thumb|Berzelius tomb

thumb|Berzelius tomb, from Temple Street

thumb|The tomb's classically symmetrical entrancethumb|Detail of entryway ornamentation, including the Berzelius Society symbol within the shield

Berzelius Society (BZ) is the third oldest secret society for seniors at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1848, it is named after the Swedish scientist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, considered one of the founding fathers of modern chemistry. In addition, Berzelius is part of the "Ancient Eight" societies, which includes Mace and Chain, Book and Snake, Elihu Club, St. Elmo’s Society, Scroll and Key, Skull and Bones, and Wolf’s Head Society.

History

Berzelius is a secret society established as the Colony Club in 1848 at Sheffield Scientific School, a former school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. One of its founding members was William Henry Brewer. The club was housed on campus in Berzelius Hall, named after the Swedish scientist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, considered one of the founding fathers of modern chemistry. Eventually, the Colony Club started using the name Berzelius.

As the society is often called, BZ is the third oldest society at Yale and the oldest of those of the now-defunct Sheffield Scientific School. From 1854 to 1956, this institution was the sciences and engineering college of Yale University. The limestone neoclassical tomb was completed in 1910.

  • William Henry Brewer, botanist and the first chair of Agriculture at the Sheffield Scientific School
  • David Dellinger, American pacifist and activist
  • A. Peter Dewey, Office of Strategic Services operative
  • Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals
  • Bradford Dillman, actor
  • John A. Hartwell, college football player and coach
  • Tony Knowles, American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Alaska
  • Levi Jackson, the first African American to captain an Ivy League football team, was also the first African American member of a Yale secret society.  Later, a high-ranking executive at Ford Motor Company
  • Stanhope Wood Nixon, vice president and chairman of the board of the Nixon Nitration Works
  • 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
  • William W. Scranton, Republican Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967; United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977
  • Frederick Vreeland, United States ambassador to Morocco

See also

  • Collegiate secret societies in North America

References