Welcome
History of Rotary
“WHATEVER ROTARY MAY MEAN TO US, TO THE WORLD IT WILL BE KNOWN BY THE RESULTS IT ACHIEVES.”
—PAUL P. HARRIS
Our 1.2 million-member organization was founded on the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on February 23, 1905, as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
Our Ongoing Commitment
Rotarians have not only been present for major events in history—we’ve been a part of them. From the beginning, three key traits have remained strong throughout Rotary:
•We’re truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today, we’re working together from around the globe, both digitally and in person, to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems.
•We persevere in tough times. During World War II, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the risks, many continued to meet informally, and following the war’s end, Rotary members joined together to rebuild their clubs and their countries.
•Our commitment to service is ongoing. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. Since then, we have helped immunize 2.5 billion children against polio. Currently, only two countries remain polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.
Ready to make history with us? Get involved.