Philolexian Society

Common card · No. 490895

The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Composition and Forensic Discussion." The society traces its roots to a collegiate literary society founded in the 1770s by Alexander Hamilton, then a student at Columbia College, and was officially established by Hamilton's son, James Alexander Hamilton (Columbia College Class of 1805). Philolexian (known to members as "Philo," pronounced with a long "i") has been called the "oldest thing at Columbia except for the College itself," and it has been an integral part of Columbia from the beginning, providing the institution with its distinctive color, Philolexian Blue (along with white, from her long-dispatched rival, the Peithologian Society).

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