Alfred Lewis Vail was an American machinist and inventor. Along with Samuel Morse, Vail was central in developing and commercializing American telegraphy between 1837 and 1844.
The Flat Hat Club is the popular name of a collegiate secret society and honor fraternity founded in 1750 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The fraternity, formally named the "F.H.C. Society", was founded at the College on November 11, 1750. The society maintains relationships with societies at the University of St. Andrews and Amherst College.
The 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. Founded in 1813, its goal is "to promote the learning of its members and to increase the academic prestige of the University." Philomathean is derived from the Greek philomath, which means "a lover of learning." The motto of the Philomathean Society is Sic itur ad astra.
The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is the oldest student organization at the University of Virginia, having been founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn. As such, it is one of the oldest collegiate societies in North America. It is also the second oldest Greek-lettered organization in the United States, after Phi Beta Kappa. The Society's Greek-letters are Phi Pi Theta - ΦΠΘ, initials for Φίλοί, Πατρίς, θεός. Its Latin motto, Haec Olim Meminisse Iuvabit, is taken from Virgil's Aeneid and roughly translates to, "In the future it will be pleasing to remember these things."
The Pennsylvania Punch Bowl, also known colloquially as the Punch Bowl, is a humor magazine published by students at the University of Pennsylvania. The magazine was founded in 1899.
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. The Euphies are one of four literary societies at Erskine College. The Euphies are chartered by the State of South Carolina. Euphemian Hall is a contributing property in the Erskine College-Due West Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1982. The building was constructed in a Neoclassical design.
The position of Savilian Professor of Astronomy was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton College. He appointed John Bainbridge as the first professor, who took up his duties in 1620 or 1621.
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 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. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
The Eucleian Society was a student literary society begun at New York University in 1832. According to New York University records, it ceased to exist around the 1940s.
The Philodemic Society is a student debating society at Georgetown University. It was 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.
John Van Buren was an American attorney and politician in the U.S. state of New York. He represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and New York State Assembly in addition to serving terms as county judge and district attorney of Ulster County.
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 were a distinctive 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 eighteenth century to the Civil War, collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. College literary societies are often called Latin literary societies because they typically had compound Latinate names.
The Philomathean Literary Society of Erskine College is one of Erskine College's four literary societies. The Philomelean Society is the sister organization and provides membership to women. Philomathean Hall is the oldest building in the Erskine College-Due West Historic District, located in Due West, South Carolina. Alumni members have risen to some of the highest legal positions in the United States. The Philomathean Literary Society at Erksine is the oldest Philomathean Society still operational in the state of South Carolina.
The position of Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford was established in 1832 with money bequeathed to the university by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Boden, a retired soldier in the service of the East India Company. He wished the university to establish a Sanskrit professorship to assist in the conversion of the people of British India to Christianity, and his bequest was also used to fund scholarships in Sanskrit at Oxford. The first two professors were elected by Oxford graduates, as the university's statutes provided: Horace Hayman Wilson won by a narrow majority in 1832, and the 1860 election was hotly contested, as the rivals each claimed to be best at fulfilling Boden's intentions and presented different views about the nature and purpose of Sanskrit scholarship. Reforms of Oxford implemented in 1882 removed all mention of Boden's original purpose from the statutes, removed the power to elect the professor from graduates, and gave the holder of the professorship a fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.
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.
