Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking in Stepan Center at Notre Dame, October 18, 1963
On October 18, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Notre Dame’s Stepan Center. The South Bend Citizens’ Civic Planning Committee organized the event, which was a fund-raiser for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Full-capacity was expected, with faculty, students, and community members in the audience.
King spoke of the problems of segregation, discrimination, and the civil right movement. He also talked of similar issues throughout the world — “The world has shrunk into a neighborhood — now we must make it a brotherhood or we will die together as fools.” [Scholastic, October 25, 1963, page 13]
To see video of this speech, contact the Audio/Visual Archivist.
October 13th is the feast day of St. Edward the Confessor, patron saint of
Rev. Edward Sorin, founder of the University of Notre Dame.
Statue of St. Edward the Confessor, holding a model of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, outside of St. Edward’s Hall, 1978
In the early 1840s, this feast day naturally became a day to honor the University’s most prominent figure and it quickly became one of the highlights of the school year for the students of all ages. The students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Academy celebrated the day, and often the eve as well, with theatrical and musical performances, athletic matches (such as three-legged races, boat races, baseball and football games), and a much anticipated feast in the dining hall.
Students running in a backward race on Cartier Field on Founder’s Day, 1913
Amid the festivities, students, clergy, and other well-wishers sent Fr. Sorin letters, telegrams, and cards, wishing him a happy feast day, expressing their gratitude and affection towards Sorin, of which a number are currently housed with the University Archives in Fr. Sorin’s papers.
Address to the Very Rev. Edward Sorin, CSC, Superior General [of the Congregation of Holy Cross], on his Patronal Festival by the Juniors 1885. The address contained the following excerpt: “It is in this wise dear Father General that St. Edward’s Day has come to be a kind of royal feast day at Notre Dame. For it is your name day and you are the illustrious founder and generous protector and director of our beloved Alma Mater.”
Cover of the hand-drawn card the Novices presented to Fr. Edward Sorin on the feast day of St. Edward, c1880s.
In the 1910s, the Columbus Day celebrations were combined with Founder’s Day. In 1912, the Knights of Columbus Council at Notre Dame organized the Discovery Day celebration. “The celebration [was] partly the result of a country wide campaign by the order to make the day a legal holiday in the various states” [South Bend Times, 10/12/1912, from PNDP 70-Sa-03].
Over the years, the exuberance of the feast day waned. In the 1950s and 1960s, students placed wreaths at the base of the Fr. Sorin statue. Today Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to honor St. Edward and to give thanks to Fr. Edward Sorin, who, in all of his tenacity, quickly turned a small school in the wilderness of Indiana into a nationally renowned institution.
Students and unidentified priest placing a wreath at Sorin Statue on Founder’s Day, 1960/1013.
Also of interest, AgencyND produced this video in 2008 regarding Founder’s Day, using a number of assets from the University Archives:
For over 120 years, Notre Dame celebrated George Washington’s Birthday with theatrical and musical presentations (more about that in a future post). In 1954, the University created the Patriot of the Year Award to honor a public figure “who exemplifies the American ideals of justice, personal integrity and service to country” [Scholastic, 02/12/1954, page 10].
The senior class voted from a number of candidates and the honoree would address the students and faculty at the Washington Day Exercises. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was named the first Patriot of the Year. Others that followed included Bishop Fulton Sheen, Senator John F. Kennedy, Vice President Richard Nixon, Comedian Bob Hop, Lt. Col. John Glenn, and Sargent Shriver. In 1967 the candidates were Leonard Bernstein, J. William Fullbright, Chet Huntley/David Brinkley, Martin Luther King Jr., John Kenneth Galbraith, Carl Sandburg, Earl Warren, Arthur Goldberg, and Louis Armstrong, with Gen. William Westmoreland winning the nomination.
The Washington Day Exercises fizzled out around 1970 along with the Patriot of the Year Award, ending a long-beloved tradition at Notre Dame.
Tickets and press credentials for the Washington Day Exercises, 1960-1964
Senator John F. Kennedy receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President George Strake at the Washington Day Exercises, February 1957.
Vice President Richard Nixon receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President Richard Corbett, with Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, 02/23/1960.
Nixon’s Notre Dame speech on patriotism was printed and distributed at the
1960 Republican Convention.
Comedian Bob Hope receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President Earl Linhan at the Washington Day Exercises in the Fieldhouse, 02/27/1962.
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, is also on stage.
Program cover from the 1965 Washington Day Exercises and Patriot of the Year Award Ceremony. R. Sargent Shirver Jr. received the award this year.
In the spring of 1984, English Professor Paul Rathburn organized a Shakespeare Reading Marathon to raise money for Adam Milani, a St. Joseph High School student who was seriously injured in a hockey game the previous December. April 25-29, 1984, on the Fieldhouse Mall, students, staff, and faculty continuously read Shakespeare for 100 hours. Among the campus celebrities who participated were Football Coach Gerry Faust (pictured), Men’s Basketball Coach Digger Phelps, Professor Emil T. Hofman, and the Glee Club. For their efforts, they raised over $5000 for the Milani Fund and earned a Guinness World Record for continuous reading of Shakespeare.
Tickets and press credentials for the Washington Day Exercises, 1960-1964
Senator John F. Kennedy receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President George Strake at the Washington Day Exercises, February 1957. 
Program cover from the 1965 Washington Day Exercises and Patriot of the Year Award Ceremony. R. Sargent Shirver Jr. received the award this year.
