Harvard University. Treasurer

Treasurers of Harvard include: H.L. Shattuck (1929-1938); W.H. Claflin (1938-48); P.C. Cabot (1948-65); G.F. Bennett (1965-73); G. Putnam (1973-84); and R. MacDougall (1984- ).

Treasurers of Harvard include: Herbert Pelham (1643-1647); Thomas Danforth (1650-1668); John Richards (1669-1682); Samuel Nowell (1683-1686); John Richards (1686-1693); Thomas Brattle (1693-1713); William Brattle (1713-1715); John White (1715-1721); Edward Hutchinson (1721-1752); Thomas Hubbard (1752-1773); John Hancock (1773-1777); Ebenezer Storer (1777-1807); Jonathan Jackson (1807-1810); John Davis (1810-1827); Ebenezer Francis (1827-1830); Thomas Wren Ward (1830-1842); Samuel Atkins Eliot (1842-1853); William Turell Andrews (1853-1857); Amos Adams Lawrence (1857-1862); Nathaniel Silsbee (1862-1876); Edward William Hooper (1876-1898); Charles Francis Adams (1898-1929); Henry Lee Shattuck (1929-1938); William H. Claflin (1938-1948); Paul C. Cabot (1948-1965); George F. Bennett (1965-1973); George Putnam (1973-1984); Roderick MacDougall (1984- ).

A member of the Harvard Corporation, the Treasurer is responsible for the management and oversight of Harvard's finances including income, expenses, endowed funds, and other assets. From the 17th to the early 20th centuries, the Treasurer shared some fiscal responsibilities with the Steward, later known as the Bursar. The Steward was responsible for collecting room and board fees and for paying for related goods and services. Since 1974, the Treasurer has chaired the Board of Directors of the Harvard Management Company, which is responsible for the University's endowment, pension assets, working capital, and non-cash gifts.

Government-sanctioned lotteries originated in Massachusetts as an alternative to taxation, but soon expanded as a fundraising tool to help fund building projects and support charities. The Massachusetts General Court began using lotteries in the 1740s to raise money for military operations. In 1765, the General Court passed the first legislation allowing Harvard College to run a lottery to support dormitory building projects. Lottery plans stalled, and in 1772 the General Court passed an act authorizing new managers of the lottery at Harvard. Tickets were then sold for the first lottery beginning in 1772, but the lottery was later interrupted by the Revolutionary War in 1775. General Court legislation on June 14, 1794 sanctioned a Harvard College lottery to be administered by appointed managers of the lottery. The lottery drawn between 1794 and 1797 raised money to build the second Stoughton Hall. In the early 1800s, Harvard again used the lottery to raise money for the building of Holworthy Hall.

The Treasurer, a member of the Harvard Corporation, is responsible for the management and oversight of Harvard’s finances including income, expenses, endowed funds, and other assets.

From the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries, the Treasurer shared some fiscal responsibilities with the Steward, later known as the Bursar. The Steward was responsible for collecting room and board fees and for paying for related goods and services. Since 1974, the Treasurer has chaired the Board of Directors of the Harvard Management Company, which is responsible for the University’s endowment, pension assets, working capital, and non-cash gifts.