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    The Rotary movement was born on February 23, 1905, when Paul Harris, then a young lawyer, met with three friends to discuss an idea that he 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, Chicago.

    Paul's idea was that businessmen would get together regularly 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 men's club whose membership would be limited to one representative from each business and profession. Weekly meetings were to be "rotated" at each member's place of business, thus the name "Rotary" was born.

    After several meetings, the group was formally organized as the Rotary Club of Chicago. The first roster (1905)  showed a membership of 30 with Silvester Schiele as president. 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 or business. Thus began the practice of holding weekly meetings at restaurants and hotels. Two years after the club's founding, the first community project - the establishment of a "public comfort station" in the city of Chicago, was initiated.

    In 1908, a second club was founded in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. The following year, three more clubs were founded. By 1910, there were 16 clubs with 1,500 members all over the continental U.S.A. The first Rotary convention was held in 1910 in Chicago and the 16 clubs were united as "The National Association of Rotary Clubs". Paul Harris was elected president of the association.

    Rotary become "international" in 1911 when the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the first Rotary club outside the U.S. was formed. That same year, clubs in London and Manchester were organized. Also in that year, Paul was astonished to learn that a "Rotary" club already existed in Dublin, Ireland, since March 1911. The mystery was unraveled when it was discovered that Stuart Morrow, an ex-Rotarian on San Francisco, U.S.A., had gone to Ireland and organized clubs in Dublin and Belfast. Also in 1911, The National Rotarian, forerunner of The Rotarian magazine was born.

    Once the movement had spanned the Atlantic it spread rapidly. At the 1912 Rotary Convention in Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A., the name was changed to "The International Association of Rotary Clubs", which was shortened in 1922 to "Rotary International". The first president from outside the United States of America - E. Leslie Pidgeon of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - was elected in 1917.

    In 1916, the first Rotary club in a non-English speaking country was organized in Havana, Cuba (disbanded in 1979). Thus Rotary began to transcend not only national boundaries but languages barriers as well. The Rotary movement became global in 1920's when it spread throughout continental Europe and reached South and Central America, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Rotary's Principal Motto 

    At Rotary's first convention in 1910, Arthur Frederick Sheldon from Chicago proposed the slogan "He Profits Most Who Serves His Fellows Best". The following year, another of Rotary's early leaders, B. Frank Collins of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., promoted the idea that a club should be organized on the principle "Service, Not Self." The two sayings, modified to "He Profits Most Who Serves Best" and "Service Above Self," were embraced by all Rotarians as slogans for Rotary. They were officially designated as Rotary mottoes at the 1950 Convention in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. However, the 1989 Council on Legislation agreed that "Service Above Self" be the principal motto of R.I.

Rotary's Emblem

    Rotary's early emblem was a simple wagon wheel representing "civilization and movement", designed by Montague M. Bear, member of the Chicago club. In 1923, the present gear wheel with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted, a keyway was added to signify that the wheel was a "worker and not an idler." An official description of the emblem was adopted at the 1929 Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. Royal blue and gold were chosen as the official Rotary colors, and the flag of Rotary was designated as a white field with the Rotary wheel emblazoned on its center. The emblem, worn as a lapel button, now identifies Rotarians around the world.

The 4 Avenues of Service

    In 1926, Sydney W. Pascall and Vivian Carter of the Rotary Club of London created that movement's "Aims and Objects" Plan, which directed to the formation of the four channels of service - Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service. The idea was formally adopted at the RI Convention at Belgium, in 1927.

Rotary spurs other organizations

    Rotary was the forerunner of other great service clubs, such as Kiwanis International (1915), Lions International (1917), and Soroptimist International (1919). Women's service organizations, such as Zonta International (1919), were modeled after Rotary. The Rotary movement also laid the groundwork for well-known organizations of world stature, including the International Society for Crippled Children (1922), now called Rehabilitation International, and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the seed for which was planted at a 1942 Rotary conference in England.

Birth of the Rotary Foundation of R.I.

    In 1917, Arch Klump then president of the International Association of Rotary Clubs, indicated that "Rotary should accept endowments for the purpose of doing good in the world in charitable, educational, and other avenues of community progress." Thus the "Rotary Endowment Fund", as it was first labeled was established. A decade later, The Rotary Foundation was formally established at the 1928 Minneapolis Convention. It has since become one of the world's largest foundations. The Foundation depends on voluntary contributions from both Rotarians and non-Rotarians around the world. A major source of funding is derived from Paul Harris Fellow recognition which are granted to persons, Rotarians and non-Rotarians, who contribute $1,000 or more to the Foundation.

Rotary admits women

    Rotary reached another milestone in 1989 when the Council on Legislation agreed to allow all clubs to admit qualified women as members. The decision followed actions by the Rotary clubs of the United States and Canada to admit qualified women to comply with the laws of the jurisdictions in which they operate. By 1991, there were more than 25,000 women in Rotary clubs throughout the world.

The World of Rotary today

    As of Jan. 2000, there were 29,268 clubs in 162 countries with a total membership of 1,170,904. The Rotary clubs are grouped into 528 districts, each led by a district governor who is chosen 2 years before the term starts. Besides the Rotary clubs, Rotary also sponsors subsidiary organizations for the youth. There are now over 6,757 Rotaract clubs with 149,000 members in 146 countries; as well as about 6,992 Interact clubs with 161,000 members in 105 countries. Rotary clubs have also organized Rotary Community Corps - village-based self-help groups, of which there are around 3,395 clubs in 55 countries.