Hasty Pudding Club
Encyclopedia
The Hasty Pudding Club is a social club for Harvard
students. It was founded by Nymphus Hatch, a junior at Harvard College, in 1770. The club is named for the traditional American dish
(based on a British dish) that the founding members ate at their first meeting. The Hasty Pudding Club was originally established in Concordia Discors to bring together undergraduates in friendship, conversation, and camaraderie. It is the oldest collegiate social club in America.
The Pudding is currently the only club on campus that is coed and has members from all four years. Membership to the social club is gained through a series of lunches, cocktail parties, and other gatherings, which are referred to as the "punch process". In the past, membership in the Pudding was obligatory to joining waiting clubs and, eventually, final clubs. This tradition is no longer upheld. The Pudding holds its social activities in a clubhouse near Harvard Square. These include weekly "Members' Nights", dinner and cocktail parties, as well as its elaborate theme parties, such as "Leather and Lace".
The current clubhouse contains multiple rooms with specific purposes. Among these rooms is "The Arena", which is a room with no windows or openings to the outside world. "The Arena" is designated as the club's game room.
The club counts three U.S. Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy) among its noteworthy members. The club also considers President John Adams as an alumnus, but as he graduated in 1755 and the club was not founded until 1770 this is unlikely. It is believed John Quincy Adams may have been an early member, but this is unsubstantiated.
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals
, the Radcliffe Pitches
, and the Harvard Krokodiloes
were founded at the Hasty Pudding Club. All of these groups are part of the Institute of 1770 and share clubhouse space as well as retain various social affiliations with the Pudding; their activities are focused on the performing arts, and they select members through open auditions.
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
students. It was founded by Nymphus Hatch, a junior at Harvard College, in 1770. The club is named for the traditional American dish
Hasty pudding
Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge of grains cooked in milk or water. In the United States, it invariably refers to a version made of ground corn...
(based on a British dish) that the founding members ate at their first meeting. The Hasty Pudding Club was originally established in Concordia Discors to bring together undergraduates in friendship, conversation, and camaraderie. It is the oldest collegiate social club in America.
The Pudding is currently the only club on campus that is coed and has members from all four years. Membership to the social club is gained through a series of lunches, cocktail parties, and other gatherings, which are referred to as the "punch process". In the past, membership in the Pudding was obligatory to joining waiting clubs and, eventually, final clubs. This tradition is no longer upheld. The Pudding holds its social activities in a clubhouse near Harvard Square. These include weekly "Members' Nights", dinner and cocktail parties, as well as its elaborate theme parties, such as "Leather and Lace".
The current clubhouse contains multiple rooms with specific purposes. Among these rooms is "The Arena", which is a room with no windows or openings to the outside world. "The Arena" is designated as the club's game room.
The club counts three U.S. Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy) among its noteworthy members. The club also considers President John Adams as an alumnus, but as he graduated in 1755 and the club was not founded until 1770 this is unlikely. It is believed John Quincy Adams may have been an early member, but this is unsubstantiated.
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals
Hasty Pudding Theatricals
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque musicals and for its status as the oldest collegiate theatrical organization in the United States...
, the Radcliffe Pitches
Radcliffe Pitches
The Radcliffe Pitches are a female a cappella singing ensemble at Harvard University, founded in 1975 at the Hasty Pudding Club. The group is made up of 12 to 16 Harvard undergraduates who perform at Harvard and internationally on the group's various tours. During their tours, the group has...
, and the Harvard Krokodiloes
Krokodiloes
The Harvard Krokodiloes are Harvard University's oldest a cappella singing group, founded in 1946. Four members of the Hasty Pudding Club at 12 Holyoke Street, popular for its all-male, burlesque musical theatre productions, began singing popular hits of their time in four-part harmony...
were founded at the Hasty Pudding Club. All of these groups are part of the Institute of 1770 and share clubhouse space as well as retain various social affiliations with the Pudding; their activities are focused on the performing arts, and they select members through open auditions.