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Rotary Calcutta - Rotary Files |
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| HISTORY | |||||
| Of Rotary |
| 10 | The first Rotary Club in
the world was organized in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on 23 February,
1905, by Paul P. Harris, a young lawyer, who gathered together in a
spirit of friendship and understanding a group of men, each of whom was
engaged in a different form of service to the public. "On the night of February 23, 1905, the first meeting took place at Gus’ office in the Unity Building. Silvester and Paul had dined together at an Italian restaurant on Chicago’s near north side. Gus, by prearrangement, had invited a personal friend, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor, a native of the village of Litchfield, in the State of Maine, to whom he had previously introduced Paul. The meeting was enlivened by the relation of personal experiences, after which Paul unfolded the general purposes of his plan." That basis for membership - one person from each business and profession in the community - still exists in Rotary. At first, the members of the new club met in rotation at their various places of business, and this suggested the name "Rotary". Since 1905, the ideas of Paul Harris and his friends have become the ideals which have been accepted by people of practically all nationalities, and of many political and religious beliefs. Today there are Rotary clubs in Australia and American Samoa, in Brazil and Brunei, in India and Italy, Scotland and South Africa, even in Russia and China, in some 166 countries and 39 geographical regions. The universal acceptance of Rotary principles has been so great that there are now more than 31,000 Rotary Clubs, which have a membership of over 1,200,000. The general objectives of Rotary clubs in every country are the same - the development of fellowship and understanding among the business and professional leaders in the community, the promotion of community uplift endeavours, and of high standards in business and professional practices, and the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace, Rotary clubs everywhere have once basic ideal --the `Ideal of Service`, which is thoughtfulness of and helpfulness to others. |
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Author: Dr
Dipak Sarbadhikari Contact: 
click to
send mailURL: history_rotary.htm Updated: 18 Oct 2009 |
