History of Rotary
Our History
Rotary started with the vision of one man – Paul Harris, a Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago in 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.
Three key traits have remained strong throughout our history.
We’re truly international, today members in nearly every country work to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems.
We persevere in tough times, during World War 2, Rotary clubs in Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were forced to disband, but despite the risks many met informally and after the war Rotary members came together to rebuild their clubs and countries.
We’re committed to service and we’re not afraid to dream big and set bold goals. Rotary began its fight against polio in 1979, with a project to immunise 6 million children in the Philippines. Today, polio remains endemic in only two countries – down from 125 in 1985.
