The Alibi Club is a traditional gentlemen's

private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Its members consist of the Washington elite, including presidents, senators, and diplomats, among other prominent figures.

History

In 1884, seven Washingtonians founded the Alibi Club, a private social club of prominent political and social figures. Its name derived from the club practice of providing an

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

when the member's family questioned the whereabouts of a member. The club's founding purpose was to foster "mutual improvement, education, and enlightenment" among members of Washington society. Membership also extended to out-of-town figures from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, most likely to share information between communities and help in the development of strategies to address civic issues. Throughout its history, it has hosted numerous world leaders, including

King Leopold of Belgium This is a list of Belgian monarchs from 1831 when the first Belgian king, Leopold I, ascended the throne, after Belgium seceded from the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Under the Belgian Constitution, the Belgi ...

, Prince Albert of Belgium, Prince Henry of Prussia, and Viceroy

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

Clubhouse

The first clubhouse was situated at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Since 1886, the club has occupied a three-story, brick townhouse blocks away from the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. The clubhouse is furnished with donated memorabilia and artifacts covering nearly every available wall section on the first two floors. The clubhouse is also notable as a well-preserved example of residential architecture in a commercial district and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 21, 1994. In 2018, the building was listed as a vacant property, but saw a resurgence in activity in the weeks following the designation.

Membership

Membership is limited to fifty, with new members admitted upon unanimous vote after the death of a previous member. Membership is not revealed to outsiders, and the first public notice of membership is often in a member's obituary. Some of the Alibi Club's most prominent members have included: President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, his father, Senator

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician. as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 ...

, Supreme Court Justices

Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform ...

and

Stanley F. Reed Stanley Forman Reed (December 31, 1884 – April 2, 1980) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957. He also served as U.S. Solicitor General from 1935 to 1938. Born in Ma ...

Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...

and

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...

, Speaker of the House

Nicholas Longworth Nicholas Longworth III (November 5, 1869 – April 9, 1931) was an American lawyer and politician who became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican, he was elected to the Ohio Senate, where he initiated the success ...

, and General

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. ...

. * David M. Abshire * David Acheson Pg. 35 *

Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st United States Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to ...

Theodore Achilles Theodore Carter Achilles (December 29, 1905 – April 8, 1986) was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Peru and the first director of the Department of State Operations Center. Biography Achilles was born 29 December 1905 in Ro ...

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

* Chandler Anderson *

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

* Warren R. Austin * Truxtun Beale * Gist Blair *

Robert Woods Bliss Robert Woods Bliss (August 5, 1875 – April 19, 1962) was an American diplomat, art collector, philanthropist, and one of the co-founders of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Bliss ...

* Frederick N. Brooke * David K.E. Bruce *

* George E. Corcoran *

Thomas Gardiner Corcoran Thomas Gardiner Corcoran (December 29, 1900 – December 6, 1981) was an Irish-American legal scholar. He was one of several advisors in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's brain trust during the New Deal, and later, a close friend and advisor ...

Dwight F. Davis Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 ...

* James Dunn *

Walter Edge Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both World War I and World War II. Edge ...

* George A. Garrett * Charles C. Glover III * Gordon Gray * Cary Grayson *

Joseph Grew Joseph Clark Grew (May 27, 1880 – May 25, 1965) was an American career diplomat and Foreign Service officer. He is best known as the ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941 and as a high official in the State Department in Washington from 1944 to ...

Alfred Gruenther General (United States), General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther (3 March 1899 – 30 May 1983) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer, American Red Cross, Red Cross president, and Bridge (game), bridge player. After be ...

* Frederick Hale * George Hamilton, Jr. * Nelson Hartson *

Christian Herter Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. He served as p ...

* William Hibbs * Archibald Hopkins * Walter Bruce Howe * David B. Karrick * Samuel Kaufman * John Kean * Emory S. Land *

Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was an American politician who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of ...

* Clarence Moore * Benjamin Mosby McKelway * John Lord O'Brian *

Thomas Nelson Page Thomas Nelson Page (April 23, 1853 – November 1, 1922) was an American lawyer, politician, and writer. He served as the List of United States ambassadors to Italy, U.S. ambassador to Italy from 1913 to 1919 under the administration of Presiden ...

* Henry Roosevelt *

Jules Henri de Sibour Jules Gabriel Henri de Sibour (December 23, 1872 – November 4, 1938) was a French architect who worked in Washington, DC. Early life He was born in Paris, France, to Vicomte Gabriel de Sibour and Mary Louisa Johnson of Belfast, Maine. He mov ...

* James W. Symington *

Maxwell Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (26 August 1901 – 19 April 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat during the Cold War. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, nickname ...

* J.W. Wadsworth * John F. Wilkins * Clarence R. Wilson *

Blanton Winship Blanton C. Winship (November 23, 1869 – October 9, 1947) was an American military lawyer and veteran of both the Spanish–American War and World War I. During his career, he served both as Judge Advocate General of the United States Army and ...

Jerauld Wright Admiral (United States), Admiral Jerauld Wright (June 4, 1898 – April 27, 1995) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Joint Forces Command, United States Atlantic Command (CINCLAN ...

William M. Wright William Mason Wright (September 24, 1863 – August 16, 1943) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of lieutenant general and was most notable for his service as a division and corps commander during World War I. E ...

* John Adams Bross * C. Boyden Gray

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places 1884 establishments in Washington, D.C. Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Clubs and societies in Washington, D.C. Houses completed in 1869 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C. Gentlemen's clubs in Washington, D.C.

History

Clubhouse

Membership

See also

References

External links