HistoryHistory of Phi Delta Theta: |
Phi Delta Theta was founded by six men of the cloth on December 26th, 1848 at Miami (OH). Robert Morrison and fellow senior John McMillan Wilson invited John Wolfe Lindley, Robert Thomson Drake, Andrew Watts Rogers, and Ardivan Walker Rogers to join them in forming this secret society. They drafted and amended a constitution over the following days, ultimately producing The Bond of Phi Delta Theta, a document which has remained principally unchanged since it's creation. |
Phi Delta Theta quickly spread across the country, becoming the first fraternity to expand West of the Mississippi. During the dark times of the Civil War, the opposing sides pitted brother against brother, although fraternity ties often lead to improved treatment of prisoners of war. |
In 1902 the fraternity expanded internationally, when a chapter was established at McGill University in Quebec. Phi Delta Theta now has several chapters north of the U.S. border. |
Several Phi Delts have made their mark in entertainment, politics, sports, and literature. Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President, was also the 19th person to sign The Bond of Phi Delta Theta. Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect, was a Phi from Wisconsin. Another Phi, Neil Armstrong, became the first man to step on the moon. Perhaps the most famous member of Phi Delta Theta is Lou Gehrig, the Yankees Hall of Fame first basemen graduated from Columbia in 1925. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, has been the fraternity philanthropy since the 1990s in honor of Gehrig. |
Maryland Gamma History: |
| Maryland Gamma was officially granted a charter in April of 1992, thanks to the efforts of our 12 founders. Chris Kleberg, the first person to sign The Bond at MD Gamma, got the inspiration to start a chapter from his father Tio, a Phi Delt from the Texas Tech. |
| Now, 16 years after its founding, Maryland Gamma has initiated 181 brothers. These men come from many different backgrounds, but share the common beliefs that unite us as brothers. |
