Wolf's Head Society is a senior society at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

and

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies ...

. Active undergraduate membership is elected annually with sixteen Yale University students, typically rising seniors. Honorary members are elected. The current delegation spends its year together answerable to an alumni association. Some past members have gained prominence in athletics, business, the fine and literary arts, higher education, journalism, and politics.

History

Fifteen rising seniors from the Yale Class of 1884, with help from members of the Yale Class of 1883 who were considered publicly possible taps for the older societies, abetted the creation of The Third Society. The society changed its name to Wolf's Head five years later.Andrews, John. ''History of the Founding of Wolf's Head'', Lancaster Press, 1934. Phelps Trust Association archives,

Sterling Memorial Library Sterling Memorial Library (SML) is the main library building of the Yale University Library system in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Opened in 1931, the library was designed by James Gamble Rogers as the centerpiece of Yale's Gothic Revi ...

, Yale University. The effort was aided by more than 300

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

alumni and a few

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

faculty, in part to counter the dominance of the Skull and Bones Society in undergraduate and university affairs. The founding defeated the last attempt by the administration or the student body to abolish secret or senior societies at Yale. The tradition continued of creating and sustaining a society if enough potential rising seniors thought they had been overlooked: Bones was established in 1832 after a dispute over selections for

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

awards; Scroll and Key Society, the second society at Yale, was established in 1841 after a dispute over elections to Bones. The Third Society's founding was motivated in part by sentiment among some young men that they deserved insider status. " certain limited number were firmly convinced that there had been an appalling miscarriage of justice in their individual omission from the category of the elect," some founders agreed.

Antecedents

Before the founding in 1780 at Yale of the ''Connecticut Alpha chapter'' of

, the second chapter established after that society's founding in 1776 (which still practices a secret handshake among members), Yale College students established and joined literary societies. By the 1830s, the campus literary societies

Linonia Linonia is a literary and debating society founded in 1753 at Yale University. It is the university's second-oldest secret society. History Linonia was founded on September 12, 1753, as Yale College's second literary and debating society, af ...

Brothers in Unity Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate society at Yale University. Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group dis ...

, and Calliopean had lost stature. Calliopean folded in 1853, and the others shut down after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Calliopean, Linonia, and Brothers in Unity existed respectively: 1819–1853, 1768–1878, and 1735–1868. From the mid-1840s until 1883, several societies were started, but each failed to sustain the interest of

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

students at Yale College, broadly known as the Academical Department. Star and Dart, Sword and Crown, Tea-Kettle, Spade and Grave, and E.T.L. disbanded.Andrews, p. 75. Phi Beta Kappa was inactive at Yale from 1871 to 1884, coinciding in part with a national reorganization of the society. In the 1820s, Anti-Masonic agitation sweeping across the United States prompted PBK to examine the role of secrecy in its proceedings. Associated with PBK's national reorganization in 1881, secrecy disappeared as a signature among all chapters, quelling rivalry with collegiate

fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

, clubs and societies. Hence, secrecy was soon shelved at the Yale chapter. PBK exists today, without any secrecy, as an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

. Beginning in the 1850s, the Yale undergraduate student body grew more diverse. The college was becoming an institution of national rather than regional importance. Students who hailed from environs beyond

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

or who were not Congregationalist or

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

entered the college in large numbers. The faculty and administration were dominated by alumni of Bones, numbering four out of five faculty members between 1865 and 1916. Bones alumni were university secretaries from 1869 to 1921. Bones alumni were university treasurers for forty-three of the forty-eight years between 1862 - 1910. Five of the first six

Yale Corporation The Yale Corporation, officially The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Assembly of corporation The Corporation comprises 19 members: * Three ex officio An ''ex officio'' m ...

elected Alumni Fellows were members of Bones. Dissatisfaction grew: In 1873, ''The Iconoclast'', a student paper published once, , advocated for the abolition of the society system. It opined: "Out of every class Skull and Bones takes its men...They have obtained control of Yale. Its business is performed by them. Money paid to the college must pass into their hands, and be subject to their will....It is Yale College against Skull and Bones!! We ask all men, as a question of right, which should be allowed to live?"Andrews, p. 39. The

