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The first Rotary club was founded on Feb. 23, 1905 in Chicago by attorney Paul P. Harris. as a club where men of different professions could gather in fellowship.
He and colleagues Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram Shorey were the original members of what was the world's first "service club". Their motto was "Service Above Self".
 The first four Rotarians: (from left)
Gustavas Loehr, Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey
and Paul P. Harris (Courtesy of Rotary Images)
The "Rotary" name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.
The popularity of Rotary spread quickly across the US. The first Rotary club in Canada was chartered in 1912 in Winnipeg.
In 1922, with clubs located on over six continents, the name Rotary International was adopted.
Today, Rotary International includes over 1.2 million members in more than 32,000 clubs located in over 200 countries. |
What is Rotary?
Significant Milestones in Rotary History |
About Rotary |