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46-558: 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 ). Philolexian is one of many collegiate literary societies that flourished at

92-578: A liberal arts education . As an undergraduate at Columbia College , Barzun was drama critic for the Columbia Daily Spectator , a prize-winning president of the Philolexian Society , the Columbia literary and debate club, and valedictorian of the class of 1927. He obtained a master's degree in 1928 and a Ph.D. in 1932 from Columbia, and taught history there from 1928 to 1955, becoming

138-512: A sidebar containing a pithy quotation, usually little known, and often surprising or humorous, from some author or historical figure. In 2007, Barzun commented that "Old age is like learning a new profession. And not one of your own choosing." As late as October 2011, one month before his 104th birthday, he reviewed Adam Kirsch 's Why Trilling Matters for the Wall Street Journal . In his philosophy of writing history, Barzun emphasized

184-453: A "distinguished historian, essayist, cultural gadfly and educator who helped establish the modern discipline of cultural history". Naming Edward Gibbon , Jacob Burckhardt and Thomas Babington Macaulay as his intellectual ancestors, and calling him "one of the West's most eminent historians of culture" and "a champion of the liberal arts tradition in higher education," who "deplored what he called

230-736: A Reader's Guide to the Literature of Mystery, Detection, & Related Genres , for which he and his co-author received a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America the following year. Barzun was also an advocate of supernatural fiction , and wrote the introduction to The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural . Barzun was a proponent of the theatre critic and diarist James Agate , whom he compared in stature to Samuel Pepys . Barzun edited Agate's last two diaries into

276-537: A diplomatic mission to the United States during the First World War (1914–1918), Barzun's father so liked the country he decided that his son should receive an American university education ; thus, the twelve-year-old Jacques Martin attended Lycée Janson-de-Sailly until moving to America, where he graduated from Harrisburg Technical High School in 1923 and then went off to Columbia University , where he obtained

322-442: A fund for small theatre projects, later named for Robert C. Schnitzer (Class of 1927), and sponsored an improv comedy group called Klaritin. The number of Philolexians is unknown. Those who wish to gain full membership within the society must speak at three “consecutive” meetings and attend regularly. Those candidates who qualify may receive an invitation to New Member Night, a secretive initiation rite. A petition for membership and

368-564: A light background. "Secondary Blues" used by the university include Pantone 284, 285, 286, and 280, while the Columbia University Irving Medical Center uses Pantone 7686 and 3005. In one of the first attempts at standardization, the university's athletics department declared Columbia blue to be Pantone 292 in 1999, though, as of 2016, the Columbia Lions actually use Pantone 291; however, Pantone 292 still remains

414-410: A new edition in 1951 and wrote an informative introductory essay, "Agate and His Nine Egos". Jacques Barzun continued to write on education and cultural history after retiring from Columbia. At 84 years of age, he began writing his swan song , to which he devoted the better part of the 1990s. The resulting book of more than 800 pages, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to

460-636: A now-dormant rival society, the Peithologian. These colors were later appropriated by Columbia University for its own use. Its seal is called the Philogo. The Philolexian Society holds meetings every Thursday the university is in session; the agenda typically consists of a debate and the presentation of a literary work. It also hosts a Croquet Tea, the Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest (which has received coverage in

506-518: A popular byword for Columbia blue and the university as a whole. #B9D9EB #69B3E7 #6CACE4 #0072CE Organizations, fraternities and sororities that use Columbia blue for their colors: Columbia blue is used as one of the two or three color symbols for the following colleges , universities and high schools : Jacques Barzun Jacques Martin Barzun ( / ˈ b ɑːr z ən / ; November 30, 1907 – October 25, 2012)

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552-475: A violinist from a prominent Boston family . They had three children: James, Roger, and Isabel. Mariana died in 1979. In 1980, Barzun married Marguerite Lee Davenport. From 1996 the Barzuns lived in her hometown, San Antonio , Texas . His granddaughter Lucy Barzun Donnelly was a producer of the award-winning HBO film Grey Gardens . His grandson, Matthew Barzun , is a businessman who served from 2009 to 2011 as

598-457: A work of original, creative merit must be provided by the candidate. This meeting is not open to the public. Members have access to a large number of privileges through the organization. Philolexians have: Columbia blue Columbia blue is a light blue color named after Columbia University . The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society , the university's oldest student organization. Although Columbia blue

644-634: Is often identified with Pantone 292, the Philolexian Society first used it in the early 19th century, before the standardization of colors. Pantone 290, a slightly lighter shade of blue, has also been specified by some Columbia University offices, and is the current official color listed by the Columbia University visual communications office. Several other shades are also used by parts of the university in an official capacity. The color has been adopted by several fraternities and sororities across

690-730: Is one of the thousand most widely held library items according to the OCLC ). Barzun did not disdain popular culture: his varied interests included detective fiction and baseball . His widely quoted statement, "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." was inscribed on a plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame . He edited and wrote the introduction to the 1961 anthology, The Delights of Detection , which included stories by G. K. Chesterton , Dorothy L. Sayers , Rex Stout , and others. In 1971, Barzun co-authored (with Wendell Hertig Taylor), A Catalogue of Crime : Being

736-648: The New York Times ) (the winner of which becomes the Poet Laureate of the society until the next Contest), a beat poetry event appropriately called Beat Night, and a Greek-style symposium . The organization also publishes a collection of poetry, prose, and visual media called Surgam three times year. Its winter issue compiles the best entries from the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest . Starting in 2003, Philolexian has organized

782-618: The Legion of Honour . In 2003, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush . In 1993, his book "An Essay on French Verse: For Readers of English Poetry" won the Poetry Society of America 's Melville Cane Poetry Award. On October 18, 2007, he received the 59th Great Teacher Award of the Society of Columbia Graduates in absentia . On March 2, 2011, Barzun

828-747: The Seth Low Professor of History and a founder of the discipline of cultural history . For years, he and literary critic Lionel Trilling conducted Columbia's famous Great Books course. He was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1954 and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1984. From 1955 to 1968, he served as Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculties, and Provost , while also being an Extraordinary Fellow of Churchill College at

874-640: The U.S. Ambassador to Sweden , and from 2013 to 2017 as Ambassador to the United Kingdom . On May 14, 2012, Jacques Barzun attended a symphony performance in his honor at which works by his favorite composer, Hector Berlioz , were performed. He attended in a wheelchair and delivered a brief address to the crowd. Barzun died at his home in San Antonio , Texas on October 25, 2012, aged 104. The New York Times , which compared him with such scholars as Sidney Hook , Daniel Bell , and Lionel Trilling , called him

920-568: The University of Cambridge . From 1968 until his 1975 retirement, he was University Professor at Columbia. From 1951 to 1963 Barzun was one of the managing editors of The Readers' Subscription Book Club , and its successor the Mid-Century Book Society (the other managing editors being W. H. Auden and Lionel Trilling ), and afterwards was Literary Adviser to Charles Scribner's Sons , 1975 to 1993. In 1936, Barzun married Mariana Lowell,

966-489: The 'gangrene of specialism'", The Daily Telegraph remarked, "The sheer scope of his knowledge was extraordinary. Barzun's eye roamed over the full spectrum of Western music, art, literature and philosophy." Essayist Joseph Epstein , remembering him in the Wall Street Journal as a "flawless and magisterial" writer who tackled " Darwin , Marx , Wagner , Berlioz , William James , French verse , English prose composition, university teaching, detective fiction , [and]

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1012-411: The Columbia chapter of Alpha Delta Phi , was followed by an even longer period of inactivity. On Wednesday, October 16, 1985, under the guidance of Thomas Vinciguerra (Class of 1985), the society was revived in its current incarnation. Mr. Vinciguerra was subsequently recognized as the society's "Avatar" in honor of this and other critical and successful efforts for Philo. In 2003, an award in his name

1058-568: The Halls, Chancellor of the Exchequer , Sergeant-at-Arms , Whip , Minister of Internet Truth , Nomenclaturist-General, Symposiarch, and Literary Czar, editor of the literary journal of the Society. The name Philolexia is Greek for "love of discourse," and the society's motto is the Latin word Surgam , meaning "I shall rise." Its colors are Philolexian Blue and Peithologian White, the latter in honor of

1104-557: The Philolexian Centennial Washington Prize, an oratory competition endowed by J. Ackerman Coles (Class of 1864), bestowed on the society on the occasion of its centennial in 1902. This short-lived revival was followed by another wartime incarnation. By 1952, due to waning interest and, according to some, the infamous presidency of the poet Allen Ginsberg (Class of 1948), the society entered 10 years of dormancy. Another brief revival in 1962, spearheaded by members of

1150-457: The Present , revealed a vast erudition and brilliance undimmed by advanced age. Historians, literary critics, and popular reviewers all lauded From Dawn to Decadence as a sweeping and powerful survey of modern Western history, and it became a New York Times bestseller. With this work he gained an international reputation. Reviewing it in the New York Times , historian William Everdell called

1196-772: The Revolution, a similar group known as the Columbia College Society for Progress in Letters was formed; among its members were John P. Van Ness (Class of 1789), later mayor of Washington, D.C., and Daniel D. Tompkins (Class of 1795), vice president of the United States under James Monroe. The group became extinct in 1795. Building on these earlier efforts, Philolexian was established on May 17, 1802. Among its earliest members were future Columbia president Nathaniel Fish Moore (Class of 1802), and Alexander Hamilton's son, James Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1805), U.S. Attorney for

1242-525: The Southern District of New York . To accommodate freshmen, who were initially ineligible for admission, the Peithologian Society was formed four years later. For most of the next 100 years, Peithologian would serve as Philolexian's primary literary rival. For most of the 19th century, Philo engaged in a wide range of literary activities, including debates within and without the society, essay writing, correspondence, and hosting speeches by eminent men of

1288-582: The United States as well as by numerous secondary schools and other colleges and universities including Johns Hopkins University . It has also been used as the official color of a number of sports teams, including the Houston Oilers , the Buffalo Braves , and the Tampa Bay Rays . Columbia blue derives from the official colors of the Philolexian Society , which was founded at Columbia in 1802. Members of

1334-416: The book "a great achievement" by a scholar "undiminished in his scholarship, research and polymathic interests," while also scrutinizing Barzun's scant treatment of figures like Walt Whitman and Karl Marx . The book introduces several novel typographic devices that aid an unusually rich system of cross-referencing and help keep many strands of thought in the book under organized control. Most pages feature

1380-495: The city. In 1852, at the organization's semi-centennial celebration, alumni raised a prize fund of over $ 1,300 to endow annual awards in three categories: Oratory, Debate, and Essay. (The awards were eventually combined into a general "Philolexian Prize" which, since the 1950s, has been awarded annually by Columbia University's English department.) During Columbia College 's tenure in midtown Manhattan from 1857 to 1896, Philolexian often held their meetings in an old paper factory in

1426-482: The color scheme of blue and white, the former borrowed from the Philolexian Society, and the latter from the Peithologian. The two colors were quickly adopted by students to represent the College. According to John Howard Van Amringe , the color first entered official use during a boat race in 1873. In a 2009 publication, the university officially lists Columbia blue as Pantone 290, though a darker shade, such as Pantone 292, may still be called Columbia blue when used on

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1472-476: The economic hardships of the period severely curtailed the group's activities. By the late 1930s, according to former society president Ralph de Toledano (Class of 1938), the organization was devoted mainly to drinking wine and listening to jazz. Philo effectively ceased to function by the beginning of World War II. But in 1943, at the behest of Columbia history professor and former Philo president Jacques Barzun (Class of 1927), several undergraduates competed for

1518-475: The nation's early colonial colleges. Before fraternities, publications, and other extracurriculars became common, these groups—which generally bore Greek or Latin names—were the sole source of undergraduate social life. Columbia's first such society was formed in the 1770s when the school was still known as King's College; among this unnamed organization's members was future Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1778) and his roommate Robert Troup . After

1564-509: The northeast corner of the 49th street campus . In the 20th century, Philo broadened its range of activities as it became a training ground for essayist Randolph Bourne (Class of 1912), poet A. Joyce Kilmer (Class of 1908), and statesman V.K. Wellington Koo (Class of 1909), all prize winners in their time at Philo. In 1910 the society took a decidedly dramatic turn when it commenced a 20-year stretch of annual theatre productions, ranging from Elizabethan comedies to contemporary works. Many of

1610-639: The older productions, by the likes of Ben Jonson , Nicholas Udall , and Robert Greene , were North American debuts. Oscar-winning screenwriter Sidney Buchman ( Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Here Comes Mr. Jordan , Cleopatra ) (Class of 1923) got a start playing Shakespeare's Richard II for a Philo production. Although Philolexian members during the Great Depression included such figures as future Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman and publisher Robert Giroux (both Class of 1936) and noted Trappist monk and humanist Thomas Merton (Class of 1938),

1656-470: The original document, adjusting the organization to suit changes that had happened in the previous 200 years, such as co-education . Nonetheless, the society has retained its traditional forms and rituals almost in their entirety. Philolexian has several officers, the Moderator ( de facto president), Scriba, and Censor ( emeritus president), as well as other enviable positions, including Herald , Keeper of

1702-638: The role of storytelling over the use of academic jargon and detached analysis. He concluded in From Dawn to Decadence that "history cannot be a science; it is the very opposite, in that its interest resides in the particulars". In 1968, Barzun received the St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates. Barzun was appointed a Chevalier of the National Order of

1748-487: The society have been reported to have worn blue satin rosettes and silver tassels as part of their academic regalia , while members of the rival Peithologian Society would wear white rosettes and gold tassels. The color was first combined with white to represent the university in 1852, during a joint event between the two societies. Both parties wishing to be represented in the promotion of the event, and having decided that using all four colors would be excessive, they picked

1794-497: The state of intellectual life", described Barzun as a tall, handsome man with an understated elegance, thoroughly Americanized, but retaining an air of old-world culture, cosmopolitan in an elegant way rare for intellectuals". Over seven decades, Barzun wrote and edited more than forty books touching on an unusually broad range of subjects, including science and medicine , psychiatry from Robert Burton through William James to modern methods, and art , and classical music ; he

1840-520: Was a French-born American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history . He wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, and classical music, and was also known as a philosopher of education . In the book Teacher in America (1945), Barzun influenced the training of schoolteachers in the United States. A professor of history at Columbia College for many years, he published more than forty books,

1886-570: Was a member of the Abbaye de Créteil group of artists and writers, and also worked in the French Ministry of Labor . His parents' Paris home was frequented by many modernist artists of Belle Époque France, such as the poet Guillaume Apollinaire , the Cubist painters Albert Gleizes and Marcel Duchamp , the composer Edgard Varèse , and the writers Richard Aldington and Stefan Zweig . While on

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1932-570: Was awarded the 2010 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama , although he was not expected to be in attendance. On April 16, 2011, he received the Philolexian Award for Distinguished Literary Achievement in absentia . The American Philosophical Society honors Barzun with its Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History, awarded annually since 1993 to the author of a recent distinguished work of cultural history. He also received

1978-726: Was awarded the American Presidential Medal of Freedom , and was designated a knight of the French Legion of Honor . The historical retrospective From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present (2000), widely considered his magnum opus , was published when he was 93 years old. Jacques Martin Barzun was born in Créteil , France, to Henri-Martin Barzun  [ fr ] and Anna-Rose Barzun, and spent his childhood in Paris and Grenoble . His father

2024-418: Was established. On Saturday, October 16, 2010, the society celebrated the 25th anniversary of its revival with a reception and meeting for students, alumni (known as "Geezers"), and various supporters; the occasion was dubbed "Resurgam 25." The debate topic, "Resolved: The Philolexian Society Has Never Had It So Good" was overwhelmingly approved. In 2003, the society held a constitutional convention that updated

2070-475: Was in first draft at the author's death, and editing (with the help of six other people), the first edition (published 1966) of Follett's Modern American Usage . Barzun was also the author of books on literary style ( Simple and Direct , 1975), on the crafts of editing and publishing ( On Writing, Editing, and Publishing , 1971), and on research methods in history and the other humanities ( The Modern Researcher , which has seen at least six editions, and

2116-431: Was one of the all-time authorities on Hector Berlioz . Some of his books—particularly Teacher in America and The House of Intellect —enjoyed a substantial lay readership and influenced debate about culture and education far beyond the realm of academic history. Barzun had a strong interest in the tools and mechanics of writing and research . He undertook the task of completing, from a manuscript almost two-thirds of which

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