A Brief History of the Beginning and Growth of Rotary

In 1905..... 37 year old attorney Paul Harris changed the world.

1908-1909 1Paul was very interested in starting Rotary in other cities. The second Rotary club was founded by Homer Wood in San Francisco in 1908. 7Wood then quickly organized Oakland #3 (When did weekly meetings begin? 6According to the general secretary in 1948, it was Oakland #3 in 1909.) Seattle #4 and Los Angeles #5. In fact, before the end of 1909, there were seven clubs, including New York City #6 and Boston #7. That's right, in 1908 and 1909, Homer Wood started four clubs. In the rest of the United States there were two, and the San Francisco club is credited, by some, with starting New York.

GROWTH OF ROTARY AROUND THE WORLD

Paul Harris had a vision of "Around the World Rotary" which was also opposed by many of his fellow Rotarians. It was not until he won the loyalty of the man who was to be Rotary's secretary from 1910 - 1942 that Rotary became organized and international. That man was Chesley Perry, whom Paul called the "Builder of Rotary."