Hasty Pudding Club

TheHasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as thePudding, is a social club atHarvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770.The current clubhouse was designed byPeabody and Stearnsand was placed on theNational Register of Historic Placeson January 9, 1978.
The year of founding for the club is usually given as 1795. The Pudding claims to be the oldest collegiatesocial clubin the United States. Historically, the club has been noted for its "prestigious" reputation and viewed as "the first step towardsfinal clubmembership."An 1870 travel book listed the Hasty Pudding Club and thePorcellian Clubas "the two lions of Harvard."In 2012, they merged to formThe Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770.
The society was founded on September 1, 1795, by 21 juniors in the room of Nymphas Hatch.The founding undergraduates came together "to cherish feelings of friendship and patriotism."Among the co-founders wasJohn Collins Warren.The club is named forhasty pudding, a traditional English dish popular at that time in America that the founding members ate at their first meeting. Each week two members, chosen in alphabetical order, had to provide a pot of hasty pudding for the club to enjoy.
Originally, the club engaged in holding mock trials, which became more elaborate over time. This culminated in a member, Lemuel Hayward, secretly planning to stage a musical on the night he was to host the club's meeting. On December 13, 1844, Hayward and other members stagedBombastes Furiosoin room 11 ofHollis Hall, which began theHasty Pudding Theatricals.
Throughout its history, the Hasty Pudding Club has absorbed other organizations. In 1924, the Club absorbed the Institute of 1770, D.K.E, which was established in 1770.In 2012, the Hasty Pudding Club,Hasty Pudding Theatricals, andThe Harvard Krokodiloesmerged into a single entity: The Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770.
Historically, the club has been noted for its "prestigious" reputation and viewed as "the first step towardsfinal clubmembership."An 1870 travel book listed theHasty Pudding Cluband thePorcellian Clubas "the two lions of Harvard."The Pudding claims to be the oldest collegiatesocial clubin the United States.
The club's motto,Concordia Discors(discordant harmony), derives from the epistles of the Latin poetHorace.Its symbol is the pudding pot.It was named for the hasty pudding, a porridge made from molasses and cornmeal, that its founding members ate at each meeting.
The current clubhouse is located at 45 Dunster Street in Cambridge.It was designed in 1888 byPeabody and Stearns.It contains rooms with specific purposes—such asThe Arena,the club's game room, which has no windows or openings to the outside.It was placed on theNational Register of Historic Placeson January 9, 1978.
The Hasty Pudding Club is the only social club on campus that is coed and has members from all four years. Students gain membership in the club by attending a series of lunches, cocktail parties, and other gatherings—which are referred to as thepunch process.
The club holds its social activities in a clubhouse nearHarvard Square. These include weekly Members' Nights, dinner and cocktail parties, as well as its elaborate theme parties, such asLeather and Lace.