Odd Fellows is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in London. The first known lodge was called Loyal Aristarcus Lodge No. 9, suggesting there were earlier ones in the 18th century. Notwithstanding, convivial meetings were held "in much revelry and, often as not, the calling of the Watch to restore order." Names of several British pubs today suggest past Odd Fellows affiliations. In the mid-18th century, following the Jacobite risings, the fraternity split into the rivaling Order of Patriotic Oddfellows in southern England, favouring William III of England, and the Ancient Order of Oddfellows in northern England and Scotland, favouring the House of Stuart.
Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is a collegiate literary society, the oldest student group at the university, and a claimant to the title of the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States, a claim disputed by Columbia University's Philolexian Society, which was established in 1802. Founded in 1813, its goal is "to promote the learning of its members and to increase the academic prestige of the University."
The New York University College of Arts & Science (CAS) is the primary liberal arts college of New York University (NYU). The school is located near Gould Plaza next to the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Stern School of Business, adjoining Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.
Elmer Ellsworth Brown (1861–1934) was an American educator.
The Order of Gimghoul is a collegiate secret society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is headquartered at Hippol Castle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Euphemian Literary Society, founded in 1839, is the oldest student organization in South Carolina still operating under its original charter. Euphemian Hall is located in Due West, South Carolina, on the Erskine College campus. It is a literary society at Erskine College. The society is chartered by the State of South Carolina.
The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union is a literary and debating group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. While its current incarnation is modern, the society has roots back to the first decade of operation of the University and was founded in the mid-1830s.
There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their level of secrecy and the degree of independence from their universities. A collegiate secret society makes a significant effort to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.
The Philoclean Society at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey is one of the oldest collegiate literary societies in the United States, and among the oldest student organizations at Rutgers University. Founded in 1825, the society was one of two such organizations—the other being the Peithessophian Society—on campus devoted to the same purpose.
Senior societies at University of Pennsylvania are an important part of student life.
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institution near City Hall based on a curriculum focused on a secular education. The university moved in 1833 and has maintained its main campus in Greenwich Village surrounding Washington Square Park. Since then, the university has added an engineering school in Brooklyn's MetroTech Center and graduate schools throughout Manhattan.
The Eucleian Society is a student literary society begun at New York University in 1832. According to New York University records, it ceased to exist around the 1940s; however, it was revived in 2017.
The Philodemic Society is a student debating society at Georgetown University founded in 1830 by Father James Ryder, S.J. The Philodemic is among the oldest such societies in the United States, and is the oldest secular student organization at Georgetown. The society's motto, "Eloquentiam Libertati Devinctam" reminds its members that they are pursuing Eloquence in Defense of Liberty.
The North American fraternity and sorority system began with students who wanted to meet secretly, usually for discussions and debates not thought appropriate by the faculty of their schools. Today they are used as social, professional, and honorary groups that promote varied combinations of community service, leadership, and academic achievement.
College literary societies in American higher education are a particular kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were often the precursors of college fraternities and sororities. In the period from the late 18th century to the Civil War, collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. These societies are often called Latin literary societies because they typically have compound Latinate names.
The New York University Archives has served, since 1977, as the final repository for the historical records of New York University (NYU), in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The NYU Archives contains documents, photographs or drawings collected since 1854, including records or notebooks of some notable people. It functions primarily to document the history of the university and to provide source material for administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and other members of the university community. The NYU Archives also accommodates scholars, authors, and other interested persons who seek to evaluate the impact of the university's activities on the history of American social, cultural and intellectual development.
The Philomathean Literary Society of Erskine College (ΑΑΣΕΣ) is an all-male student literary society of Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, United States. It was established in 1842. Its Philomathean Hall is the oldest building in the Erskine College-Due West Historic District. Its sister organization, the Philomelean Society, provides membership to women.
The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, American Jurisdiction is a jurisdiction of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows in the United States, Jamaica, Canada, South America, and other locations. Since its founding in 1843, its membership has principally included African Americans, due to their being discriminated against in most other fraternal orders in America at the time.
The Peithessophian Society of Rutgers College was a student literary and debating society founded in 1825 at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Founded by Professor James Spencer Canon after Rutgers College reopened after years of financial difficulty and a brief closing, it was one of two such societies at campus in the nineteenth-century—the other being the Philoclean Society. The name "Peithessophian" is derived from the Ancient Greek meaning "persuasiveness of wisdom."
The Philomathean Clubhouse is a historic clubhouse in Stockton, California and served the Philomathean Club, a women's club. Its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
