Linonia

Linonia, founded in 1753, is the second-oldest society at Yale College and the oldest surviving literary and debating society, outlasting its short-lived predecessor, Crotonia. Today, Linonia operates as a secret senior society at Yale, continuing the centuries-old tradition of promoting friendship and social intercourse.Constitution of Linonian Society

Members of the society are known as "Linonians".

History

Linonia was founded on September 12, 1753, as Yale College's second oldest literary and debating society, after its short-lived predecessor Crotonia, founded in 1738. According to Yale: A History, participation in Linonia was the first non-athletic organized activity at Yale.

Linonia inspired many imitations, notably its rival society Brothers in Unity (1768) and Calliope (1819). By the late eighteenth century, membership in Linonia or Brothers was a defining tradition for all incoming freshmen. By the end of the Civil War, the social dominance of Linonia and Brothers began to wane, and in 1871, both societies donated their extensive book collections to the Yale Library. Linonia inspired the creation of the Cambridge Union and Oxford Union, which later served as models for the Yale Political Union. The founding of Skull and Bones, the original senior society, was directly tied to a dispute between Linonia, Brothers and Calliope over the Phi Beta Kappa awards.

Linonia was reconstituted multiple times throughout the 20th century, with its current form taking the shape of Yale's undergraduate secret societies.

Each year, twenty students are carefully selected from Yale's senior undergraduate class, Yale Law School, Yale Graduate School, and Yale School of Management, making Linonia the only Yale secret society known to tap beyond the undergraduate level. Each new member has to be confirmed by unanimous vote among Linonia alumni and delegates.

Linonia participates in Yale's tap night during the second week of April. Unlike many secret societies whose focus is the members' biographies, Linonia meetings often involve debate on intellectual and political topics.

Linonia and Sterling Memorial Library

Linonia maintained an extensive collection of works that Yale faculty deemed unsuitable for formal instruction, as the university did not introduce English literature into its curriculum until the late nineteenth century. In 1871, Linonia and Brothers in Unity donated their literary collections to Yale, which were eventually housed in Sterling Memorial Library upon its opening in 1931. This contribution is commemorated in the Linonia & Brothers Reading Room (L&B Room), a dedicated space within the library. The reading room now holds the Linonia and Brothers (L&B) collection, a travel collection, a medieval history collection, and a selection of recently acquired books. The L&B Reading Room underwent renovations during the COVID-19 pandemic and officially reopened on April 15, 2024.

The room was originally conceived as a browsable book collection, evoking the atmosphere of a refined private library or a grand living room. Over the years, generations of Yalies have regarded it as a beloved space for studying, reading, relaxing, or napping on its signature green leather couches.

Architecturally, the Tudor-style reading room features book-lined alcoves, an intricately detailed plaster ceiling, and Gothic windows that offer a view of Selin Courtyard. Access to the space was for men only until 1963 when University Librarian James T. Babb announced it would open “to the ladies” to recognize “the growing status of women in the Graduate School at Yale."

Linonia is also commemorated with courtyards in Branford College, honoring its historical contributions to Yale’s intellectual and literary traditions.
File:Linonia Room SML.jpg, Linonia & Brothers Reading Room, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale
File:Linonia Court2.jpg, Linonia Court, Branford College, Yale
File:LS Pin.jpg, Linonian Society Pin in Silver
File:Alumni Hall (Yale University, New Haven, CT).jpg, Alumni Hall, erected at the joint expense of Linonia and Yale College in 1853, served as a permanent hall for its members.

Notable members (pre-millennium)

References

See also

* Collegiate secret societies in North America

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Organizations established in 1753
Secret societies at Yale
Student debating societies
Yale University Library
College literary societies in the United States
Student organizations established in the 18th century
Local fraternities and sororities