John Harvard Statue

The bronze John Harvard Statue stands in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, on the Harvard University campus. Sculpted by Daniel Chester French, it is best known as the “Statue of Three Lies”: the inscription names the wrong founder, the figure is based on a student rather than John Harvard, and the date is two years off. Look closely at the pedestal, then join the familiar campus tradition of touching the statue’s left boot for good luck. The spot also gives you a chance to take in the surrounding brick buildings and garden paths.

Why it is called the Statue of Three Lies

The granite pedestal identifies the figure as “John Harvard, Founder” and gives 1638 as Harvard’s founding date. Each part of that inscription is inaccurate. Harvard was established in 1636 by a vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and John Harvard was an early benefactor, not its founder. He left his library and estate to the college. The institution took the Harvard name in 1639, in recognition of his gift.

The figure is not a portrait of John Harvard. No surviving image or description showed what he looked like, so sculptor Daniel Chester French used a Harvard student, Sherman Hoar, as his model. The statue is therefore a tribute shaped by an idealized likeness, rather than a direct representation of the man.

The left-boot tradition

The statue’s left boot is the focus of a popular good-luck custom. Visitors touch it, and repeated contact has polished the surface. The tradition is associated with campus tours and has become a familiar stop for people exploring Harvard Yard.

If a queue forms, take a moment to look at the pedestal and the sculpture before joining it. The inscription explains the statue’s nickname, while the surrounding garden and brick buildings give the stop its setting within the university campus.