An American born, Calgary Rotarian who carried Rotary "Around the World."James Wheeler Davidson, name itself is story of how one Canadian with $250,000 of his own money supported or started the first Rotary clubs in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand and in several of the Malay states including Seremban (Negeri Sembilan), Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Penang, Perak, Singapore. He also played major roll for founding clubs in what is now Java, Indonesia including Jakarta, Bandoeng and Malang - nearly "Rotary Around the World," as Paul Harris had dreamed.
In 1921, on his first trip for Rotary, he traveled Australia and New Zealand. A second and much longer journey took him through Asia and the Far East from 1928 to 1931. Before his trip to Asia, Rotary appointed Davidson honorary general commissioner and tasked him with introducing Rotary in various countries and facilitating the organization of new clubs. Davidson was instrumental in expanding Rotary to other countries in the early years, embarking on journeys to distant lands that resulted in the chartering of 23 clubs in 12 countries from Greece to Thailand. As a result, Rotary founder Paul Harris dubbed him "the Marco Polo of Rotary."
Photo courtesy Wikipedia - Thank you John Pennypacker for sharing this bit of Rotary history.