Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the LL.D. was regarded as the highest honor accorded by Harvard. Until after the Civil War, it clearly outranked the other honorary degrees, which at that time included the M.A., S.T.D., and M.D. Now there is no "rank list" of honorary doctorates, since all awards recognize high degrees of individual merit. To correlate better the degree with achievement, many new types of award have been established.
This greater amount of correlation can be shown by the history of the doctorate in science. Established in 1887, the number of S.D. degrees awarded has grown almost steadily since then. In fact, this degree has become the third most numerous Harvard honorary award, ranking close behind the LL.D. and the M.A.
Some honorary awards, however, have been little used after their establishment. An honorary degree in Medicine was first given in 1783, and during the first part of the nineteenth century the special M.D. became a fairly regular Commencement award. With the introduction of the doctorate in science the M.D. fell into disuse. It was revived in 1909 for Charles William Eliot in recognition of his reorganization of the Harvard Medical School, but has not been awarded since. The Doctorate of Dental Medicine, which was first given out in 1870, has likewise had little use.
Artistic Achievement
One of the greatest steps in the broadening of awards came after the turn of the present century when Harvard started to give full recognition for artistic achievement, especially in the realm of fiction. During the nineteenth century, doctorates accorded Whittier or Richard Henry Dana, for example, did not cite their literary merit as much as their work in the Harvard community. The commemoration of the vital role of the artist in society had to await the institution of the proper degrees.
In the years 1906 and 1907, two honorary awards were instituted which finally opened the way for recognition of artistic achievement. Established in 1906, the Doctorate of Art (Art D.) has been awarded quite frequently. The Litt. D.--Doctor of Literature--has also been utilized by the College many times since 1907. The very first Litt.D. went then to one of the most famous names on the roster of all-time Faculty greats, George Lyman Kittredge. His high degree of academic learning, belying his 47 years of age, has seldom been equalled in any honorary degree winner.
Henry James rightfully inaugurated the awards for fiction given by Harvard. His Litt. D. in 1911 has been followed by degrees to James Gould Cozzens, John P. Marquand, and others; many famed historians whose writings may rank high on the best-seller list have also been accorded the Litt. D. Men honored in this fashion include Samuel Eliot Morison, George Macauley Trevelyan, Bruce Catton, and Frederick Merk.
Recent Degrees
The youngsters in the family of doctorates include the doctorate of Music (Mus. D.), first established in 1936, and the Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), given initially in 1936, to Alumni Bulletin writer David McCord. Thus, the spectrum of the honorary degree has expanded so that it includes nearly every conceivable area of accomplishment.
Harvard honoraries continued to catch up with the times four years ago with the recognition of "the other half"--the females. Helen Keller's award in 1955 was followed in 1957 by a doctorate for Lady Barbara Ward Jackson. Last year, both Nadia Boulanger (Mus. D.) and Eleanor Glueck (S.D.) were honored. These recent awards silenced many criticisms of the "discriminatory" system followed before 1955. By making Harvard honoraries open to both sexes, the Corporation continued the process of liberalization of degrees that started with John Winthrop and his 1773 LL.D.
Screening Candidates
To protect Harvard from awarding degrees to possibly undesirable people, all those recommended for honoraries must pass a triple test. A special standing committee of the Corporation, established in 1881, meets during the year to judge the qualifications of outstanding men and women. (Some people have tried to promote themselves directly as worthy recipients of doctorates, but as far as one expert upon honoraries knows, no such effort has ever succeeded.) The President of the University may direct suggestions to the committee, but the committee alone can make recommendations for further consideration.
After discussion among members of the standing committee, the4MERK