The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > University of Chicago Tuesday Club Records 1943-1988
© 1999 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | University of Chicago. Tuesday Club. Records |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1943-1988(inclusive) |
| Size: | .5 linear feet (1 box) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is:
Tuesday Club Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
The Tuesday Club, an organization of University of Chicago faculty members, came into being as a result of a series of preliminary luncheon meetings among interested parties at the Quadrangle Club during December of 1943. The planning group at this initial stage consisted of professors Gertrude Smith (Greek), Henri Frankfort (Oriental Languages and Literature), Ralph Marcus (Greek; Oriental Languages and Literature), John Wilson (Egyptology), Thorkild Jacobson (Oriental Institute), Jakob Larsen (History), Frank Knight (Economics), Edwin Aubrey (Divinity School), Ralph Gerard (Physiology), and Edgar Wind (Art). The planners invited selected colleagues to join them for what they described as "an interdepartmental circle" interested in "the history of science and culture and in methodology." The first regular meeting of the club was held on January 18, 1944 at 8:00 p.m. in the office of John Wilson, Director of the Oriental Institute. Those attending enjoyed light refreshments and heard Thorkild Jacobsen speak on "The Validity of the Ethnical Approach to the Study of Culture." It was not until April 27, 1944, however, that members outlined informal rules and officially designated the new faculty club the Tuesday Club. These informal rules mandated that the club would be limited to eighteen members and that a nominating committee of two or three members plus a secretary would be chosen to maintain membership. It was also decided to appoint a chairman who would facilitate discussions after program presentations. Dues were collected from members, apparently to cover expenses for refreshments.
From its inception the club included faculty from the humanities, the social sciences, the physical sciences, and also the professional schools. Unlike similar faculty clubs such as the Innominates or the X-Club, the Tuesday Club was not a dinner club, although it did hold an annual dinner at the Quandrangle Cub to which members' spouses were invited. At regular meetings, members were also permitted to bring guests. By the early 1950s the club grew to embrace over thirty University of Chicago faculty members, including many nationally and internationally known scholars. Illustrative of the caliber and diversity of Tuesday Club participants is the 1958 member roster which includes Mircea Eliade (Divinity School), Eric Hamp (Linguistics), Frank Knight (Economics), Robert S. Mulliken (Physics), and Sol Tax (Anthropology). In 1962 participation had dwindled enough to precipitate the circulation of a questionnaire to remaining members designed to ascertain whether sufficient interest remained to keep the club alive. Although many expressed continued interest, there is no evidence of activity beyond 1965. The records of the Tuesday Club remained in the possession of one of its final officers, Robert M. Grant, until 1988, when they were given to the Special Collections Research Center.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Meeting minutes, 1943-1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Membership lists, 1958, 1963, 1965 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Meeting speakers and topics, 1944-1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Correspondence of officers, primarily Robert M. Grant and Robert S. Mulliken, 1961-1965, 1988 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Announcements, 1962-1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Form letters and responses, 1961-1962 |