The Clariosophic Society, also known as MΣΦ (Mu Sigma Phi), is a literary society

College literary societies (American)

College literary societies in American higher education were a distinctive kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were the precursors of college fraternities and sororities. In the period from the late eighteenth century to the Civil War, collegiate...

 founded in 1806 at the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

, then known as South Carolina College, as a result of the splitting in two of the Philomathic Society, which had been formed within weeks of the opening of the college in 1805 and included virtually all students. At what was called the Synapian Convention held in February, 1806, the members of Philomathic voted to splt into two separate societies, one of which became known as Clariosophic, while the other became known as Euphradian

Euphradian Society

The Euphradian Society, also known as ΦAΕ , is a literary society founded in 1806 at the University of South Carolina, then known as South Carolina College, as a result of the splitting in two of the Philomathic Society, which had been formed within weeks of the opening of the college in 1805 and...

. Two blood brothers picked the members for the new groups in a manner similar to choosing up sides for an impromptu baseball game. John Goodwin became the first president of Clariosophic Other early presidents include Stephen Elliott

Stephen Elliott (bishop)

The Right Reverend Stephen Elliott was the 37th bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He was the first Bishop of Georgia and Provisional Bishop of Florida...

, Hugh S. Legaré

Hugh S. Legaré

Hugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....

. George McDuffie

George McDuffie

George McDuffie was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate.Born of modest means in Columbia County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed while clerking at a store in Augusta, Georgia...

 and Richard I. Manning

Richard Irvine Manning I

Richard Irvine Manning I was the 50th Governor of South Carolina from 1824 to 1826 and was later a Representative in the United States Congress.-Early life and career:...

.

Latin Diploma and key

Applicants who had fulfilled all the requirements for membership were given the society's Latin Diploma along with its key to signify their membership. Somewhere along the way, the giving of keys ceased but the key still appeared on the diplomas, The key was shaped like a rhombus

Rhombus

In Euclidean geometry, a rhombus or rhomb is a convex quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. The rhombus is often called a diamond, after the diamonds suit in playing cards, or a lozenge, though the latter sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 45° angle.Every...

 or lozenge

Lozenge

A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...

 except that the sides did not meet at the top and bottom, but were blunted off. The front had two overlapping hearts at the top with the Greek letters, Mu Sigma Phi (MΣΦ,) in the center and the initials C.S., for Clariosophic Society, at the bottom. The reverse side had the two hearts at the top and two Greek words beginning with the letters, Delta and Phi (ΔΦ} in the center and the initials S.C.C, for South Carolina College, at the bottom,

Notable Members 19th Century

• John C. Calhoun
  John C. Calhoun
  John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
  
   US Vice President (Honorary member)
• Stephen Elliott
  Stephen Elliott (bishop)
  The Right Reverend Stephen Elliott was the 37th bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He was the first Bishop of Georgia and Provisional Bishop of Florida...
  
   First Episcopal Bishop of Georgia & Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the CSA
• Hugh S. Legaré
  Hugh S. Legaré
  Hugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....
  
   US Attorney General
• George McDuffie
  George McDuffie
  George McDuffie was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate.Born of modest means in Columbia County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed while clerking at a store in Augusta, Georgia...
  
   SC Governor & US Senator from SC
• Richard I. Manning
  Richard Irvine Manning I
  Richard Irvine Manning I was the 50th Governor of South Carolina from 1824 to 1826 and was later a Representative in the United States Congress.-Early life and career:...
  
   SC Governor & Member of Congress from SC
• Henry William Ravenel
  Henry William Ravenel
  Henry William Ravenel was a botanist of the United States. He studied fungi and cryptogams in South Carolina, discovering a large number of new species...
  
    Botanist

Notable Members 20th Century

• Thurmond Bishop, Retired Chief Judge US Bankruptcy Court for SC
• Victor Laurie, Retired Chemistry Professor, Princeton University
  Princeton University
  Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
  
  
• Walton J. McLeod, Member of SC Legislature
• Eugene Platt, Poet, and 2010 SC State House Candidate
• Cecil Winfield Scott, B.S., 1927, M.Ed. 1928, Philanthropist and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Rutgers University
  Rutgers University
  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
  
  

External links

• Walton J. McLeod, Member of SC Legislature
• Eugene Platt, Poet, and 2010 SC State House Candidate

Resources

• Haygood, Tamara Miner (2006). Henry William Ravenel, 1814-1887 South Carolina scientist in the Civil War Era, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
• Hollis, Daniel Walker (1951). University of South Carolina, volume I: South Carolina College, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.