The Story of Rotary International

Rotary International was formed on February 23, 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who met with other Chicago businessmen. He wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

The popularity of Rotary spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.

Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. This is best expressed in the motto: Service Above Self. Rotary also embraced a code of ethics, called the 4 - Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of languages. For more history of Rotary International go to: http://www.rotary.org/aboutrotary/history/index.html