Porcellian ClubSometimes called the Porc or the P.C., this men-only final club founded in 1791 is often compared to Yale’s infamous Skull and Bones society.
The club’s founding is credited to a prankster named Joseph McKean and a pig that he hid in the window box in his room in Hollis Hall in Harvard Yard. Membership is very competitive and by invitation only. Franklin D. Roosevelt once commented that “the greatest disappointment in his life” was not being invited to join. Legend has it that the only non-member to be invited into the club’s headquarters (“the Old Barn,”) was president Dwight D. Eisenhower. However, upon returning to the club after his presidency in the hopes of being wined and dined a second time, Ike was turned away. Another club legend highlights the benefits of membership. It is said that if a club member has not made their first million dollars by the time they are 40 years old, the club will give it to them. |