Kappa Pi Kappa (ΚΠΚ), also known as Pi Kap[1] and formerly known as Kappa Kappa Kappa (colloquially as Tri-Kap) and briefly as Kappa Chi Kappa, is a local men's fraternity at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fraternity was founded in 1842 and is the second-oldest fraternity at Dartmouth College.[2] Pi Kap is the oldest local fraternity in the United States.[citation needed] It is located at 1 Webster Avenue, Hanover, New Hampshire.

Kappa Pi Kappa
ΚΠΚ
The Kappa Kappa Kappa Seal
FoundedJuly 13, 1842; 182 years ago (1842-07-13)
Dartmouth College
TypeSocial
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
ScopeLocal
MottoTui Filii Dartmuthensi Tuoque Honori Fidelis
Colors  Dartmouth Green
Chapters1
Headquarters1 Webster Avenue
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
United States
Websitekappapikappa.org
Pi Kap, view from front lawn looking west.

History

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Kappa Kappa Kappa was founded on July 13, 1842 by Harrison Carroll Hobart and two of his closest companions, Stephen Gordon Nash, and John Dudley Philbrick, all Class of 1842.[3][4] The society was based on the principles of democracy, loyalty to Dartmouth, and equality of opportunity. Originally a literary and debate society, Pi Kap officially became a social society in 1905 and has remained so ever since, making it the oldest extant local fraternity in the country.[4][5]

Pi Kap was the first student society at Dartmouth with its own meeting place, a building called The Hall, which was originally where the Hopkins Center for the Arts is today. Opened on July 28, 1860, the Hall served as Tri-Kap's home until the society moved into the Parker House in 1894.[6] Parker House was where the modern-day Silsby Hall is. In 1923, the society moved into 1 Webster Avenue, where it resides to this day.[4][7]

Due to the similarity of the society's Greek initials with the Latin/English initials of the unaffiliated Ku Klux Klan, Kappa Kappa Kappa changed its name to Kappa Chi Kappa (ΚΧΚ) for a period from April 1992 to October 1995, at which point the name changed back to Kappa Kappa Kappa.[8][9]

Following a period of consensus-building among the brotherhood's alumni, on May 18, 2022, Kappa Kappa Kappa again changed its name, this time to Kappa Pi Kappa (ΚΠΚ).[10]

Notable members

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Honorary alumni

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  • Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and presidential nominee
  • Rufus Choate (1819), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
  • Daniel Clark (1834), U.S. Senator from New Hampshire
  • Benjamin Franklin Flanders (1842), Governor of Louisiana
  • Daniel Webster (1801), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Congressman, Ambassador to France, and Secretary of State
  • Levi Woodbury (1809), Governor of New Hampshire, U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "When the Bubble Pops". The Dartmouth. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  2. ^ "Greek Chapters". 9 August 2016.
  3. ^ William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive)". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved 15 May 2021. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
  4. ^ a b c "Kappa Kappa Kappa Fraternity. (Dartmouth College) | Dartmouth Library Archives & Manuscripts".
  5. ^ Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (6th ed.). New York: The Alcolm Company. p. 518.
  6. ^ "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth. VI. View [index.html] for frames version". www.dartmo.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  7. ^ "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth. VII. View [index.html] for frames version". www.dartmo.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  8. ^ Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth - Appendix A
  9. ^ Kappa Chi votes to rename itself
  10. ^ Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity changes name to Kappa Pi Kappa, The Dartmouth (5/19/22)
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