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...

first appeared on . A memoir of the first college daily's birth records its first year strategy to "rag" the societies. The Class of 1884 agreed to support another revolt against the society system with a vote of no confidence to coincide with its graduation. It had been understood that the society system was beyond reform and might well be abolished. A spirited defense of the society system appeared in the issue of ''The New Englander'', written and published by members of Scroll and Key. Several periodicals reported regularly on the situation.Andrews, pp. 58-61. Wolf's Head Tomb LOC

Establishment

The initial delegation, including ten Class Day officers from the Class of 1884 and led by

Edwin Albert Merritt Edwin Albert Merritt (July 25, 1860 – December 4, 1914) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born on July 25, 1860, in Pierrepont, St. Lawrence County, New York, the son of Edwin Atkins Merritt (1828–1916), and was known a ...

, met in secret during their senior year with the aid of members of the Class of 1883 who were "eager to start a society provided the evil features of the old societies would be eliminated.

he graduating and rising seniors He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

were unanimous on this point." Included among the supporters from the Class of 1883 were members touted as sure selections to Bones or Keys by the publishers of the ''Horoscope'', an undergraduate publication that provided feature material on the most likely taps. The pro-society seniors won the Class Day vote, 67 - 50.Andrews, p. 70. The new society was conceived on or about June 5, 1883. Among undergraduates the fledgling group was known as the "Fox and Grapes" for the Aesopian fable of jealousy. The two older societies suffered by comparison with Wolf's Head. ''

The New Haven Register The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 and ...

'' reported in 1886: "Wolf's Head is not as far out of the world, in respect to its public doings, as are ones and Keys There is a sufficient veil of secrecy drawn around its mechanism, however, to class it with the secret societies, and this gives it a stability and respectability in Yale College circles that it might not have otherwise...." The society was managed similarly to finals clubs associated with the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, ...

; however, it soon took on almost all aspects of the older societies.

Early stature

The Third Society sat at the apex of a social

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

bricked by junior societies (sophomore societies were abolished in 1875, freshman societies in 1880),Andrews, p. 46. campus organizations, athletic teams, clubs, and fraternities. In 1888, the society changed its name to Wolf's Head Society, consonant with the approval among undergraduates of the society's pin, a stylized wolf's head on an inverted

ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphate ...

, an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian

hieroglyphic Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...

known as the Egyptian Cross or "the key of life". The earliest undergraduate members allowed fellow schoolmates to handle the pin, a specific refutation of pin display by the older societies. Eternal life is symbolized rather than death or erudition. A Roman fasces had been considered as a design element for the pin.

Point of view

Many pioneering and subsequent members mocked as "poppycock" (from the Dutch for "soft excrement") the seemingly Masonic-inspired rituals and atmosphere associated with Skull and Bones. In their ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'' prank, Wolf's Head members persuaded the thespian pirate king to display the numbers 322 (part of the emblem of Skull and Bones) below a

skull and crossbones A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under or behind the skull. The design originated in the Late Middle Ages as a symbol of death and especially as a ''memento mori'' on tombstones. ...

at a local

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. In another example, Yale President A. Whitney Griswold's deprecated the rituals as "bonesy bullshit" and " Dink Stover crap" coloring undergraduate life. Wolf's Head did maintain many traditional practices, such as the Thursday and Sunday meetings, which were common among its peers.

Paul Moore, Jr. Paul Moore Jr. (November 15, 1919 – May 1, 2003) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church and former United States Marine Corps officer. He served as the 13th Bishop of New York from 1972 to 1989. During his lifetime, he was perhaps the best know ...

, long-time Senior Fellow and successor trustee (1964 - 1990) for the

and long-tenured bishop in the

Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

, recalled the night before he first encountered combat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

: "I spent the evening on board ship being quizzed by friend from Harvardabout what went on in Wolf's Head. He could not believe I would hold back such irrelevant secrets the night before I faced possible death."

The Halls

Previous Tomb

The "Old Hall" was erected within months of the founding. The older Academical Department societies met originally for decades in rented quarters near campus. Skull and Bones opened its tomb in 1856, more than two decades after its founding. Scroll and Key did likewise; it opened its tomb in 1869 more than two decades after the society's founding. Old Wolf's Head society hall built 1884 Yale College New Haven Connecticut

Old Wolf's Head society hall built 1884 Yale College New Haven Connecticut

McKim, Mead and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

, firm of. 1884, former or "Old Hall" at 77 Prospect Street, across the street from the

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...

, commissioned for the Phelps Trust Association,

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

. Purchased by the university in 1924, rented to

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

fraternity (1924–29), Book and Bond (defunct society) (1934–35), and Vernon Hall (now

Myth and Sword Established in 1908, The Order of Myth and Sword is the last secret society founded in the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The organisation was first formed as "Vernon Hall", a three-year society bearing th ...

) (1944–54). Currently houses the Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies. A building with narrow

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materia ...

s, the "Old Hall" was noted as "the most modern and handsomest" of the society domiciles by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 1903. The building was erected in 1884 soon after the founding members secured financing. *

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for t ...

, architect, designed "New Hall", ca. 1924; built posthumously. Goodhue was a protege of

James Renwick Jr. James Renwick Jr. (born November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale, in Upper Manhattan, New York City – June 23, 1895, New York City) was an American architect in the 19th century. ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' calls him "one of the most ...

, architect of the first

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

chapter house in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The building has stone wall and wrought iron fencing, and is central to the largest secret society compound on campus. The compound commands the most prominent location on campus beyond

Harkness Tower Harkness Tower is a masonry tower at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Collegiate Gothic Memorial Quadrangle complex completed in 1922, it is named for Charles William Harkness, brother of Yale's largest benefactor, Edward ...

, the very icon of Yale, and the

Memorial Quadrangle The Memorial Quadrangle is a residential quadrangle at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Commissioned in 1917 to supply much-needed student housing for Yale College, it was Yale's first Collegiate Gothic building and its first project ...

Current Tomb

The "New Hall" opened in the mid-1920s and sits fronted by York Street surrounded by the ''

Briton Hadden Briton Hadden (February 18, 1898 – February 27, 1929) was the co-founder of ''Time'' magazine with his Yale classmate Henry Luce. He was ''Time''s first editor and the inventor of its revolutionary writing style, known as Timestyle. Thoug ...

Memorial building, and the

Yale Drama School The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

and theatre, both gifts to Yale from Edward Harkness.Kelley, Brooks Mather.''Yale: A History'', Yale University Press, New Haven and London. p. 374. . It is near the former homes of the Fence Club (or

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

, 224 York Street), DKE (232 York Street) and

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

(212 York Street).

Membership

The society has been reputed to tap the gregarious " prep school type". Past members were associated intimately with the: coeducation of Yale College, establishment of the Yale residential college system and the Harvard house system, founding of the Elizabethan Club, and founding of the Yale Political Union. This was Yale's last all-male society; it has tapped women since the spring of 1992. Edward John Phelps,

Envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

, accepted the offer in 1885 to be namesake to the Wolf's Head alumni association. The Phelps Association, as of January 2016, holds in trust nearly seven million dollars, second among Yale societies or clubs. Yale societies contrast sharply with Harvard finals clubs on membership criteria. Contributions to undergraduate life has been historically among the criteria for membership in Yale societies. Finals clubs overlook that quality among prospective members.

Notable members

Stephen Vincent Benét Yale College BA 1919

* Malcolm Baldrige, Jr., former

U.S. Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

Leigh Bardugo Leigh Bardugo ( he, לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the ''Shadow and Bone'' trilogy, the ''Six of Crows'' duology, and the '' King of Scars'' duolo ...

