History of Rotary International

The first Rotary Club was formed in Chicago by attorney Paul P. Harris. On 23 February 1905 Harris held the first meeting with three friends, Silvester Schiele, coal merchant, Gustave E. Loehr, mines engineer and Hiram E. Shorey, tailor. The members chose the name Rotary because they rotated club meetings to each member's office each week.

The National Association of Rotary Clubs was formed in 1910. The same year, Rotary chartered a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, marking the first establishment of an American-style service club outside the United States. This was followed in 1911 by the founding of the first club outside North America in Dublin, Ireland.

During World War I, Rotary in Britain increased from 9 to 22 clubs, and other early international branches were Cuba in 1916 and India in 1920.

In 1922, because branches had been formed in six continents, the name was changed to Rotary International. By 1925, Rotary had grown to 200 clubs with more than 20,000 members.

As of today, Rotary has more than 1.2 million members in over 32,000 clubs among 200 countries and geographical areas, making it the most widespread by branches. North America accounts for 450,000 members, Asia for 300,000, Europe for 250,000, Latin America for 100,000, Oceania for 100,000 and Africa for 30,000.

Find Paul Harris' biography and more photos on rotary.org!

The Paul Harris 1933 Rotary International Speech