The Phoenix - S K Club
Encyclopedia
Final club
A final club is an undergraduate social club at Harvard College.- Origins :The historical basis for the name final clubs is that Harvard used to have a variety of clubs for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, with students of different years being in different clubs, and the "final clubs"...
at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, which traces its earliest roots to 1895. It consists of an undergraduate body of male upperclassmen at Harvard College who are not members of any other Final Club and alumni members. It is a body which has resulted from the amalgamation and reorganization of various individual clubs; namely the Sphinx, Kalumet, S K, and Phoenix Clubs. The Phoenix - S K is currently located at 72 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 near Harvard Square, which is a property protected by the Cambridge Historical Commission.
History
The Sphinx ClubThe Sphinx Club grew out of small secret society founded in 1897. Originally known by several names, in 1900, almost all the members of this organization joined together in forming the Sphinx Club, located at 1172 Massachusetts Avenue, then 55 Mt. Auburn Street. In 1903 the Club moved to 72 Mt. Auburn Street, the current site of the Phoenix - S K Club.
The Kalumet Club
The Kalumet Club was started by members of the Harvard chapter of Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
, many in the class of 1900, and occupied a small house on the current Harvard Lampoon building site on Mt. Auburn Street. In 1900, the Club was formally organized as the Kalumet Club, and moved to 1178 Massachusetts Avenue. In 1901 it moved to 104 Mt. Auburn Street, then 3 years later it moved again to 44 Church Street, where it remained until its amalgamation with the Sphinx in 1914.
The S K Club
The adoption of the Inter-Club Agreement and other conditions made the union of these two Clubs desirable, so in 1914, members of both Clubs voted that their undergraduate memberships should both join the new S K Club. Construction was begun on a new Club house on the site of the Sphinx house at 72 Mt. Auburn Street, and the Kalumet house was employed in the meantime. The new building formally opened on April 1, 1916.
The Phoenix Club
The Phoenix Club was started in 1902 by a group of men who were members of the national Sophomore society, Theta Nu Epsilon
Theta Nu Epsilon
Founded at Wesleyan University in 1870 as a chapter of Skull and Bones, Theta Nu Epsilon is a sophomore class society that accepts members regardless of their fraternity status.-Early history:...
. The Alpha Eta Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon was chartered in 1895. The members of T.N.E. organized the Phoenix Club for residential and dining purposes, yet still maintained ties as the Alpha Eta Chapter to the rest of the society until 1913 when there was a division of that society. It is not known when members of the Phoenix Club ceased to meet as members of Theta Nu Epsilon. Starting in 1902, the Phoenix Club occupied a series of houses, starting with the John Hicks House at 64 Dunster Street, then in 1906 it moved to 97 Mt. Auburn Street, then in 1920 it moved again to the northeast corner of Winthrop and Holyoke Streets.
The Phoenix – S K Club
In 1925, negotiations for the amalgamation of the Phoenix and the S K were started, and in January, 1925, undergraduate bodies of both clubs voted their approval. A new Club, the Phoenix - S K, was formed, which occupied the S K Club house at 72 Mt. Auburn Street. With time, due to changing conditions within the University, it became advantageous for the Phoenix - S K to be classified as a Final Club, so on May 24, 1930, the Club became final.
Recent press
The Accidental BillionairesThe Accidental Billionaires
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal is a 2009 book by Ben Mezrich about the founding of Facebook. Co-founder Eduardo Saverin served as Mezrich's main consultant...
, a 2009 novel by Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
based on the founding of Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, references the Phoenix - S K Club punch process that Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo P. Saverin is a Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and investor. Saverin is best known for co-founding Facebook, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes...
(member) participated in and Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president...
witnessed in their sophomore years at Harvard. The novel was adapted into a major motion picture, The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
, which was released on October 1, 2010.
In 2003, the Phoenix - S K Club was investigated for animal cruelty in association with initiation rituals involving raising chickens and their potential torture, but a conclusion was never reached. The Social Network fictionally suggested that the cruelty involved animal cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
.
Notable members
- Abbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
(1877 - Honorary Member) - President of Harvard University from 1909–1933 - William Richards Castle, Jr.William Richards Castle, Jr.William Richards Castle, Jr. was an educator and diplomat. With great wealth from his family's Hawaiian holdings, he rose rapidly to the highest levels of the United States Department of State. He took a strong interest in Pacific issues, in part because of his background in Hawaii.-Life:William...
