History of Phi Beta Kappa
ΦBK was the first society to have a Greek-letter name, and it introduced the essential characteristics of such societies: an oath of secrecy, a badge, mottoes in Greek and Latin, a code of laws, an elaborate form of initiation, a seal, and a special handclasp. The organization was created as a secret society so that its founders would have the freedom to discuss any topic they chose. Freedom of inquiry has been a hallmark of ΦBK ever since.
Although the original society at William and Mary lasted only four years, ending when the approach of the British army forced the college to close, it had already admitted fifty members, held seventy-seven meetings — mostly literary exercises and debates — and granted charters for new chapters at Yale and Harvard.
The two New England chapters preserved the essential qualities of the Virginia society. Shortly before the end of each academic year, the graduating members selected a small group of student leaders from the rising senior class to carry on the organization. In 1831, after anti-Masonic agitation prompted much discussion about the ΦBK oath, Harvard dropped the requirement for secrecy — an action that probably saved the Society from further open criticism as well as from rivalry with the social fraternities that made their appearance around that time.
Other chapters were added gradually, and the number nationwide stood at 25 in 1883, when the National Council of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa was created. At about the same time, the first women and African-Americans were inducted into the Society. The first chapters to induct women were at the University of Vermont, in 1875, and at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University, in 1876. The first known African-American was inducted by the Vermont chapter in 1877.
Between 1887 and 1917, 64 new chapters were established, and by 1983 another 147 had been chartered. In 1988 the national organization’s name was changed to The Phi Beta Kappa Society. Today there are 276 chapters.
The first two centuries of the Society’s existence are described by Richard N. Current in his book Phi Beta Kappa in American Life: The First Two Hundred Years (Oxford University Press, 1990).
Phi Beta Kappa was founded on December 5, 1776, by five students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Foremost among the founders were John Heath, the first president, and William Short, who was active in the Society’s plan to expand by granting charters at other colleges (and who later became Thomas Jefferson’s secretary).
ΦBK was the first society to have a Greek-letter name, and it introduced the essential characteristics of such societies: an oath of secrecy, a badge, mottoes in Greek and Latin, a code of laws, an elaborate form of initiation, a seal, and a special handclasp. The organization was created as a secret society so that its founders would have the freedom to discuss any topic they chose. Freedom of inquiry has been a hallmark of ΦBK ever since.Although the original society at William and Mary lasted only four years, ending when the approach of the British army forced the college to close, it had already admitted fifty members, held seventy-seven meetings — mostly literary exercises and debates — and granted charters for new chapters at Yale and Harvard.
The two New England chapters preserved the essential qualities of the Virginia society. Shortly before the end of each academic year, the graduating members selected a small group of student leaders from the rising senior class to carry on the organization. In 1831, after anti-Masonic agitation prompted much discussion about the ΦBK oath, Harvard dropped the requirement for secrecy — an action that probably saved the Society from further open criticism as well as from rivalry with the social fraternities that made their appearance around that time.
Other chapters were added gradually, and the number nationwide stood at 25 in 1883, when the National Council of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa was created. At about the same time, the first women and African-Americans were inducted into the Society. The first chapters to induct women were at the University of Vermont, in 1875, and at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University, in 1876. The first known African-American was inducted by the Vermont chapter in 1877.
Between 1887 and 1917, 64 new chapters were established, and by 1983 another 147 had been chartered. In 1988 the national organization’s name was changed to The Phi Beta Kappa Society. Today there are 276 chapters.
The first two centuries of the Society’s existence are described by Richard N. Current in his book Phi Beta Kappa in American Life: The First Two Hundred Years (Oxford University Press, 1990).
PBK Association of Boston
Phi Beta Kappa Association of Boston is affiliated with the national Phi Beta Kappa Society and upholds its ideals. Our association seeks to engage PBK members living in the greater Boston area in a variety of activities and events geared toward the PBK ideals through lectures, networking and cultural events, and other activities such as viewing of movies or sporting events. In the past we have hosted happy hours, speakers on a range of political, historical, and social topics, and a wine tasting. We welcome your participation and your input.
The National Society
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and the most distinguished of all collegiate honorary societies. For more than two hundred years, election to membership has been a recognition of academic excellence achieved in the course of completing an education in the liberal arts and sciences at the undergraduate level. The objectives of humane learning encouraged by Phi Beta Kappa include intellectual honesty and tolerance, a broad range of intellectual interests, and a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of learning. Phi Beta Kappa was founded as a literary and debating society on December 5, 1776, by five students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1780, Yale College and Harvard College received the second and third chapters. It was the first American society to have a Greek letter name, and in its first meeting, the chapter adopted the emblem of the organization, the Phi Beta Kappa key. The Society? name comes from the first letters of its Greek motto, (roughly) ?hilosophia Biou Kuburnetes? ?ove of learning, the Helmsman of Life. Among the earliest members, more than one fourth served with revolutionary forces in the American Revolution, several were instrumental in framing and bringing about the ratification of the American Constitution, and one of the early members, John Marshall, became first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Phi Beta Kappa has changed substantially in its aims, membership, and organization. Originally a secret society, all secrecy was eliminated in the 1830s. In its early days a social club similar to today's fraternities, it developed over the course of the nineteenth century into an academic honor society existing to recognize excellence in liberal learning and admitting members only after they meet the highest academic standards. For many decades a males only organization, women began to be admitted in 1875, when the chapter at the University of Vermont admitted two women to membership, a step regarded by many at the time as revolutionary.Today there are about 255 Phi Beta Kappa chapters on American college and university campuses, along with over fifty associated alumni organizations which promote the liberal arts and sciences through lectures, scholarships, and awards recognizing the academic achievement of high school and college students. The organization has almost a half million living members. A list of past and present members reads like a Who's Who of American society.
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