Berzelius (secret society)
| Berzelius | |
|---|---|
| BZ | |
 | |
| Founded | 1848 Yale University |
| Type | Senior society |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Status | Active |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Former name | Colony Club |
| Headquarters | 78 Trumbull Street New Haven, Connecticut 06510 United States |
Berzelius (BZ) is a secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The society was established in 1848. It was named for the Swedish scientist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, considered one of the founding fathers of modern chemistry.
History
[edit]Berzelius is a secret society established in 1848 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut as Colony Club.[1] Later, it was renamed Berzelius for the Swedish scientist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, considered one of the founding fathers of modern chemistry.
BZ, as the society is called often, is the third oldest society at Yale and the oldest of those of the now-defunct Sheffield Scientific School, the institution which from 1854 to 1956 was the sciences and engineering college of Yale University.[2] Berzelius became a senior society in the tradition of Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, and Wolf's Head in 1933 when the Sheffield Scientific School was integrated into Yale University.[1]
The society takes its intellectual mission seriously, invoking Socrates' exhortation "The unexamined life is not worth living” as well as stating to its prospective members that: "Berzelius provides opportunities for achieving insights through an open, honest exchange of experiences, passions, and opinions. This process prepares its members — whose diversity is highly valued — for an active, intellectually vigorous, and moral life, giving them a place and time for contemplation and reflection so that they might rise boldly to the challenges of their lives, devoted to good character, tolerant of others, and willing to serve their communities while forging links of mind to mind in a chain unbroken."
The society's corporate name is Colony Foundation, changed from the Bezelius Trust Association in 1951.[1][2]
Buildings
[edit]In the late 19th century, Berzelius built a dormitory for its members at 17 Hillhouse Avenue. Henry Bacon and James Brite designed the brick-clad Neo-Renaissance-style dormitory, completed in 1898. Yale purchased the BZ dormitory in 1933 for student housing, later using it for faculty offices.[1] It was demolished in 1969 to facilitate the construction of the Yale Health Services Center.
In 1910, the Berzelius Trust Association purchased property at 78 Trumbell Street in New Haven construct a new building or tomb as BZ's meeting place.[2] Donn Barber designed the building to resemble a Greek temple.[3][4] The limestone neoclassical tomb was completed in 1910.[2] Outsiders refer to BZ's building as a tomb, the customary appellation for a secret society structure at Yale. However, many BZ members refer to their building as The Hall. This is likely a transferred linguistic remnant of the tradition of the 'Sheff' secret societies, which had "halls" for residential use and "tombs" as separate meeting places, in contrast to the Yale College senior secret societies, which maintained only tombs.
The tomb is set off from the more active center of Yale's campus, providing privacy for Berzelius' members, and its unadorned largely blank exterior conveys to outsiders the deceptive sense that nothing much happens inside. In addition to the meeting room, dining area, and numerous study rooms, there are below-ground activity rooms with a pool table and ping pong table for recreation.
In 2002, BZ's tomb underwent a major restoration.[3]
Notable members
[edit]Berzelius's members have included U.S. senators and governors, influential journalists and activists, accomplished athletes and artists, and successful businesspeople. Following are some of its notable members.
- William Phipps Blake, American geologist, mining consultant, and educator.
- David Dellinger, American pacifist and activist
- Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals[5]
- Bradford Dillman, actor
- Arnold Hague, a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park
- Levi Jackson, first African American to captain an Ivy League football team, first African American member of a Yale secret society. Later, a high-ranking executive at Ford Motor Company[6]
- Stanhope Wood Nixon, vice president and chairman of the board of the Nixon Nitration Works[7]
- William Proxmire, United States Senator (D) from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. An early critic of the Vietnam War, and an outspoken campaigner against wasteful government spending[8]
- William W. Scranton, Republican Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967; United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977[8]
- Will Schwalbe, American writer and businessman[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Yale University Archives. "Tombs and Taps, An inside look at Yale's Fraternities, Sororities and Societies". www.conspiracyarchive.com. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ a b c d Drake, Carman. "Berzelius Society Tomb: Building Details". New Have Building Archive. Yale Urban Media Project, Yale University. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ a b "Recent and Current Projects". Leland Torrence Enterprises, Inc. Archived from the original on 2002-10-10.
- ^ Khederian, Robert (June 21, 2018). "Tomb raiders: The clubhouses of Yale's secret societies". Curbed. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ^ "7 of Yale's super-elite secret societies ranked by wealth". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (2000-12-29). "Levi Jackson, a Pioneer at Yale, Is Dead at 74". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ "Stanhope Nixon Held For Assault. Son of New York Shipbuilder, a Student at Yale, Nearly Killed a Man with Iron Bolt". New York Times. April 2, 1914. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
Upon his return from practice with the Yale varsity crew squad this afternoon Stanhope Wood Nixon of New York City, son of Lewis Nixon, the well-known shipbuilder and Tammany leader, was arrested at his room in the Colony, the clubhouse of a prominent secret society of the Sheffield Scientific School [(Berzelius)], at which young Nixon is a student.
- ^ a b Richards, David Alan (2017). Skulls and keys: the hidden history of Yale's secret societies (First Pegasus Booksition ed.). Pegasus. ISBN 9781681775173.