(1997), Israeli-American author * Charles L. Bartlett, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist * Donald Beer (1957), Competition Rower and Olympic Champion *

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét (; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, ''John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receive ...

(1919), Pulitzer Prize–winning American poet, short story writer, and novelist * Clarence Winthrop Bowen (1883), American author of historical essays *

David Josiah Brewer David Josiah Brewer (June 20, 1837 – March 28, 1910) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1890 to 1910. An appointee of President Benjamin Harrison, he supported states' righ ...

, Justice of the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

James Smith Bush James Smith Bush (June 15, 1825 – November 11, 1889) was an American attorney, Episcopal priest, religious writer, and an ancestor of the Bush political family. He was the father of business magnate Samuel Prescott Bush, grandfather of form ...

(1844), Episcopal priest * William H.T. Bush (1950), Businessperson * John Charlesworth (1929), American football player * Thomas Charlton (1956), competition rower and Olympic medalist * Sam Chauncey (1957),

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

administrator * John Proctor Clarke, Justice of the New York Supreme Court *

Alexander Smith Cochran Alexander Smith Cochran (February 28, 1874 – June 20, 1929 ) was a manufacturer, sportsman and philanthropist from Yonkers, New York. Biography He was born on February 28, 1874, to William Francis Cochran and Eva Smith. His grandfather was Alex ...

(1896), manufacturer and philanthropist *

Erastus Corning 2nd Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classic urban political ...

(1932), New York politician *

Parker Corning Parker Corning (January 22, 1874 – May 24, 1943) was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. He is most notable for his service as a United States representative from New York from 1923 to 1937. A member of the Alb ...

(1895), businessman and

US Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...

(1978), retired Minnesota senator and governor * Robert Fiske (1952), attorney and law partner * William Clay Ford (1949), businessman and heir *

Richard Gilder Richard Gilder Jr. (May 31, 1932 – May 12, 2020), was an American philanthropist and co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. He also headed the brokerage firm Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co., whose specialty is tradi ...

(1954), philanthropist and businessman *

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...

(1972), architecture criticBones, Dem Bones...and the Magic of Yale"
Harvard.edu, August 30, 2004. *

A. Conger Goodyear Anson Conger Goodyear (June 20, 1877 – April 24, 1964) was an American manufacturer, businessman, author, and philanthropist and member of the Goodyear family (New York), Goodyear family. He is best known as one of the founding members and first ...

(1899), philanthropist and 1st President of

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

A. Whitney Griswold Alfred Whitney Griswold (October 27, 1906 – April 19, 1963) was an American historian and educator. He served as 16th president of Yale University from 1951 to 1963, during which he built much of Yale's modern scientific research infrastructur ...

(1929), 16th President of Yale *

Edwin S. Grosvenor Edwin S. Grosvenor is a writer, photographer, and President and Editor-in-Chief of ''American Heritage''. He has published nine books and is best known for writing on his great-grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell, including two books and several ma ...

(1973), President and Editor-in-Chief of ''

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...

'' *

Ashbel Green Gulliver Ashbel Green Gulliver (November 23, 1897, Connecticut - July 3, 1974, Hanover, New Hampshire) was the dean of Yale Law School from 1940 to 1946. His nickname was "Pail"—from ashpail. Early life Gulliver went to Groton School for high school ...

(1919), dean of

Charles Harkness Charles William Harkness (December 17, 1860 – May 1, 1916) was a son of Stephen V. Harkness (an original investor in the company that became Standard Oil) and his second wife, the former Anna Harkness, Anna M. Richardson. Early life Charles ...

(1883), investor and heir *

Edward Harkness Edward Stephen Harkness (January 22, 1874 – January 29, 1940) was an American philanthropist. Given privately and through his family's Commonwealth Fund, Harkness' gifts to private hospitals, art museums, and educational institutions in the Nort ...

(1896), philanthropist and major benefactor to

William L. Harkness William Lamon Harkness (August 8, 1858 – May 10, 1919) was an American businessman and inheritor of a large share of Standard Oil. Early life William Lamon Harkness was born in Bellevue, Ohio, the son of Daniel M. Harkness, who was the half-br ...

