Alpha Delta, the College's second oldest fraternity, will celebrate its 150th anniversary this Friday night.
The celebration will include a catered dinner and cocktails for brothers and their dates, as well as a semi-formal with a swing band, AD President Chase Arnold '95 said.
AD was founded in 1803 as a literary society, according to Arnold. Vice President, Jason Cole '95, said the society was originally known as the Adelphian Literary Society, and its purpose was to provide a relaxed, social atmosphere in which the members could discuss literature.
In the 1840s, Greek-letter fraternities began emerging across the nation, and in 1843 the Adelphian Literary Society formed an independent fraternity. "It is this 'fraternization' that we are celebrating this week," Cole said.
In 1846, the fraternity became a chapter of the national Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, Cole said. The brothers decided to break away from the national in 1969, changing the house's name to Alpha Delta, Treasurer Scott Rupp '95 said.
Rupp said the decision to become a local fraternity was based on a desire to avoid paying the expensive national dues, which were accompanied by few benefits.
The society meetings were originally held in Dartmouth Hall but were moved to a residential house in 1911 and then again to AD's current house in 1920, Cole said.
During its 150 years of existence, AD brothers have included several famous people, Cole said. He mentioned Salmon P. Chase, class of 1846, who was a member of Abraham Lincoln's cabinet and a supreme court justice, and who is also featured on the $10,000 bill.
Dick Hall '14, the first American to die in World War I, was also a member of AD. Other prestigious members include Grant Tinker '47, a former NBC president, Chris Miller '62, a co-writer of the screenplay for Animal House, and Andrew Shue '89, an actor on FOX's Melrose Place, Cole said.
