0cuej

Happy Valentine's day! Who's on YOUR dance card?? 😘 These Colgate junior promenade dance cards came in an array of materials: painted leather, embossed leather, silk, and some sort of acrylic from 1915. #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #dance #archivesofinstagram #universityarchives (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3pHOShqQK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lk9f5yvqpyrr

Before he became a political and spiritual leader, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was a student at Colgate, Class of 1930. Read more at the Colgate 200 site (link in bio) #tbt #civilrights #blm #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #archivesofinstagram #universityarchives #adamclaytonpowell (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1meEghP14/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nlus71be4304

Don you recognize this Colgate University building? Probably not, unless you were around before 1956. Eaton Hall, home of the Colgate Theological Seminary (which transferred to Rochester, N.Y. in 1928), was erected in 1886 and contained classrooms, dormitories, and a chapel. The original tower was taken down in 1906 due to unsafe construction. The building was razed in 1956 make way for Dodge, Eaton, and Kendrick dormitories (in the present location of Curtis and Drake Halls). #tbt #colgate200 #colgatescua #colgateuniversity #colgate #archivesofinstagram #architecture #universityarchives #librariesofinstagram (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtlzaENBGMf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=o9yglnmc13pc

Are you like us and wondering where the catchy phrase "polar vortex" came from? Was it some witty editor on BuzzFeed? Or a melodramatic meteorologist from The Weather Channel? Nope! It's first known published citing/sighting was in Charles Dickens' two-penny weekly, "Household Words," 1853. And the Colgate Special Collections and University Archives has its very own copy of the issue! #tbt #polarvortex #universityarchives #archivesofinstagram #periodicalsarecool #libraries #librariesofinstagram #colgatescua #colgateuniversity #dontgooutthere (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtUHNoZB5iY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ao84yow6mfyq

Beep boop beep... computers are your friends! Check out this (slightly edited) clip from a Colgate promotional film, circa 1980s. #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgate #universityarchives #archivesofinstagram #computers #dontbeafraid (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtBtjy4HhMf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=47o0wrqwktp3

Reuniting with your bestie after break like... this cute couple from 1968, hamming it up in Dana Arts Center. (Sound on 🔊) #tbt #archivesofinstagram #filmarchives #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgate #bffgoals #universityarchives (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsv1736BsJp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=hxkwjcvij7pe

In 1932, the Colgate Raiders played a legendary "unbeaten and unscored on" season, under head coach Andy Kerr. Here, the team scores its second touchdown against Syracuse, which ended in a 16-0 victory for Colgate. In 1932, the team's roster also included large state schools, such as N.Y.U, Penn State, and Mississippi. #tbt #football #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgate #universityarchives #archivesofinstagram (at Archbold Stadium) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsgONcrHWe3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6bjhe1p7npd2

We can't resist a vintage library pic. A Colgate student studies (and smokes 😲) next to the overflowing bookshelves of the original library in the James B. Colgate building (now known as the "Ad" building), circa 1950s. The library collection outgrew the original building's capacity and its replacement structure was dedicated in 1959 and named for President Everett Needham Case in 1962. #archivesofinstagram #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgate #tbt #universityarchives #libraries (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrnqYFsHOs0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=fd3h9vl7p4sq

Go you! We're cheering you on this finals week, Colgate students! This clip from circa late 1930s features the nimble (all-male) Colgate cheerleading team and a roaring crowd during a football game. #trenchcoats #cheerleading #studyhard #buttreatyourself #tbt #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgate #colgatehistory #universityarchives @colgatecheerteam #colgatescua (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrlMVIfFJwi/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=emcb6prwlc35

Case-Geyer Library is a light-filled and quiet space to study for finals... now. Take a gander at what the building looked like in the 1970s, before it underwent two renovations. 😲 #tbt #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgatehistory #universityarchives #libraries #architecture #1960s (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrQSpHcH69z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zi6dv468tks2

It's that time of year in Hamilton, snow, snow, and snow. Here's a clip of students doing their best to enjoy winter on the previously mentioned ski slope near Huntington Gymnasium, circa 1943. ⛷️ #tbt #colgateuniversity #colgate #colgate200 #colgatehistory #winter #film #universityarchives #skiing #whoosh (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrDlfbCn2iR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dy49w8s16qpy

Lancelot "Lant" Gilmartin, right, was Colgate University’s buildings and grounds supervisor for more than 50 years, from 1884 to 1936. While directing a crew of largely Irish immigrant kinfolk, Gilmartin played a major role in constructing and maintaining one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. Among his many projects were the digging of Taylor Lake and the development of the Willow Path from 1903-1905. Notably, a number of his descendants graduated from Colgate, including his great-great-grandson, Class of 2005. #tbt #colgateuniversity #colgate200 #colgatehistory #universityarchives #colgatescua https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq0PrY4nzv1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q9z1m4o8e2vk

A group of women pull toboggans up the Colgate ski slope, behind what is now James C. Colgate Student Union (aka The Hall of Presidents or HOP), 1918. The slope was used for all kinds of winter sports and at one time included a T-bar lift, lighting, and snowmaking equipment. #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgatehistory #snow #universityarchives #upstateny (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqQA3IBhOeW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=oxgbkvjmczyt

Naval cadets train on Whitnall field, circa 1943. Today, we honor our veterans. By the numbers, World War II had the largest impact on the campus: more than 3,800 alumni served and 5,400 young men trained on campus in various naval programs. As the war tore through Europe and the South Pacific, loved ones of 141 fallen Colgate students, alumni, and faculty received condolence letters from the Alumni office. “Colgate is aware of the great cost of this war to our young men,” the letters often began, “and of our responsibility to do our part to make a recurrence of the conditions which caused the war impossible.” #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgatehistory #veterans #veteransday #universityarchives (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqDS6tVngmJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=fpvyzb4w7en5

From salt potatoes to "Salt Rush:" Students throw salt at each other outside Alumni Hall during Salt Rush, circa 1904-1907. Syracuse's salt springs turned into a major commercial industry by the 19th century and the product found its way into many regional traditions. The Salt Rush was a tradition at Syracuse University and was adopted by Colgate students as early as the 1880s. Following the first chapel service of the academic year, Colgate sophomores would throw salt upon the new class of students. The tradition illustrates the severe class rivalries during the university's early history. #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgatehistory #universityarchives #syracuseuniversity #syracuse (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7HGIPHbDF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cvx0uhxcvwdv

Did you know that 1970 was the first year Colgate officially admitted women as full-time students? That fall, the student newspaper declared "Girls Shatter 'Male Tradition' As Campus Enters New Era." #tbt #colgatescua #colgate200 #colgateuniversity #colgatehistory (at Colgate University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpr9MmWn_Hw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ht1067cvv5ad