Alexander “Ha Ha” Phillips was no ordinary mineralogy professor. He was also Princeton’s Republican mayor—and may or may not have banned students from going to the movies.

Thrilled to publish this little piece of quirky history in Princeton Alumni Weekly, part of years of research I’ve conducted on the history of Princeton geology. Read the article here.

Art created for PAW by Daniel Hertzberg, based on a painting by Robert Bruce Horsfall (American, 1869–1948), housed in Princeton University Art Museum.