, American businessman *

Robert Maynard Hutchins Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and earlier dean of Yale Law School (1927–1929). His& ...

(1921), collegiate administrator and president of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

* Charles Edward Ives (1898), American modernist composer *

Dick Jauron Richard Manuel Jauron (born October 7, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five with the Detroit Lions and three with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron served as the he ...

(1973), American football player *

William Woolsey Johnson William Woolsey Johnson (1841–1927) was an American mathematician, who was one of the founders of the American Mathematical Society. Life and work Johnson, son of a farmer of Tioga County, New York, studied at Yale University where he receiv ...

, American mathematician''Skull and Keys'', p. 319 *

Rashid Khalidi Rashid Ismail Khalidi (; born 1948) is an American historian of the Middle East and the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He served as editor of the '' Journal of Palestine Studies'' from 2002 until 2020, whe ...

(1970), Palestinian American historian *

Lewis Lehrman Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman (born August 15, 1938, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American investment banker, businessman, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, economist, and historian who supports the ongoing study of America ...

, investment banker and politician *

Christopher Lydon Christopher Lydon (born 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American media personality and author. He was the original host of '' The Connection'', produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations, and created '' Open Source'', a weekly r ...

, media personality and commentator *

Douglas MacArthur II Douglas MacArthur II (July 5, 1909 – November 15, 1997) was an American diplomat. During his diplomatic career, he served as United States ambassador to Japan, List of ambassadors of the United States to Belgium, Belgium, List of ambassadors of ...

(1932), American diplomat *

Wayne MacVeagh Isaac Wayne MacVeagh (April 19, 1833January 11, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as the 36th Attorney General of the United States under the administrations of Presidents James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. ...

, American politician and former

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

''Skulls and Keys'', p. 319 * William Matthews (1965), poet, winner of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize * Edwin Merritt (1884), New York Politician *

Clark Millikan Clark Blanchard Millikan (August 23, 1903 – January 2, 1966) was a distinguished professor of aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering. Biography Millikan's par ...

(1924), American academic"Caltech obituary - Clark"
Caltech.edu; accessed September 14, 2016. *

Roger Milliken Roger Milliken (October 24, 1915 – December 30, 2010) was an American textile heir, industrialist, businessman, and political activist. He served as President and then CEO of his family's company, Milliken & Company, from 1947 until 2005. He co ...

(1937), American heir, industrialist, and businessman *

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is generally charact ...

(1915), composer and author * Paul Moore, American bishop * Paul Moore, Sr. (1908), American businessman * Jack Morrison (1967), American ice hockey Olympic athlete *

Thruston Morton Thruston Ballard Morton (August 19, 1907 – August 14, 1982) was an American politician. A Republican, Morton represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Early life Morton was born on August 19, 1907, ...

(1929),

US Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

* Rogers C. B. Morton, U.S. Representative, Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Commerce * Edward John Phelps, Lawyer and diplomat * Philip W. Pillsbury (1924), Chair of

Pillsbury Company The Pillsbury Company is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that was one of the world's largest producers of cereal, grain and other foodstuffs until it was bought by General Mills in 2001. General Mills brands consist of Annie's, Betty Croc ...

Ducky Pond Raymond W. "Ducky" Pond (February 17, 1902 – August 25, 1982) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He was the head football coach at Yale University from 1934 to 1940, and at Bates College in 1941 and from 1946 to 195 ...

(1925), American football and baseball player *

Geoffrey Robinson Geoffrey Robinson (born 25 May 1938) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North West for 43 years, from 1976 to 2019. He was Paymaster General from May 1997 to December 1998, resigning after ...

, British politician and businessperson * Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., 20th President of Yale *

Kurt Schmoke Kurt Lidell Schmoke (born December 1, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 47th mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1987 to 1999, the first African American to be elected to the post. He is the current president of the University ...

