The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Georgia Female College, and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843, while changing hands from the Methodist-Episcopal Church to the Church of the South. Later the college shortened to the present name Wesleyan College in 1917. Wesleyan has the world's oldest alumnae association, begun in 1859.citation needed Seniors are inducted into the association during a candle lighting ceremony on Alumnae Weekend. Wesleyan College is the birthplace of the first sororities: the Adelphean Society in 1851, now known as Alpha Delta Pi and the Philomathean Society in 1852, now known as Phi Mu. The two sororities together are referred to as the "Macon Magnolias". The school no longer has sororities (as of 1914), and instead uses a class system to assign all students with a class name. Incoming first years are assigned a class based on the outgoing seniors of the previous school year. The classes are the Green Knights, the Purple Knights, the Red Pirates (formerly the Tri-K pirates until the late 20th century), and the Golden Hearts. Further, each of these classes is paired with another: the Green Knights and Purple Knights are sister classes, and the Golden Hearts and Red Pirates are sister classes. The new freshman class of 2013 are the Pirates.

Founded in 1836 as the first college in the world for women, Wesleyan College offers an education that leads to lifelong intellectual, personal, and professional growth. Our academic community attracts those with a passion for learning and making a difference. The Wesleyan experience has four cornerstones

Catherine Brewer Benson, first woman to earn a college degree Neva Jane Langley, Miss America (1953) Kathryn Stripling Byer, poet and teacher; 2001 North Carolina Award in Literature and North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2005�2009 Toni Jennings, Lieutenant Governor of Florida The Soong sisters, significant political figures in early 20th Century Chinese history Phaedra Parks, Entertainment attorney and star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta Shanna Malcolm, YouTube comedy star known for her work on HeyYoShanna

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