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Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and largest academic honor society, was founded on December 5, 1776 by five students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Since then, it has evolved to become the nation’s leading advocate for arts and sciences at the undergraduate level. Phi Beta Kappa elects over 15,000 new members each year from 276 prestigious chapters across the United States. The Society’s distinctive emblem, a gold key with the letters Phi Beta Kappa as the Greek initials of the motto of the society, "Love of learning is the guide of life," is widely recognized as a symbol of academic achievement. The Duke Chapter, Beta of North Carolina, was formed in 1920 at Trinity College.