Duke blue


Duke blue is a dark blue tertiary color used in association with Duke University.

History

It is believed that Duke blue and Yale blue share a common story of origin, relating to a scrap of cloth held in university archives. This story is disputed by the fact that Duke had been using a "deep dark blue" since at least 1889, five years before Yale began using the color in 1894. Part of the confusion surrounding the history of the two universities' colors surrounds John Franklin Crowell, a graduate of Yale and a president of Duke in the late 1800s.
In 1961, Duke University President J. Deryl Hart recommended a standardization of the shades of blue used by the university when it was redesigning its academic gowns. In 1965, Duke's board of trustees officially adopted the shade blue for official university use.

Modern usage

Duke makes use of several shades of blue, with the official Duke blue, known as Duke Navy Blue, being the darkest of the official blues. The dark blue is used on the official university seal, but a lighter shade of blue, known as Duke Royal Blue, is used on the Iron Duke logo, the logo of Duke Athletics.