The F.H.C. Society, also known by its backronym "The Flat Hat Club", is a collegiate secret society and honor society at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1750, the F.H.C. Society is the United States' oldest collegiate secret society. The F.H.C. Society remains active, while its operations remain highly secretive, the society's activity is apparent through campus philanthropy.
Early in the 21st century, the education section of The New York Times profiled America's oldest university clubs and societies and included a letter, now housed in the archives at Swem Library, which Thomas Jefferson wrote to Thomas McAuley, mentioning Jefferson's membership in the F.H.C.
History
18th century
The society was founded as the F.H.C. Society at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia on November 11, 1750.
William & Mary alumnus and third American president Thomas Jefferson may be the most famous member of the F.H.C. Society. Late in life Jefferson wrote, "When I was a student of Wm. & Mary College of this state, there existed a society called the F.H.C. society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member. Still, it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists." A second Latin-letter fraternity, the P.D.A. Society (publicly known as "Please Don't Ask"), was founded at William and Mary in March 1773, in imitation of the F.H.C. Society.
The student members of the F.H.C. suspended the club's activities in 1781,
The F.H.C. Society was revived on September 30, 1920, by twelve undergraduate men and four professors who originally organized as the Spotswood Club, which was formed in 1916. It differed markedly from the original society, a fraternity of six undergraduate men with alumnus members in urbe – that is, "in town", having graduated from the university. This society operated largely as a collegiate honorary society whose members were not secret and were published in the college's yearbook and newspapers. Contrary to the practice of some similar societies, alumni may disclose their membership after graduation.
thumb|Flat Heat Club seal, depicted on its membership medal
Symbols
The initials of the F.H.C. Society stands for a secret Latin phrase, likely or , two renderings of "brotherhood, humanity, and knowledge".
The F.H.C. brothers devised and employed a secret handshake, issued certificates of membership, and wore a silver membership medal.
The organization's name has been used by the campus newspaper, The Flat Hat, since 1911, and as a campus literary magazine, Flat Hat Magazine, since 2019.
- J. A. C. Chandler, president of the College of William & Mary