History of Rotary International

The Rotary movement was born on the evening of February 23, 1905 when Paul Harris, then a young lawyer who felt somewhat lost and alone in the sprawling city of Chicago, met with three friends to discuss an idea that had been developing. The three men were: Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer; Gustavus E. Loehr, a mining engineer; and Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor. They met in Gus Loehr’s office in the Unity Building at 127 North Dearborn Street.

Paul's idea was that businessmen should get together periodically, in the spirit of camaraderie, to enjoy each other's company and to enlarge their circle of business and professional acquaintances.

Out of their discussion came the idea of a man’s club whose membership would be limited to one representative from each business and profession. Weekly meetings were to be held at each member’s place of business in turn. The rotation of meetings was designed to acquaint the members with one another’s vocations and to promote business. Hence, the name "Rotary" was adopted early on.

The founding four were of New England, German, Swedish and Irish ancestry, representing Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths. All were products of the American melting pot and, in that respect, they were fitting progenitors of the international organization they were to bring into being.

After enlisting a fifth member, Harry Ruggles, a printer, the group was formally organized as the Rotary Club of Chicago. Paul Harris declined any office in the new club and did not become its president until two years later.

Word of the new organization spread rapidly. Soon, membership increased to the point at which it was no longer practical to meet at a member’s place of business. Thus began the practice of holding weekly meetings at restaurants and hotels.

In the mind of Paul Harris, the Chicago Club was never intended to exist solely to promote business between members. While also interested in fun and fellowship, he hoped from the beginning that the Club would undertake broad civic functions of value to the whole community. In 1907, two years after the Club's founding, the first community project - the establishment of a "public comfort station" in the city of Chicago, the first such facility near City Hall - was initiated.

Rotary did not become truly global until the 1920's, when the movement spread throughout continental Europe and reached South and Central America, Africa, Australia and Asia. Such widespread endorsement attested to the organization's universality, proving that its principles had the vitality and appeal to surmount differences of race, color, creed, languages and geography.