Historical event · 1638

First Printing Press in British America (1638)

A printing press was operating in Cambridge by 1638, the first in England's American colonies, placing early printed culture beside the young college.

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Why it matters

This record dates to 1638. Its public description and date are retained only where the cited evidence and review state meet the shared publication standard.

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01The right next stopHarvard UniversityClose enough to feel spontaneous, different enough to change the texture of the visit.1 min walk 02Pull this threadFounding of Harvard College (1636)press followed the college.Historical event 03Hidden in plain sightHarvard Art MuseumsA quieter stop nearby that rewards a second look.Museum / Cultural

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Human recommendations

Durjoy Ace BhattacharjyaLocal History EditorLook for the older layer before you move on. This object is connected to more than its facade suggests.Harvard University →

Civic memory

What this meant before

16381638First Printing Press in British America (1638) enters the civic record here.1636Founding of Harvard College (1636)In 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Great and General Court approved £400 for a college; the institution later took the name Harvard College.

Date: 1638
Public connections: 2
Sources: 2

In the public graph 2 typed relationships

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Historically related

Founding of Harvard College (1636)press followed the college

Located in

Cambridge↗ Camb400

Nearby what sits within a few minutes’ walk

University · 1 min walk

Harvard University

Building / Landmark · 1 min walk

Harvard Yard

Historical event · 1 min walk

Founding of Harvard College (1636)

Historical context

Founding of Harvard College (1636)1636 The Mark I Computer (1944)1944

An unexpected connection

First Printing Press in British America (1638) is linked, through the graph, to Cambridge — city, 9 min walk away. The kind of thread you only find by following the connections.

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NearbyA few minutes’ walk away

Harvard UniversityUniversity Harvard YardBuilding / Landmark Founding of Harvard College (1636)Historical event Memorial HallBuilding / Landmark Harvard Art MuseumsMuseum / Cultural

More historical eventsOther historical events in the graph

Radcliffe College Founded (1879)Historical event The Mark I Computer (1944)Historical event

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One identity, 4 editorial lenses one canonical entity URL

Cambridge400.com GuideToCambridge.com GuideToHarvard.com Harvard400.com · you are here

How we know graph confidence — we explain our certainty, not just assert it

Reviewed byDurjoy Ace Bhattacharjya

High confidence

How this is scored →

✓Source qualityBest source is primary / institutional

✓Independent corroboration2 resolvable sources across 2 tiers

✓Review stateReview attributed to durjoy-ace-local-history-editor

✓Institutional backingCites a primary or institutional source

✓Record completeness80% of canonical fields present

Sources, by tier

Harvard's First Impressions Unclassified

Harvard University Primary / institutional

Review date: 2026-08-23

Graph scores — our north star is relationship density, not page count

Relationship density25

2 connections

Record coverage66

metadata completeness

Graph authority64

centrality + reach + trust

Schema.org JSON-LD — what answer engines read

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