[5][2] Berzelius became a senior society in the tradition of Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, and Wolf's Head in 1933 when the Sheffield Scientific School was integrated into Yale University.

[1] The society takes its intellectual mission seriously, invoking Socrates' exhortation "The unexamined life is not worth living” as well as stating to its prospective members that: "Berzelius provides opportunities for achieving insights through an open, honest exchange of experiences, passions, and opinions.

[3][2] In 1910, the Berzelius Trust Association purchased property at 78 Trumbull Street in New Haven to construct a new building or tomb for BZ's meeting place.

The BZ tomb is set off from the more active center of Yale's campus, providing privacy for Berzelius' members, and its unadorned largely blank exterior conveys to outsiders the deceptive sense that nothing much happens inside.

[6] Berzelius's members have included U.S. senators and governors, influential journalists and activists, accomplished athletes and artists, and successful businesspeople.