The cane, a fashion accessory popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was also a college status symbol.  Canes or walking sticks were once commonly "worn" by men during this time period.  At many colleges, freshmen had to earn the right to carry a cane on campus.  Cane rushes or cane contests involved a game of sport or wit between the freshmen and sophomores to win this right.  If the RPI freshmen lost, they could not carry canes until Washington's birthday.  Check out this web page to learn more about the contest at RPI: 

The mystery of this image is not what is it or who is it, but when is it?    The photograph pictures a parking lot east of Blaw-Knox and north of the academic campus.  The location looks more like a military base than a college campus!  The paved area is only half the size of what is now referred to as the North Lot -- that's where I park every working day.

One of my primary duties is answering people's questions -- we call this reference.  They may be quick questions -- when did my great-grandfather attend RPI? -- or they may be in-depth research questions -- what were the origins of American human space flight?

Yes, that's right -- mandolins were all the rage from about 1894 to 1924.  Mandolin clubs popped up at high schools, colleges and cities all over the country.  The club at RPI evolved out of the Banjo and Guitar Club in 1892 --  it was called the Banjo, Guitar and

The Moustache Club was a student club that appeared briefly in the 1870s.  The officers consisted of president, assistant to the president, treasurer and inspector general.  Here are some excerpts from the club's constitution as detailed in the 1877 Transit:

This topic combines two of my archival curiosities -- RPI artifacts and former RPI clubs.  The artifact is a molded plastic triangle with circuit symbols in relief and a black inset triangle with the gold letters L/R/C.  The former club is LCR.

Once again, the individual and the apparatus are both mysteries to me.  If you know the info., please leave a comment!

I've been immersed in the history of campus buildings lately and, being saturated with lots of interesting information, I feel compelled to share some with you! Here is something that  I find quite striking:  at least fifteen buildings on the RPI campus were designed by alumni or their firms. I wonder if any other university can make such a boast? Joseph M.

For several decades a hop (informal dance) was held right after commencement.  The hop was sponsored by the junior class in honor of the graduating seniors and it was typically held at a hall

Regular readers may notice some changes with RPI History Revealed. I guess I'm inspired by spring changes and thought it was time for some sprucing up. This theme has a cleaner look. I want readers to be able to get comment feeds and now there is a handy button (or widget) for that. The search box is also more visible above the header. I'm undecided about the green font and may tweak the color in the future. The purpose for the blog remains the same, and I look forward to revealing more RPI history!