On Campus : Bunn Library : Archives : The Prom at Lawrenceville

• 1885 – First dance on campus, sponsored by Woodhull House.
• 1891 – First Senior Promenade held at Commencement.
• 1896 – Prom is held immediately following a Periwig performance. Over the decades, Periwig performances became a staple of the Lawrenceville prom experience, which eventually came to encompass an entire weekend of events for boys and their visiting female guests.
• 1907 – Prom becomes a twice-a-year event, at Mid-winter and Spring.
• 1912 – The Lawrence runs for the first time a list of all prom attendees and their dates.
• 1930s – A cycle of three proms per year at Fall, Mid-winter and Spring becomes the norm.
• 1934 – First three-day prom weekend is held at Lawrenceville. Prom weekend schedules often included two dances, one a "tea dance," held in the late afternoon, often after a game or before a Periwig performance, and a formal dance the following evening. The more formal dances often lasted until the wee hours of the morning, some as late as 3 a.m.
• 1936 – Ozzie Nelson and featured vocalist Harriet Hilliard perform at the prom.
• 1942 – Winter Prom cancelled due to "transportation problems" brought about by WWII. Female guests and their chaperones generally arrived by train at the Trenton station, where they were met by boys and escorted back to the campus by trolley.
• 1944 – Les Brown, Doris Day and Gordon Drake perform at Fall Prom.
• 1945 & 1946 – Spring Proms cancelled due to transportation restrictions and shortages brought about by WWII.
• 1950 – Spring Prom becomes the only prom each year.
• 1961 – The Lawrence for the first time runs photos of dates in the Prom Issue. The relatively short-lived tradition ended in 1967.
• 1970 – Spring Prom becomes Spring Weekend, with more relaxed rules and dress.
• 1974 – Prom becomes a one-night event.
• 1980 – Prom cancelled due to "student apathy."
• 1981 – New tradition of three-day weekend for prom begins with no classes on Saturday, the prom Saturday night, events Sunday and freedom from campus until Monday night.
• 1985 – Girls stay in faculty homes if they are unable to travel home after prom.
• 1988 – First prom under the new co-ed system.
• 1992 – The Spin Doctors perform at the Prom.
• 1997 – First Junior Prom held in addition to Senior Prom.