Rotary International is an international service organisation whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and non-religious organisation open to all. There are over 35,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians.

 

The first Rotary Club was formed when attorney Paul P. Harris called together a meeting of three business acquaintances in downtown Chicago, in the United States, at Harris's friend Gustave Loehr's office in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street on February 23, 1905. In addition to Harris and Loehr (a mining engineer and freemason), Silvester Schiele (a coal merchant), and Hiram E. Shorey (a tailor) were the other two who attended this first meeting. The members chose the name Rotary because initially they rotated subsequent weekly meetings to each other's offices, although within a year, the Chicago club became so large it became necessary to adopt the now common practice of a regular meeting place.