It's somewhat unclear when the great tradition of Titular Head began... Over the past couple years, our great virtual titular head team, has sought the answer to varying degrees of success (failure). We've gotten reports that 2025 was the 36th anniversary of the tradition, dating the first film to 1989, but we've also heard from alumni that it may have been an event since the 70s! We were also once told that the event started sometime before 1976, which would make this year (2026) at least the 50th anniversary. It's really hard to keep track of all these anniversaries with such conflicting data...
Either way! We know Tithead has breached the multi-decade barrier, and has definitely been around for at least 30 years. In that time, over 600 student films have been created! As a beloved tradition, we are sure that there is no stop is sight for just how many more will be made.
Below is a timeline created by Mahiro Noda '26 that tracks mentions of the Tithead Event throughout the years, starting with its (supposed) first mention (disclaimer! this was the oldest mention we could find in the archives, but not necessarily the oldest mention ever! In fact, the text saying "the traditional Titular Head contest" implies that it's definitely older!) in 1976...or sometime beforehand?
Now, all this History being said, and regardless of how old the event is, Tithead has changed over time. Through the The Scarlett & Black newspaper records in the Burling Library archives, we've learned that originally, Tithead was part of relays as a kind of pageant show?
Anyways! Our history is pretty rusty, and we're certainly not certain on a lot of it, but if you'd like to see what we've collected, please look at Mahiro's timeline below. If you have any comments for us, or would like to help us fill in the gaps, please fill out our form linked here.