(1900) - Ambassador, Assistant Secretary of State, and Under Secretary of State under Calvin CoolidgeCalvin CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state... - Robert L. BaconRobert L. BaconRobert Low Bacon was a banker, Lieutenant Colonel, and congressman from New York.-Biography:Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the son of Martha Waldron Cowdin and future Secretary of State Robert Bacon, he received a common school education as a child...
(1907) - Banker, Lieutenant Colonel, and congressman from New York - Gaspar G. BaconGaspar G. BaconGaspar Griswold Bacon, Sr. was on the board of Harvard University, President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1929 to 1932 and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1933 to 1935.-Biography:...
(1908) - President of the Massachusetts Senate (1929–32) and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1933–1935) - Samuel Eliot MorisonSamuel Eliot MorisonSamuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
(1908) - Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy, three-time Pulitzer Prize Winner, Author, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom - George GundGeorge Gund (philanthropist)George Gund II was an American banker, business executive, and real estate investor who lived in Cleveland, Ohio in the early and middle part of the 20th century...
(1909) - President of Cleveland Trust Bank (1941–1962), the predecessor of KeyBank - Thomas Stilwell Lamont (1921) - Vice-Chairman of J.P. Morgan & Co. and Son of Thomas W. LamontThomas W. LamontThomas William Lamont, Jr. was an American banker.- Biography :Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888 and earned his degree from Harvard University in 1892. He became a generous benefactor of the school once he had amassed a fortune, notably...
- Francis Grover Cleveland (1925) - Poet and son of Stephen Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States
- Gardner Cowles, Jr. (1925) - Chairman of Cowles Communications from 1937–1971
- William Ruger, Jr. (1961) - Former owner of Ruger, a firearm manufacturing company based in Connecticut
- R.F. Laird (1974) - author of The Boomer Bible
- Anand MahindraAnand MahindraAnand Mahindra is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of one of India’s largest enterprise, Mahindra & Mahindra. His grandfather KC Mahindra co-founded the company from his hometown Ludhiana, Punjab...
(1978) - Vice-Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra - Buddy FletcherBuddy FletcherAlphonse "Buddy" Fletcher, Jr. is an American trader and money manager. Fletcher began his career as a quantitative equity trader at Bear Stearns but first became noticed when he sued Kidder, Peabody & Co. for racial discrimination and US$3 million in back pay...
- Founder of Fletcher Capital Markets Inc. - Eric MindichEric MindichEric Mindich is an American hedge fund manager and the founder hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management. Mindich began working at Goldman Sachs after high school, and spent summers at the firm while earning a degree in economics at Harvard College. Mindich graduated from Harvard, where he was a...
(1988) - Youngest partner in Goldman Sachs history at age 27 and founder of Eton Park Capital ManagementEton Park Capital ManagementEton Park Capital Management is a hedge fund, founded in November 2004 by former Goldman Sachs partner Eric Mindich. While at Goldman, he was a senior member of the investment bank's Principal Strategies group.... - Thomas Monahan, III (1988) - CEO of Corporate Executive Board, USA (Nasdaq: EXBD)
- Viet Dinh (1990) - Former Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. (2001–2003) and architect of the USA PATRIOT ActUSA PATRIOT ActThe USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
- Kaleil Isaza TuzmanKaleil Isaza TuzmanKaleil Isaza Tuzman is an entrepreneur, the chief executive officer and elected chairman of the board of KIT digital, Inc., and managing partner of KCP Capital...
(1996) - CEO of KIT digitalKIT digitalKIT digital is a global provider of end-to-end video management software and services. The company is headquartered in Prague, and maintains principal offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Buenos Aires, New York, Chennai, Cologne, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan,...
(Nasdaq: KITD) and a featured entrepreneur of the 2001 documentary film, Startup.comStartup.comStartup.com is a 2001 documentary film that chronicles the dot-com start-up phenomenon and its eventual end. The film follows e-commerce website govWorks and its founders Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman from 1999-2000 as the Internet bubble was bursting.-Production:The film was made by... - Eduardo SaverinEduardo SaverinEduardo P. Saverin is a Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and investor. Saverin is best known for co-founding Facebook, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes...
(2006) - Co-founder of FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as... - Ryu GotoRyu Gotois a Japanese-American concert violinist. Goto gained attention as a child prodigy, first performing at the age of seven in the Pacific Music Festival held in Sapporo, Japan. His debut tour of 12 cities of Japan, in 2006, was sold out.-Early life:...
(2011) - Violinist