Professional and Honorary groups.
 

I wanted to start a thread about the history of the various groups that are classified as Professional and Honorary.

Not knowing for sure what members of all the various groups know or don't about some of the history this thread will hopefully be filled with interesting facts about these groups. Please feel free to add any information, pictures, and please If I post something you know to be incorrect, please feel free to correct it. The information I am posting are taken from the research records that I have found over the years from various libraries, and archives.

First off, I'm sure everyone knows that Phi Beta Kappa is considered to be the first Honorary fraternity, but it actually started out as a secret society at William and Mary College. It wasn't until the 1820s that the "secrecy" of the organization was officially dropped and it became more akin to the Literary Societies of the day. According to some reports, this was done because of the Anti-Masonic movement that was absorbing the nation and many colleges really began to question the collegiate secret societies.

The history of Phi Beta Kappa is a wonderful book if you find a copy to read, and one can see how this group is really responsible for the birth of so many other organizations that exist today.

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Here is an example of a very early 1818 Phi Beta Kappa medal. The earliest insignia from Phi Beta Kappa was made as a medal to be worn with watch chains. The Phi Beta Kappa Keys, started at Yale, the first example was from 1806, but the general practice wasnt made official until the 1820s.

Here is an example of the original Phi Beta Kappa medal, located in the College of William & Mary archives.
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Kappa Lambda is considered by some researchers to be the first official Professional Society. It was founded at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY in 1821. It was a medical society, that later was wrought with much controversy and became defunct by the 1840s.

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An actual pin has not been found, but this is a drawing of what those pins looked like.

Alpha Chi Sigma was founded in 1902 at UW-Madison by a group of chemistry students. Its symbols are, appropriately, the metals gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper, and lead, which correspond to both Gods and days of the week (there's a chart on Wikipedia for those who are so inclined to investigate). There are a number of Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, physiology, physics, and peace who are members, as well as a number of winners of the Priestley Medal.

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An Alpha Chi Sigma pin, from 1908.

Phi Chi Medical Fraternity:

Phi Chi medical fraternity, that exists today, was founded at the University of Louisville in 1894, and a society of the same name was founded at the University of Vermont in 1886, these two groups merged in the 1905, in which the current badge was adopted.

Phi Chi later absorbed two other medical societies, Pi Mu, which was founded in 1892 at the University of Virginia, and Phi Alpha Gamma which was founded in 1894 sat the NY Homeopathic Medical College.

This is an example of the original Louisville Phi Chi:
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This is an example of the second badge used by Phi Chi (southern):
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This is an example of the badge used by the Eastern Phi Chi (Vermont branch):
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I made a visit back in the 1990s to the Phi Chi HQ, and met one of the oldest surviving members of this group Dr. Cannon. The information he supplied me was wonderful.

One thing I've since learned since that visit was that in all their history books, they actually had pictured the incorrect example of what the badge for the eastern Phi Chi looked like. The image above is the correct badge. The image as shown in the early directories of Phi Chi, was actually the badge for the University of Michigan organization called Phi Chi, which later became Phi Delta Chi.

Here is an example of the current Phi Chi badge as adopted in the 1905 consolidation of the two groups.
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Phi Delta Chi was originally founded as Phi Chi in 1883 at the University of Michigan.
In 1909 the name was officially changed to Phi Delta Chi.

An example of the badge in 1883:
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An example of the second version of the badge circa 1890s:
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This version of the badge was published in the Michigan Book printed in1898, and in some of the student yearbooks from that time as well.:
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Current version of the badge:
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Pi Mu was a medical society founded in 1892 at the University of Virginia. (Note to members of Kappa Sigma, two of the founders of Pi Mu were Kappa Sigs!) Pi Mu was absorbed into Phi Chi medical fraternity in 1922.

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Phi Alpha Gamma was a Homeopathic medical society founded in 1894 at the New York Homeopathic Medical College. This society later merged with Phi Chi in 1948.

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There was in the early 1870s, another group at the University of Michigan Department of Pharmacy called Phi Chi as well. This group was short lived, and not enough info can be found to determine if this was a possible predecessor of Phi Delta Chi....

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Just as Black Greek Letter general fraternities and sororities have rich history and traditions, so do black professional fraternities and sororities as listed here in a previous thread.

I find a few things interesting about black professional GLOs. First, although Phi Beta is the oldest professional fraternity for artists, the first African American fraternity for artists wasn't established until nearly 80 years later with Lambda Phi Lambda at UDC. Even now, there are only three active GLOs for African American artists: Tau Rho Beta (began as a music fraternity and evolved into an arts fraternity); Nu Rho Sigma Eta Beta Mu, established in 2005; and Gamma Xi Phi, established in 2010.

I also find it interesting that while most professional GLOs are coed, all of the black business sororities are single gender. On the other hand, Chi Eta Phi, the nursing sorority, has initiated men. I personally know a gentleman who was initiated at least 30 years ago, and have recently seen men in a new member showcase for the sorority.

The professional GLOs for African Americans don't often have the nationwide brand recognition of large professional GLOs like Phi Alpha Delta, or NPHC orgs, but have a very loyal base and strong presence in different regions of the country.

Very interesting. Are you able to post any images of the insignia of these groups? I think they would be great to see.

Thanks for the info.

Kappa Alpha Phi was founded in 1827 at the Fairfield Medical College in New York. Almost nothing is known about this group other than it was comprised of the students who attended this medical school. Possibly one of the earliest professional medical societies. With a name like Kappa Alpha Phi, I wonder if there was any connection to Kappa Alpha Society only founded two years prior, within the same area.....

This is the only example I've found for this group Belonged to a Frederick Crownse Jr. MD. who was a student in 1828.
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Alpha Mu Pi Omega was an medical fraternity that was founded in 1891 at the University of Pennsylvania. The exact date of its demise is unknown, but currently has no active chapters, and did not appear to affiliate with any other groups.

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wow! Phi Chi's badges are sooo beautiful!

I am a sister of Sigma Alpha Iota--a professional music fraternity for women and I think our badge is pretty swell. ;)

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&sa...6&tx=122&ty=95