(1971), American lawyer and politician * Raymond Seitz, (1963), American Ambassador to the United Kingdom *

Edmund Clarence Stedman Edmund Clarence Stedman (October 8, 1833January 18, 1908) was an American poet, critic, essayist, banker, and scientist. Early life Edmund Clarence Stedman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 8, 1833; his father, Major Edmund Burke ...

, American poet, critic, essayist, banker, and scientist *

Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and ...

(1979), American business man and liberal political activist *

William Earl Dodge Stokes William Earle Dodge Stokes (May 22, 1852 – May 18, 1926) was an American multimillionaire responsible for developing much of New York City, New York's Upper West Side. Early life Stokes was born in New York City on May 22, 1852. He was th ...

, Businessman and urban developer *

Sam Wagstaff Samuel Jones Wagstaff Jr. (November 4, 1921 – January 14, 1987) was an American art curator and collector as well as the artistic mentor and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who was also his lifetime companion) and poet- punk ro ...

, American art curator and collector *

Rusty Wailes Richard "Rusty" Donald Wailes, a.k.a. ''Perfect Oarsman'' (March 21, 1936 in Edmonds, Washington – October 11, 2002 on Lake Washington) was an American rower. Wailes began sport rowing when he entered Yale University in the fall of 1954. ...

(1958), American rower *

Clarissa Ward Clarissa Ward (born January 31, 1980) is a British-American television journalist, who is currently chief international correspondent for CNN. She was with CBS News, based in London. Before her CBS News position, Ward was a Moscow-based news co ...

(2002), Emmy award-winning American journalist * Arthur Williams Wright (1859), American physicist *

Douglas Wick Douglas Wick is an American film producer whose work includes producing ''Gladiator'', ''Stuart Little'', and ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. Life and career Wick is the son of actress Mary Jane (Woods) and United States Information Agency director ...

(1976) Academy Award-winning film producer *

Doug Wright Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play ''I Am My Own Wife''. Early years Wright was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended and ...

(1985), Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter *

William Wrigley III William A. Wrigley III (January 21, 1933 – March 8, 1999), known as William Wrigley, was president of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, founded by his grandfather William Wrigley Jr., from 1961 until his death from pneumonia in March 1999. His ...

(1954), president of the

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational chewing gum (Wrigley's gum) company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is wholly owned by Mars, In ...

Yale University Banner and Pot Pourri Yearbook, New Haven, CT, Class of 1954, pg. 35

Notes

References

*Skulls and Keys, David Alan Richards, Pegasus Books Ltd., 2017. *Insiders and Outsiders in American Historical Narrative and American History, R. Laurence Moore, ''

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...

'' (Apr. 1982). *Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

, and the Hidden Paths of Power,

Alexandra Robbins Alexandra Robbins is a journalist, lecturer, and author. Her books focus on young adults, education, and modern college life. Five of her books have been New York Times Bestsellers. Biography She graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Beth ...

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

, Boston, MA, 2002. *''

The Power Elite ''The Power Elite'' is a 1956 book by sociologist C. Wright Mills, in which Mills calls attention to the interwoven interests of the leaders of the military, corporate, and political elements of society and suggests that the ordinary citizen in ...

'',

C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American Sociology, sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journ ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1956. , *''

Tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

s: How

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

, and J.P. Morgan invented the American supereconomy'', Charles R. Morris, H. Holt and Co., New York, 2005. *''

On Bullshit ''On Bullshit'' is a 2005 book (originally a 1986 essay) by American philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt which presents a theory of bullshit that defines the concept and analyzes the applications of bullshit in the context of communication. Frankfurt ...

'', Harry G. Frankfurt,

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, 2005. *My Harvard, My Yale, Diana DuBois, editor,

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, NY, NY, 1982. *''Dear Wolf's Head'', by Karolina Ksiazek, Yale Daily News weekend section, datelined Thursday, May 2, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf's Head (Secret Society) 1883 establishments in the United States Secret societies at Yale Student organizations established in 1883