The Adventurers' Club of New York was an adventure-oriented private men's club founded in New York City in 1912 by Arthur Sullivant Hoffman, editor of the popular pulp magazine Adventure.[1][2] There were 34 members at the first meeting. In its second year, "Sinclair Lewis, Hoffman's assistant, was elected secretary and served three years."[3] Monthly dinner meetings, and weekly luncheons, were the primary functions of the club.

According to club secretary, newspaperman Fred J. Splitstone, the club's "One inviolate rule is that no publicity is ever given to the meetings. It makes men freer to talk."[4] It also makes the club difficult to research. However, soon after making those comments, in 1926, the club began publishing a monthly newsletter, The Adventurer. It ran at least until 1960. Its content primarily concerned club business, e.g. changes in leadership, new members. It occasionally ran profiles—and obituaries—of members. The main content was typically a description of the previous monthly dinner meeting. The speakers were described along with a summation of their speeches.

A weekly CBS radio show, Gold Seal Associates, featuring members of the club describing the most exciting moment of their lives, was inaugurated on June 13, 1930. Major C. E. Russell was the inaugural speaker.[5]

The club was one of at least two such clubs in New York. The other club was the Ends of the Earth Club, which included Mark Twain as a member.

The club appears to have faded out in the 1970s.

Chapters

Spin-off clubs were founded in Chicago, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Copenhagen.[6] The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles remains active,[7] as does the Adventurers' Club of Honolulu[8] (founded in 1954) and the Adventurers' Club of Denmark.[9]

Members

In 1925, the club had 185 total members, of whom 140 were active.[10] The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee (1964) listed 195 active members and 68 associate members, for a total of 263.[11]

Among the members of the Adventurers' Club of New York were many prominent citizens, travelers, writers, artists and explorers, including the following.[12] Members who attended the first meeting on December 7, 1912, are indicated with "[O]," for original.[13]

Speakers

Notable speakers before the club include the following:

Presidents

#FromToPresident[18]
119121917Henry Collins Walsh
219181918Robert Welles Ritchie
319191925William E. Aughinbaugh
419261927Wesley H. Wallace
519281928Norman Schwarzkopf
619291930George W. B. Witten
719301930Fred J. Willock
819301930George W. B. Witten
919311931Wyndham Phinny
1019321932C. E. Russell
1119331933John J. Lyons[19]
1219341935Tex O'Rourke
1319361937Raymond C. Schindler
1419391939Henry M. Kalvin
1519401940Lewis N. Cotlow
1619411942Charles R. Haffenden
1719431944John McElraevy, Jr.
1819451945James B. Pond
1919461946Charles R. Haffenden
2019471947Raymond C. Schindler
2119481948Harry Bruno
2219491949Harry C. M. Reed
2319501950Arthur M. Menken
2419511951G. Theon Wright
2519521952Norris L. Bowen
2619521952Russell B. Aitken
2719531953Paulus P. Powell
2819541954Edward L. Bill
2919551955G. Theon Wright
3019561956John S. Davis, Jr.
3119571957Raymond E. Buck
3219581958Bernt Balchen
3319591959Patrick B. Fay
3419601960Ansel E. Talbert
3519611961A. Fred Nielson
3619621962Carl von Hoffman
3719631963Frederick Houk Law (Emeritus)
3319641964Justin William Pierce

Award winners

The club also awarded medals and honors. Recipients include:

Gold Medal

Bronze Medal

Life Membership

Books

Call to Adventure

In 1935, Robert Spiers Benjamin edited an anthology Call to Adventure. Contributors were:[24]

The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee

In 1964, the club published The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee 1912–1962: A History of the Adventurers Club of New York.[25]

See also

  • Explorers Club, an extant club of about the same age, also founded in New York, with a scientific mission.

References

  1. ↑ "More Information About the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles". Archived from the original on 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  2. ↑ "Arthur Hoffman, Editor, Teacher" (obituary). The New York Times, March 15, 1966.
  3. ↑ "The Adventurers' Club." The Adventurer, January 1937. A history of the club. The Adventurer periodically printed an updated history of the club. Most of this information rolled over into The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee.
  4. ↑ "The Adventurers." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 5, 1925.
  5. ↑ "Exciting Adventure New Series' Basis." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 1, 1930.
  6. ↑ "Club History – Adventurers Club". Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  7. ↑ "Home". adventurersclub.org.
  8. ↑ Adventurers' Club of Honolulu current newsletter, March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Eventyrernes Klub – Velkommen til Eventyrernes Klubs hjemmeside" (in Danish). Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  10. ↑ "The Adventurers." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 5, 1925.
  11. ↑ The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee, 1964. New York: The Adventurers' Club, Inc., 1965, 145-154.
  12. ↑ Names were obtained from The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee, selected issues of The Adventurer, and newspaper articles. Some individuals were members for decades, while others joined the club but participated little. Activity frequently depended on the member's proximity to New York City.
  13. ↑ "Hardy Spirits Organize." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 8, 1912.
  14. ↑ "The Adventurers." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 5, 1925.
  15. ↑ "Wits Used By Adventurer to Get Into Prison." Bellingham Herald, February 4, 1914.
  16. ↑ A. E. Dingle. Letter dated December 1, 1936, in The Adventurer, December 1936.
  17. ↑ "Boro Associations Hold Social Events." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 18, 1926. This was the "10th annual dinner." The anniversary may refer to the incorporation of the club, since the founding was in 1912.
  18. ↑ The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee, 1964. New York: The Adventurers' Club, Inc., 1965, 139.
  19. ↑ Probably the NY politician John J. Lyons.
  20. ↑ Death in the Silent Places, by Peter Hathaway Capstick.
  21. ↑ "Justice Douglas Honored by the Adventurers Club". The New York Times. 19 November 1964.
  22. ↑ "Medal, Adventurers Club of New York, Alexander de Seversky | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  23. ↑ "Solo Raft Voyage Cited for Honors." Omaha World Herald, October 28, 1954.
  24. ↑ Call to Adventure. 1935
  25. ↑ Adventurers Club of New York. (1965). The Adventurers' Golden Jubilee, 1964: A history of The Adventurers' Club of New York. New York: The Club
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