John Harvard's polished left shoe brings good luck to students before exams. Such a belief is attributed to the statue of John Harvard placed on the pedestal with an inscription: "John Harvard, founder, 1638". John Harvard was not the founder. He was one of the influential patrons of the university, and the university got its name in his honour. In addition, Harvard was not founded in 1638, when John donated a significant amount, but in 1636. Finally, no one knows what John Harvard looked like. Fire destroyed all of his portraits. A sculptor invited one of the ranked students to be a model for the statue. Rumour has it, however, that this ordinary student was the son of wealthy parents who made a suitable donation to the university.
This short walk through Harvard and Cambridge will introduce us to some of the most iconic sites of a renowned world university. First, we learn how the student fraternity introduced a unit of measurement equal to the height of the director of the Institute of Standards. Next, we will visit the most famous bookstore. Next, we will learn how the fate of the ancient tomes and the death of the Titanic are connected. Finally, let's touch on the history of creating a sewing machine and a telephone and end the trip in the town of Watertown - one of the first colonies of New England, notorious for the terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon.