# Seven Society
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{{Short description|Secret society at University of Virginia, US}}
{{about|a secret society at the University of Virginia. For the College of William & Mary secret society, see [Seven Society (College of William & Mary)](/source/Seven_Society_(College_of_William_%26_Mary))||Seven Society (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox fraternity
| name = Seven Society
| crest = Sevensociety.jpg
| image_size = 170px
| alt = The sign of the Seven Society on a plaque outside Old Cabell Hall
| caption = Seven Society sign on a plaque outside Old Cabell Hall
| founded = {{start date and age|1905}}
| birthplace = [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia)
| affiliation = Independent
| type = Secret society
| status = Active
| scope = Local
| symbol = [Infinity sign](/source/Infinity_sign) and the number 7
| chapters = 1
| address =
| city = [Charlottesville](/source/Charlottesville%2C_Virginia)
| state = [Virginia](/source/Virginia)
| ZIP code =
| country = United States
}}
The '''Seven Society''' (founded 1905)[{{cite news |url=http://scripta.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-textwg/cavdaily.pl?str=seven%20society&offset=4932743&fileid=19680207 |work=[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily) |title=More Than $50,000 Awarded: Seven's History Of Gifts, Pranks Recalled |last=Ladt |first=Carroll |date=1968-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720110816/http://scripta.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-textwg/cavdaily.pl?str=seven%20society&offset=4932743&fileid=19680207 |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}] is the most secretive of the [University of Virginia's](/source/University_of_Virginia) [secret societies](/source/Secret_societies_at_the_University_of_Virginia). Members are only revealed after their death when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the seventh dissonant chord when it is seven past the hour, and a notice is published in the university's Alumni News, and often in the ''[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily)''. The most visible tradition of the society is the painting of the logo of the society, the number '''7''' surrounded by the signs for [alpha (A)](/source/alpha_(letter)), [omega (Ω)](/source/omega), and [infinity (∞)](/source/infinity), and sometimes several stars, upon many buildings around the grounds of the university.[Dabney, 305.]
There is no clear history of the founding of the society. There is a legend that, of eight men who planned to meet for a card game, only seven showed up,[{{cite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2003/sep/04/a-mark-to-remember/ |last=Cooper |first=Patricia |title=A Mark to Remember |work=[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily) |date=2003-09-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114120446/http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2003/sep/04/a-mark-to-remember/ |archive-date=2009-01-14 }}] and they formed the society. Other histories claim that the misbehavior of other secret societies, specifically the Hot Feet (later the [IMP Society](/source/IMP_Society)), led University President [Edwin A. Alderman](/source/Edwin_A._Alderman) to call both the Hot Feet and the [Z Society](/source/Z_Society) into his office and suggest that a more "beneficial organization" was needed.[{{cite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2000/oct/11/tall-tales-illuminate-history-of-jeffersonian-land/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120503101446/http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2000/oct/11/tall-tales-illuminate-history-of-jeffersonian-land/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-05-03 |title=Tall tales illuminate history of Jeffersonian landmark |last=Hofler |first=Julie |work=[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily) |date=2000-10-11 }}]
==Philanthropic gifts==
thumb|right|A sundial donated as a gift by the Seven Society
The group contributes financially to the university, announcing donations with letters signed only with seven [astronomical symbols](/source/astronomical_symbols) in the order: [Earth](/source/Earth), [Jupiter](/source/Jupiter), [Mercury](/source/Mercury_(planet)), [Mars](/source/Mars), [Neptune](/source/Neptune), [Uranus](/source/Uranus), and [Venus](/source/Venus). The society gives large monetary [donation](/source/donation)s and [scholarship](/source/scholarship)s to the university each year in quantities that include the number 7, e.g. $777 or $1,777. Significant past gifts to the university include the Seven Society [Carillon](/source/Carillon) in the UVA Chapel, donated in memory of deceased members of the society, and given with the request that there should be a toll of seven times seven bells on the passing of a member;[{{Cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvPOHAAACAAJ&q=%22seven+society%22+virginia
|title=Dedication of the Seven Society Carillon |date=1957-10-15 |pages=3 |access-date=2008-01-06}}] a memorial to past Seven Society members who gave their lives in [World War I](/source/World_War_I);[Dabney, 264.] $17,777.77 for a loan fund in honor of university president [John Lloyd Newcomb](/source/John_Lloyd_Newcomb); the [ceremonial mace](/source/ceremonial_mace) carried in academic processions;[{{cite book |last=Dabney |first=Virginius |author-link=Virginius Dabney |url=https://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2006_01/uvaBook/tei/b000325415.xml;query=;brand=default |title=Mr. Jefferson's University: A History |publisher=University of Virginia Press |year=1981 |isbn=0-8139-0904-X |location=Charlottesville |pages=305–306 |language=en |access-date=January 27, 2025}}
] $10,777.77 in support of the re-establishment of Homecomings;[{{cite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2003/oct/02/sevens-finance-homecoming-committee/ |title=Sevens finance homecoming committee |last=Ondrey |first=Clare |work=[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily) |date=2003-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503101733/http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2003/10/02/sevens-finance-homecoming-committee/ |archive-date=2012-05-03}}] a plaque on the Rotunda honoring University students who died in the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War);[Dabney, 425.] $7,077.77 to endow the Ernest Mead Fund for the Music Library;[{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.virginia.edu/old-press/95-96/mead.html |title=UVA's Seven Society Honors Ernest Mead |access-date=2008-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613231203/http://www.lib.virginia.edu/old-press/95-96/mead.html |archive-date=2011-06-13}}] $47,777.77 for the making of a film on the [honor system](/source/honor_system);[Dabney, 544.] and $1 million in support of the university's South Lawn Project.[{{cite web |url=http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=693 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825005039/http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=693 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-08-25 |title=University of Virginia Breaks Ground on South Lawn Project |work=UVA Today |date=2006-09-26 |access-date=2008-06-24 }}] Most recently, the society gave a $777,777.77 grant to fund the Mead Endowment, founded in honor of [Ernest Mead](/source/Ernest_Mead), which awards grants to professors to teach their "dream classes."[{{cite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/sep/22/mead-funds-presented-to-10-professors/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120306052336/http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/sep/22/mead-funds-presented-to-10-professors/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-03-06 |title=Mead funds presented to 10 professors |last=Morenus |first=Kelly |date=2008-09-22 |work=[Cavalier Daily](/source/Cavalier_Daily) }}]
In addition to granting spontaneous gifts, the Seven Society sponsors an annual $7,000 graduate fellowship award for superb teaching.[{{cite web |url=http://trc.virginia.edu/Awards/GTA/Seven/Description.htm |title=The Seven Society Graduate Fellowship for Superb Teaching |work=University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center |access-date=2008-06-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614132733/http://trc.virginia.edu/Awards/GTA/Seven/Description.htm |archive-date=2008-06-14 }}]
==Notable members==
The Seven Society is unusual among University of Virginia secret societies in including members who were not students or alumni of the university. Notable examples include Mary Proffitt, secretary to Dean James M. Page and Dean [Ivey F. Lewis](/source/Ivey_Foreman_Lewis);[{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/women/university_life4.html |title=Women and University Life: Faculty and Staff, part 2 |work=Women at the University of Virginia: Breaking and Making Tradition (UVA Library online exhibit) |access-date=2008-06-24}}][Dabney, 108.] and Ivey F. Lewis himself, a non-alumnus professor and longtime dean of students at the university.[Dabney, 415.]
Several notable individuals whose Seven Society membership was disclosed at their death include:
* [H. Lockwood Frizzell](/source/H._Lockwood_Frizzell), professional football player with the [Philadelphia Eagles](/source/Philadelphia_Eagles)[{{cite journal |url=http://archives.uvamagazine.org/site/c.esJNK1PIJrH/b.2704207/k.8F85/In_Memoriam.htm |title=In Memoriam |journal=The University of Virginia Magazine |date=Summer 2007 |access-date=2009-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308045952/http://archives.uvamagazine.org/site/c.esJNK1PIJrH/b.2704207/k.8F85/In_Memoriam.htm |archive-date=2010-03-08 }}]
*[William Halsey Jr.](/source/William_Halsey_Jr.), [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) [admiral](/source/admiral)[{{Cite web |title=Frank L. Hereford |url=https://digitalhistory.law.virginia.edu/person/frank-l-hereford |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Arthur J. Morris Law Library |publisher=University of Virginia Law}}]
*[James Rogers McConnell](/source/James_Rogers_McConnell), student and volunteer for the [Lafayette Escadrille](/source/Lafayette_Escadrille) during World War I, memorialized in [Gutzon Borglum](/source/Gutzon_Borglum)'s statue ''The Aviator''[{{cite web |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Albemarle/002-5073_Aviator_NR_final_2006.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: The Aviator |date=2006-10-12 |access-date=2008-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511221844/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Albemarle/002-5073_Aviator_NR_final_2006.pdf |archive-date=2008-05-11 |url-status=dead }}]
*[Ernest Mead](/source/Ernest_Mead), professor of music and chair of the McIntire Department of Music at UVA[{{cite news |date=2014-02-16 |title=Ernest Mead |url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/obituaries/mead-ernest/article_ef46c727-b929-59fc-892d-f6fca9899a17.html?TNNoMobile |access-date=2014-02-16 |work=[The Daily Progress](/source/The_Daily_Progress)}}]
*[John Lloyd Newcomb](/source/John_Lloyd_Newcomb), second president of the University of Virginia[{{Cite web |title=#62 John Lloyd Newcomb's Tea Service {{!}} Walking Tours of Grounds |url=https://uva.stqry.app/en/story/96885 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=University of Virginia}}][{{Cite web |last=Bower |first=Grace |date=2024-11-21 |title=5 of the Most Exclusive College Secret Societies |url=https://www.collegenews.com/article/most-exclusive-college-secret-societies/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=College News |language=en-US}}]
*[Edward Stettinius, Jr.](/source/Edward_Stettinius%2C_Jr.), secretary of state under Presidents [Roosevelt](/source/Franklin_D._Roosevelt) and [Truman](/source/Harry_Truman), and first US ambassador to the [United Nations](/source/United_Nations)[{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Bill |title=Seven Society's Secret Still Secret |newspaper=Washington Post |pages=C8 |date=1965-02-15}}][{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/verybestmenfourw00thom_0 |title=The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA |last=Thomas |first=Evan |year=1996 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-684-82538-4 |url-access=registration }}][{{cite news |url=http://swem.wm.edu/beta/flathat/issues/fh19420318.pdf |title=Secret Seven Announces Members For Past Year |work=The Flat Hat |date=1942-03-18 }}]
The [Mystical Seven](/source/Mystical_Seven_(Wesleyan)) was founded in 1837 at [Wesleyan University](/source/Wesleyan_University) in [Middletown, Connecticut](/source/Middletown%2C_Connecticut).[{{cite book |author=Price, Carl Fowler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b0pAHQAACAAJ&q=carl+price+mystical+seven |title=''The Mystical Seven, Wesleyan University, 1837-1937'' |publisher=James D. Young |year=1937 |location=[Middletown, Connecticut](/source/Middletown%2C_Connecticut) |page=25}}] It expanded to include eleven chapters or temples at other colleges and universities.[{{cite Almanac FS|section=men-inactive|organization=Seven Society|access-date=30 June 2022}}] The society died in 1890, with its surviving chapters merging into national fraternities.[{{Cite web |date=2019-10-28 |title=Looking for Answers: A Deep Dive Into Wesleyan Secret Societies |url=http://wesleyanargus.com/2019/10/28/looking-for-answers-a-deep-dive-into-wesleyan-secret-societies/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=The Wesleyan Argus |language=en}}]
The [Mystical Seven](/source/Mystical_Seven_(Missouri)) was founded in 1907 at the [University of Missouri](/source/University_of_Missouri).[{{Cite web |date=2024-04-30 |title=11 J-School students tapped into 5 secret societies on Tap Day |url=https://journalism.missouri.edu/2024/04/11-j-school-students-tapped-into-5-secret-societies-on-tap-day/#:~:text=Mystical%20Seven%20honors%20seven%20men,honorary%20society%20at%20the%20University. |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Mizzou School of Journalism |language=en-US}}] It recognizes students who have demonstrated leadership and characters.[{{Cite web |title=Princeps |url=https://www.longwood.edu/lancer-life/traditions/princeps/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Longwood University |language=en}}] Members are selected during their undergraduate career and are not revealed until graduation by wearing a crimson sash bearing the number seven. The group recognizes and honors citizens of the Longwood community who are exceptional leaders and its motto is "to lead is to serve".