A lawyer named Paul Harris and three of his friends started a service club in Chicago on February 23, 1905. They hoped that they could spread the spirit of friendship they had seen in their own towns by getting together every so often.
Rotary is the name of the first service club in the world. More than 1.2 million people worldwide have given their time and energy to this global organization.
Paul P. Harris had the idea for Rotary long before he did anything to make it happen.He was born on April 19, 1868, in Racine, Wisconsin. He grew up in Wallingford, Vermont. In 1891, he went to the University of Iowa and earned a law degree.
Harris moved to Chicago in 1896 to open a law office. While having dinner with a fellow lawyer, he was struck by how friendly the businesspeople in his neighborhood were with each other.
Later that night, he talked three of his business partners into talking about how to start a professional club. On February 23, 1905, the group met at the office of Gustavus Loehr in the Unity Building in downtown Chicago.
During their first year together, they met at different places hosted by different members. They chose the name "Rotary" for their new club. In the end, they chose the cogwheel symbol that Rotarians all over the world now recognize.
Gustavus Loehr is one of the four men who were the First Four Rotarians. He is not as well known as the other three. He was a mining engineer who held the first meeting at his downtown Chicago, Illinois, office.
Gus was born on October 18, 1864, in Carlinville, Illinois. His parents were German. He married Frederika Knabner, and all seven of their children were born in Illinois. He, like Harris and Schiele, was a Freemason. During the club's early years, he was in charge of keeping records.
He was a partner in the Perfected Furnace Company of Chicago, and Paul Harris wrote about him as a mining engineer in several of his books. He was a very successful businessman with a hectic and demanding life, but he stayed committed to Rotary. He was on the board for a few years before stepping down to focus on his business. He died in Chicago on May 23, 1918, and is buried in the Carlinville City Cemetery.
Paul Harris started the first Rotary Club in Chicago on February 23, 1905. He did this because he wanted his business partners to get along better with each other. He met with Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram Shorey in Loehr's office to discuss starting an international service and friendship organization.
At first, meetings were held in the offices of each member to get to know each other better. In the end, meetings were always held in the same place at the same time.
Rotary is a worldwide group of professionals and businesspeople who work together to help people in need, promote goodwill and peace, and help Rotarians get to know each other better. Its 1.2 million members come from different backgrounds and jobs, but they all want to help their communities and the world.
Even though he wasn't at the first meeting, Silvester Schiele joined the Rotary Club of Chicago early on and became the group's first president. He was also the treasurer and director of the club for two years. He is known for bringing singing to Rotary club meetings. He also owned a printing company that made The National Rotarian's first issue and the organization's first songbook.
In 1905, Paul Harris invited three business contacts to meet at the office of his friend Gustavus Loehr in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago. This was the group's first meeting that would eventually be called Rotary. It got its name because early club meetings were held every week at different offices of different members.
Silvester Schiele, who sold coal, and Hiram E. Shorey, a tailor from Maine, were the other two people. Even though the first meeting was only one night, they came up with the idea of Rotary as a place where professionals could meet to share ideas and make friends that would last. The group also agreed that helping other people should be a top priority.
"Service Above Self" is the motto of Rotary. It became one of the organization's founding principles, and Rotarians still follow it. Members of the thousands of Rotary Clubs have helped solve many of the world's most critical problems. Some of these are hunger, the environment, and education.