jan 1, 1832 - Skull and Bones is founded
Description:
-Origins
Alternative names for the Skull and Bones are The Order, Order322 and The Brotherhood of Death. It was founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft, and according to some accounts, after a dispute among Yale debating societies Linonia, Brothers in Unity, and the Calliopean Society over that season's Phi Beta Kappa awards. Other sources say that Russell modeled it after European groups he encountered while studying in Germany. The society's original name was the Eulogian Club. The emblem of the society is a skull and crossbones with the number "322" beneath it. The number is believed to refer to the year, 322 BCE, of the death of Greek orator Demosthenes, which was a turning point for ancient Athens to transform from democracy to plutocracy. The clubhouse for the society is a monumental brownstone building in New Haven called the Tomb which was originally built in 1856 and was doubled in size in 1903 and has since been further enlarged. This society is the oldest of several secret societies on the Yale campus. Like most other societies, it chooses 15 new members every spring at a ceremony called "tap day"(or "tap night") where Juniors are notified of their selection by a society member who ritually claps them on the shoulder. The society has always kept its affairs secret but published a membership roster for many years.
~(Side note)Some new members are high-achieving students, while others are descendants of socially prominent families.
~(Fun Fact) Rumor that the stolen skull of Apache leader Geronimo is among the relics that Skull and Bones keeps in its Tomb and in 2009 Geronimo's descendants sued unsuccessfully to get the skull in question turned over to them.
Added to timeline:
Conspiracies Final
Date:
