October dance
 

Students and their elders attend a dance in 1943 at the Michigan Union Ballroom. Photo courtesy Bentley Historical Library

This week in history (58 years ago)

The U-M Oratorical Association announced that several prominent speakers would appear on campus during the 1952-53 academic year. The list included syndicated columnist Drew Pearson, Sen. Paul Douglas, journalist James Reston and poet Ogden Nash. The Oratorical Association was initiated in 1912, although the tradition of bringing lecturers to speak on campus had been long established. Some of the early speakers at U-M included Horace Greeley, Mark Twain and P.T. Barnum. Later speakers included Eleanor Roosevelt and Admiral Byrd. The Oratorical Association ended around 1961, as other organizations filled the void.­
— The University Record and the Bentley Historical Library Finding Aids Project

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