John Harvard statue, Cambridge, MA, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

The John Harvard statue is a bronze figure of a seated young man in Harvard Yard, in front of University Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Made by sculptor Daniel Chester French, it is the most photographed monument at Harvard University, and it is nicknamed the Statue of Three Lies because of what it gets wrong about the man and the school.

The story behind it

John Harvard was an English-born minister who settled in Charlestown and died in 1638. He left the young college in Massachusetts about half his estate and a library of roughly 400 books, and the college took his name in gratitude. Very little else is known about him, and no portrait or physical description survives.

That left sculptor Daniel Chester French with a problem: no one knew what Harvard looked like. French used a student as his model, Sherman Hoar, who later became a U.S. Attorney and a congressman. That is the first lie, since the face is not John Harvard's. The inscription calls him the founder, but he was a benefactor of a college that already existed. It also gives 1638 as the founding year, while the college was established in 1636.

What to look for

• Read the inscription on the base and see if you can spot the three claims that the statue's nickname refers to.
• Look at the figure's face and pose: a seated young man with a book open on his knee, modelled on a student rather than on the real John Harvard.
• Notice the left shoe, which is often touched by passing visitors and is visibly polished compared with the rest of the bronze.
• Turn around and take in University Hall behind the statue, with the brick buildings of Harvard Yard around it.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the statue itself, longer if you want to wander the rest of Harvard Yard.
• The statue stands outdoors and is free to see. Check current access rules for Harvard Yard before you go.
• Early morning is the best time for photos without a queue. Midday tends to be busiest, especially in term time and in summer.
• Memorial Church, Widener Library and the shops and cafes of Harvard Square are all a short walk away.

See it on a quest

Harvard Undercover: The Porcellian Files brings you to the statue on foot as one stop on a longer route through Harvard and its surroundings. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Unlock the Secrets of Harvard Square, A Magical Puzzle Hunt is a puzzle-hunt route around Harvard Square that passes the statue. You walk from stop to stop at your own pace, hear the story of each place when you get there and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.