Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is
the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States[6] and among the most prestigious in
the world.[7]
The Massachusetts colonial legislature, the General Court, authorized Harvard's founding. In its
early years, Harvard College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy, although it
has never been formally affiliated with any denomination. Its curriculum and student body were
gradually secularized during the 18th century, and by the 19th century, Harvard had emerged as
the central cultural establishment among Boston elites.[8][9] Following the American Civil War,
President Charles William Eliot's long tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated
professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard became a founding member of
the Association of American Universities in 1900.[10]James B. Conant led the university through
the Great Depression and World War II; he liberalized admissions after the war.
The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced
Study. Arts and Sciencesoffers study in a wide range of academic disciplines for undergraduates
and for graduates, while the other faculties offer only graduate degrees, mostly professional.
Harvard has three main campuses:[11] the 209-acre (85 ha) Cambridge campus centered
on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across the Charles River in
the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical
Area.[12] Harvard's endowment is valued at $40.9 billion, making it the largest of any academic
institution.[3] Endowment income helps enable the undergraduate college to admit students
regardless of financial need and provide generous financial aid with no loans.[13] The Harvard
Library is the world's largest academic library system, comprising 79 individual libraries holding
about 20.4 million items.[14][15][16][17]
Harvard's alumni include 8 U.S. presidents, 188 living billionaires, 369 Rhodes Scholars, and
252 Marshall Scholars.[18][19][20] As of August 2020, 160 Nobel laureates, 18 Fields Medal winners,
and 14 Turing Award laureates have been affiliated as students, faculty, or researchers.
[21]
 Harvard students and alumni have also won 10 Academy Awards, 48 Pulitzer Prizes, and 108
Olympic medals (including 46 gold medals), and they have founded many notable companies
worldwide.[22][23]