Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhouse, Phi Kap, and PKS (the first two because of the

skull and crossbones A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under or behind the skull. The design originated in the Late Middle Ages as a symbol of death and especially as a ''memento mori'' on tombstones. ...

on the fraternity's badge and coat of arms). Phi Kappa Sigma was founded by Dr. Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell at the University of Pennsylvania. Mitchell recorded the initial ideas and concepts of Phi Kappa Sigma on August 16, 1850. He then began to discuss the idea with other students, first Charles Hare Hutchinson, and then Alfred Victor du Pont (son of Alfred V. du Pont), John Thorne Stone, Andrew Adams Ripka, James Bayard Hodge, and Duane Williams. The seven men formally founded the fraternity on October 19, 1850 becoming the founding fathers of Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma is a charter member of the North American Interfraternity Conference, and since 2017, is headquartered in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county l ...

. Prior to that, starting with its founding in 1850, the fraternity was based out of Philadelphia, Valley Forge and Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.

Badge

The fraternity's badge was designed by its founder, Dr. Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell. Outside of changes in size, its official design has remained the same. In the shape of a

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

, the badge is old gold with black decoration. The center of the cross is anchored by a skull and crossbones. The four leaves of the cross display, individually, the Greek letters

Phi Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; grc, ϕεῖ ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voicele ...

Kappa Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value o ...

, and Sigma, starting at the left leaf and rotating counter-clockwise. The fourth and top leaf display a six-pointed star. The back of the badge has an engraved serpent echoing the serpent from the fraternity's coat of arms.

Chapter listing

''See List of Phi Kappa Sigma chapters''

Notable members

* Skip Bayless, sports journalist; ESPN anchor * Jorge Andres, Award Winning sports anchor; Former Sportscenter anchor * Dalton Bales, Canadian Politician * Derek Bok, 25th President of Harvard University; 7th Dean of

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* J.M.S. Careless, Canadian Historian *

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, Founder Green & Black’s chocolate *

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, Navy pilot; NASA astronaut; killed during

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, member of the

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* Dan Chaon, author of ''Among the Missing'' and ''Await Your Reply''; finalist for the National Book Award * Denny Crum, basketball head coach, University of Louisville (NCAA Champions, 1980 and 1986) * John Curley, first editor of '' USA Today''; former head of Gannett News * Frederick de Cordova, producer of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''; producer and director of the ''Jack Benny Show'' and ''My Three Sons'' * Alexis F. du Pont, Director of DuPont de Nemours (currently DuPont) * Pierre S. du Pont, Director of DuPont de Nemours (currently DuPont); former CEO of General Motors *

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, helicopter pioneer; one of the world's three principal developers of vertical flight * George David Low, NASA astronaut; Orbital Sciences Corporation executive *

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, pornographic film star and director'' *

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'' *

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Director during Cold War *

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, head basketball coach at the University of South Carolina * Stanford Moore, Nobel Prize Winning Chemist * Scott A. Muller, Olympian (1996) * David Nolan, founder of the US Libertarian Party; inventor of the Nolan chart *

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, former Supreme Court Justice *

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, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics *

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, politician; former Governor of Alabama * James G. Roche, 20th

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* Cyrus Wadia, Senior Policy Analyst, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; winner of ''Technology Review''s "top innovators under 35" award in 2009 *

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, author of ''

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'' * Steven Zierk, 2010 World Under 18 Chess Champion

References

External links

Home page of Phi Kappa Sigma
{{Authority control International student societies North American Interfraternity Conference Student organizations established in 1850 1850 establishments in Pennsylvania

Badge

Chapter listing

Notable members

See also

References

External links