Where does the school prom come from?

When did it first start? What is the point of it, etc?

From here

“The why of prom’s origin story is simple to answer. Prom, short for promenade, “the formal, introductory parading of guests at a party,” began in the mid-to-late 1800s at colleges and universities in the Northeast to promote social etiquette and manners in each year’s graduating class.”

I would have thought prom would have been short for “promotion”.

But more importantly, is this the longest interval between a question being asked and answered on the SDMB?

No, there was one that was 18 years, IIRC. That was a couple-three years ago and I can’t remember the subject. Couldn’t find it on a search, but I remember adding a post pointing out the length of time.

Memory came back; found the other thread:

Turns out that one was 16 years too. Or more specifically, 16years, 5 months. This one is actually 15 years, 6 months. So that other thread is still the longest.

In the book “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” there’s a prom. It’s been awhile since I read it but IIRC the girl, Mick, asks and gets permission from her mother to hold it.

When the guests arrive, at first there is general pandemonium and chatter. Then Mick yells out for everyone to get a prom card and start signing up. One of the boys who asks her for a promenade is Harry Minowitz, a Jewish boy who is her next-door neighbor. Mick notices Harry because he is not wearing his usual glasses and therefore looks different. During Mick and Harry’s promenade around the block, a song comes into Mick’s mind and she starts singing. She tells Harry the song is by Mozart. He says that the name sounds German, and asks if Mozart is a Fascist or a Nazi. Mick says no, Mozart died a long time ago. Harry gets very worked up and says that if he saw a Fascist walking on the street he would kill him. Mick asks why, but Harry does not have time to answer her question because they are back at her house.

So prom cards are used to set up “appointments” to walk around the block together. The rest of the time they play records, dance, and have refreshments.

And that thread’s OP was even able to see their question being answered. Very good.

I can’t find any information about what school prom Howard Hughes might have gone to. He did attend the Thacher School in California in his teens but regrettably they don’t mention anything about a prom.*

*The school mascot is a toad, which is nice.

I wish they’d fix the spelling error in the thread title. It should be “skool”.

Well, I don’t understand why it wasn’t answered in 2005: my impression is that school proms have been steadily declining in importance over the years–thus people should have been more aware of the answer back then.

But now we can reap the benefits of a 2012 doctoral dissertation on the history of the school prom.