The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant harmony), derives from the epistles of the Latin poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. The year of founding for the club is usually given as 1795, when a group of undergraduates came together "to cherish feelings of friendship and patriotism," or as 1770, the founding year for the Institute of 1770, an organization that the Pudding absorbed in 1924. By way of this amalgamation, the Pudding claims to be the oldest collegiate

social club A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

in the United States. Historically, the club has been noted for its "prestigious" reputation and viewed as "the first step towards

final club Harvard College has several types of social clubs. These are split between gender-inclusive clubs recognized by the college, and unrecognized single-gender clubs which are subject to College sanctions. The Hasty Pudding Club holds claim as the old ...

membership." An 1870 travel book lists the Hasty Pudding Club and the

Porcellian Club The Porcellian Club is an all-male final club at Harvard University, sometimes called the Porc or the P.C. The year of founding is usually given as 1791, when a group began meeting under the name "the Argonauts",, p. 171: source for 1791 origins ...

as "the two lions of Harvard."

History

The society was founded on September 1, 1795, by a 15-year-old Harvard College student, Horace Binney, who called together a meeting of 21 juniors in the room of Nymphas Hatch. The club is named for

hasty pudding Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge of grains cooked in milk or water. In the United States, it often refers specifically to a version made primarily with ground ("Indian") corn, and it is mentioned in the lyrics of "Yankee Doodle", a tradit ...

, a traditional English dish popular at that time in America that the founding members ate at their first meeting. Each week two members, chosen in alphabetical order, had to provide a pot of hasty pudding for the club to enjoy. Originally, the club engaged in holding mock trials, which became more elaborate over time. This culminated in a member, Lemuel Hayward, secretly planning to stage a musical on the night he was to host the club's meeting. On December 13, 1844, Hayward and other members staged ''

Bombastes Furioso ''Bombastes Furioso'', subtitled ''A Burlesque Tragic Opera'', was written in 1810 by William Barnes Rhodes (sometimes credited as Thomas Barnes Rhodes). The first authorized printed edition was published in 1822. It is a drama with comic son ...

'' in room 11 of

Hollis Hall This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system. Apley Court South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stre ...

, which began the

Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United Sta ...

. Throughout its history, the Hasty Pudding Club has absorbed other organizations. In 1924, the Club absorbed the Institute of 1770, D.K.E. In 2012, the Hasty Pudding Club,

, and

The Harvard Krokodiloes The Harvard Krokodiloes ("The Kroks") are Harvard University's oldest '' a cappella'' singing group, founded in 1946. The group consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates, and they sing songs from the Great American Songbook and beyond. The ...

merged into a single entity: The Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770.

The Hasty Pudding Club is the only social club on campus that is coed and has members from all four years. Students gain membership in the club by attending a series of lunches, cocktail parties, and other gatherings—which are referred to as the ''punch process.'' The club holds its social activities in a clubhouse near

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busin ...

. These include weekly Members' Nights, dinner and cocktail parties, as well as its elaborate theme parties, such as ''Leather and Lace''. The current clubhouse contains rooms with specific purposes—such as ''The Arena,'' the club's game room, which has no windows or openings to the outside.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Harvard University Clubs and societies in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts Harvard Square National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts 1795 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1795

History

See also

References

External links