The oldest senior-class society at the university, Skull and Bones has become a cultural institution known for its powerful alumni and conspiracy theories.

[6] The first extended description of Skull and Bones, published in 1871 by Lyman Bagg in his book Four Years at Yale, noted that "the mystery now attending its existence forms the one great enigma which college gossip never tires of discussing.

[11] Yale became coeducational in 1969, prompting some other secret societies such as St. Anthony Hall to transition to co-ed membership, yet Skull and Bones remained fully male until 1992.

[13] A mail-in vote by members decided 368–320 to permit women in the society, but a group of alumni led by William F. Buckley obtained a temporary restraining order to block the move, arguing that a formal change in bylaws was needed.

[18] The number "322" appears in Skull and Bones' insignia and is widely reported to be significant as the year of Greek orator Demosthenes' death.

In 322 BC, the Lamian War ended with the death of Demosthenes and Athenians were made to dissolve their government and establish a plutocratic system in its stead, whereby only those possessing 2,000 drachmas or more could remain citizens.

Architectural historian Patrick Pinnell includes an in-depth discussion of the dispute over the identity of the original architect in his 1999 Yale campus history.

[31] In the late 1990s, New Hampshire landscape architects Saucier and Flynn designed the wrought iron fence that surrounds a portion of the complex.

Alexandra Robbins, author of a book on Yale secret societies, wrote:The forty-acre retreat is intended to allow Bonesmen to "get together and rekindle old friendships."

A century ago the island sported tennis courts and its softball fields were surrounded by rhubarb plants and gooseberry bushes.

[38] Regarding the qualifications for membership, Lanny Davis wrote in the 1968 Yale yearbook: If the society had a good year, this is what the "ideal" group will consist of: a football captain; a Chairman of the Yale Daily News; a conspicuous radical; a Whiffenpoof; a swimming captain; a notorious drunk with a 94 average; a film-maker; a political columnist; a religious group leader; a Chairman of the Lit; a foreigner; a ladies' man with two motorcycles; an ex-serviceman; a negro, if there are enough to go around; a guy nobody else in the group had heard of, ever ...Like other Yale senior societies, Skull and Bones's membership was almost exclusively limited to white Protestant men for much of its history.

[40] Some of these excluded groups eventually entered Skull and Bones using sports, through the society's practice of tapping standout athletes.

[39] Judith Ann Schiff, Chief Research Archivist at the Yale University Library, has written: "The names of its members weren't kept secret‍—‌that was an innovation of the 1970s‍—‌but its meetings and practices were.

The information was finally reformatted as an appendix in the book Fleshing out Skull and Bones, a compilation edited by Kris Millegan and published in 2003.

Examples include "Long Devil", the tallest member, "Boaz", a varsity football captain, or "Sherrife", prince of the future.

Averell Harriman was "Thor", Henry Luce was "Baal", McGeorge Bundy was "Odin", and George H. W. Bush was "Magog".

[19] Skull and Bones is featured in books and movies which claim that the society plays a role in a global conspiracy for world control.