Mace and Chain
| Mace and Chain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1956 Yale University |
| Type | Senior society |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Status | Active |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Members | 300+ lifetime |
| Headquarters | Trumbull Street New Haven, Connecticut United States |
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Mace and Chain is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1956, it is the youngest of the "ancient eight" and landed societies, the most selective senior societies at Yale. Mace and Chain has a meeting place or "tomb" on Trumbull Street.
History
Yale University junior Thornton Marshall founded Mace and Chain in 1956 after he failed to receive an invitation to join a secret student society.[1][2][3] Yale professor Robert Penn Warren gave Marshall advice on structuring the society as "something which is a little closer to reality and that can exist in the sunlight".[1][2] Thus, Marshall's goal was to create a senior society that would more representative of the campus community.[3]
Marshall recruited six friends to join his new society.[1] The group met in an apartment on Wall Street and rotated the society's leadership every week.[1] Mace and Chain went inactive in the 1960s when it lost its apartment lease, reportedly due to a lack of money.[1][3][4]
Mace and Chain reformed, then went dormant again in 1970.[5] In 1993, Mace and Chain was revived by alumni members Tom Haines and William "Biff" Folberth.[1][2] The first class of the reformed society included five male and five female seniors.[1] Although sometimes called as a secret society, the reformed Mace and Chain's membership is listed annually in campus publications.[6] The society operates with “very dynamic bylaws,” allowing each delegation significant flexibility in shaping internal structures and practices.[3]
Mace and Chain is the youngest member of the “ancient eight consortium”, a name given to the eight most selective senior societies at Yale, also including Berzelius Society, Book and Snake, Elihu Club, St. Elmo’s Society, Scroll and Key, Skull and Bones, and Wolf’s Head Society.[7][1] In 2007, the society had more than 300 alumni.[1]
Symbols
The Mace and Chain emblem resulted from its founding members' discussions about chivalry.[1] The symbol of Mace and Chain depicts a medieval-style armored gauntlet grasping a spiked mace, rendered in a bold black-and-white outline. The emblem features stylized details, including pointed spikes on the mace head and ornamental patterns on the arm.
Tomb
Mace and Chain is considered a "landed" society because it owns its meeting place or "tomb".[8][9] When it was reestablished in 1993, the society initially occupied a condominium provided by alumni.[1] In 2001, the alumni gave the society an historic house on Trumbull Street in downtown New Haven.[1][4][9] As of 2025, the exact address of the Mace and Chain tomb has not been publicly disclosed.[10] However, tomb is a late Colonial and early-Victorian style house that was in built in 1823 with salvage from Benedict Arnold's home.[11]
Membership
Mace and Chain selects approximately fifteen rising seniors each spring through Yale’s traditional tap night process.[9] The society was one of the earliest to adopt coeducational membership after its revival in 1993, with its first delegation including five men and five women.[1][4] Its members are chosen to reflect a wide range of interests and backgrounds.[3]
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Notable members
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| Name | Yale Class | Notability | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Agostino | 2014 | Professional ice hockey player and member of the 2022 U.S. Olympic team. | [12] |
| John Ripin Miller | 1964 | U.S. Congressman (1985–1993); led federal anti-human trafficking efforts as Ambassador-at-Large. | [13] |
| Ifeoma Ozoma | 2015 | Tech policy expert and whistleblower advocate; key architect of California’s Silenced No More Act. | [14] |
| Tatiana Schlossberg | 2012 | Environmental journalist and author of Inconspicuous Consumption; granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy. | [6] |
| David Shimer | 2018 | Author and foreign policy analyst who served on the United States National Security Council during the Biden administration | [15] |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ron, Schachter (July 2007). "Light & Verity: The Youngest Secret Society". Yale Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ a b c Garza, Joe (2023-05-06). "Yale Has More Secret Societies Than You Realize. Here's The History". Grunge. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c d e Schenkel, Ben (March 30, 2012). "Tapping in to Yale's secret societies". UWire. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c Heinrichs, Susanne; Müller, Alysha (2025-02-18). "The Secret Societies of Yale". American Matters. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Richards, David Alan (2017-09-05). Skulls and Keys: The Hidden History of Yale's Secret Societies. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68177-581-4.
- ^ a b "Secret Societies". Rumpus. Yale University: 5. May 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2025 – via issuu.
- ^ "Tap secrets of Yale societies". Yale Daily News. 2002-04-12. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ "Yale's secret social fabric". Yale Daily News. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c Sur, Snigdha (May 27, 2009). "So secret I can't talk about it". Yale Daily News. p. C11. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Yale Daily News Historical Archive.
- ^ "The Secret Societies of Yale". American Matters. 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
- ^ "Yale | History". Plexuss. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Javed, Imran (2017-01-07). "Ice, Ice, Ivy - Chicago Wolves Forward Kenny Agostino". Chicago Wolves. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Bridgeport Post Newspaper Archives, Oct 1, 1967, p. 26". NewspaperArchive.com. 1967-10-01. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Secret Societies 2015". Rumpus. June 2015. Retrieved 2025-08-07 – via Scribd.
- ^ "The Society Issue 2018 | PDF". Scribd. Retrieved 2025-08-04.