In 1851, the Harvard Corporation voted to establish a formal archives with Harvard’s records and related papers collected, properly housed, cataloged, and placed in “special charge of the President.” During the early 1850s, under the direction of American historian and president of Harvard Jared Sparks, these historical records were gathered together and placed in the Library for safekeeping. Record-keeping by Harvard administrators and faculty began immediately with the establishment of the College in 1636. HistoryĪuthorized by a vote of the President and Fellows of Harvard College in 1851, the Harvard University Archives is believed to be the oldest institutional archives in the United States established by a corporation. The Archives supports the University's mission of education and research by preserving and providing access, to the greatest extent possible, to Harvard's historical records gathering an accurate, authentic, and complete record of the life of the University and promoting the highest standards of management for Harvard's current records.

The Harvard University Archives, a unit of the Harvard Library, has authorization derived from votes of the Harvard Corporation.