tion. The Harvard chapter, called the Alpha of Massachusetts, was established September 5, 1781, and these two chapter united in 1787 to form the Alpha of New Hampshire at Dartmouth. Its subsequent chapters were all named upon the State system. It is now a purely honorary society.
ΦΒΚ remained probably the only chaptered organization bearing a Greek-letter name until 1825 when Kappa Alpha was organized. In 1813 a Pi Beta Phi Society[1] was established at Union and in 1821 a Chi Delta Theta society at Yale.
Between the establishment of ΦΒΚ and that of ΚΑ, a class of societies differing from either had arisen. These were mostly of a literary character, and bore names such as Hermosian, Philatechnian, etc. Some of them were secret and some were not. Their exercises consisted of debates, the reading and discussion of papers on literary subjects, and the like. They were encouraged by the faculties, the students joined them as a matter of course and their work was mainly educational. But there was little actual interest taken in their proceedings, except at the literary contests, or when elections were about to take place. Sometimes their rivalries were fierce and hotly contested.
In fact, their object was training and drill in composition and oratory, and they had no social advantages.
- ↑ "The other day in Smith's book store, Wall and William streets, I saw a copy of a pamphlet, an oration on the First Anniversary of the Pi Beta Phi Society in Union College, July 25, 1814."—Letter from Oscar M. Voorhees, secretary of Phi Beta Kappa, to the author, dated New York, May 31, 1910.Nothing further is known of this Society.
