THE HISTORY OF ROTARY:
THEN, AND NOW

Today, Rotary is you & me connecting to create solutions in our community regardless of our age, interest or vocation!

Rotary members have been addressing challenges around the world for over 115 years.

Rotary links 1.2 million members to form an organization of international scope. It started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris. The Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago on23rd of February 1905, so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities.

Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of its members.

"Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves."


Rotary founder

Rotary's founder Paul Harris in his private office at the Law Offices of Harris, Dodds, and Brown in Chicago in 1909.
TODAY, as we look back at over more than a century of service, we know that Rotary pioneered a new model of service leadership grounded in person-to-person connections. Those connections are a network that spans the globe—bridging cultural, linguistic, generational, and geographic barriers—and shares the vision of a better world.
TODAY we've learned that in our 115-year history that we excel at finding new ways to lead the world to lasting change. And we’ve proven in our own careers that we know how to help organizations of every kind move forward.
 
That’s why new and modern approaches to our organizing principles don’t threaten our sense of who we are.  We’re ready to seek out fresh opportunities, create more paths to leadership, open up our conversations to diverse voices, and simplify how we operate—with confidence.
 
Let’s stay true to ourselves and stay ahead of change in our next 115 years.
The first four Rotarians: Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey and Paul p. Harris.   Picture was taken between 1905-1912 in Chicago.
Our next generation of leaders that will lead
our organization into the future!