BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FOUNDER OF ROTARY - PAUL HARRIS(1868-1947)
Paul P. Harris the founder of Rotary was born at Ricine, Wisconsin, U.S.A. on April 19, 1868
When he was three years' old, he was taken to Willingford, Vermont, to live with his paternal
grandparents. The second of six children, his parents were George N. Harris and Cornelis
Bryan Harris. Married to Jean Thompson Harris (1881-1963), he had no children.
The Black River Academy at Ludlow, Vermont, and Vermont Academy at Saxtons Rivers,
prepared him for his studies at the University of Vermont, Princeton, and the University of Iowa.
Following his graduation from the Law School of the University of lows, in 1891, he decided to
spend the next five years in seeing the world and coming to know his fellow men, before settling
down to practice law in Chicago. He received an LL.D. degree from University of Iowa and an
Honorary Ph.D. in 1933 from the University of Vermont.
He worked as a newspaper reporter, a business college teacher, a stock company actor, a cow
boy, and salesman for a granite company, and settled down as a lawyer in 1896. For the next
several years, he devoted a great deal of time to reflecting on conditions of life and business,
and by 1905 he had formulated a definite philosophy of business relations.
Talking it over with three of his clients_Silvester Schiele, coal merchant, Gustavus Locher, a
mining engineer, and Hiram Sorey, a merchant tailor, he conceived the idea of organizing a club
which came into being on 23 of February, 1905. This was the nucleus for the thousands of
Rotary Clubs which were later organized throughout the world.
While Paul Harris devoted much of his time to Rotary, he. was also prominent in civic and
professional work. He was Honorary Vice. President of the International Society for Crippled
Children, a member of the Board of Managers of the. Chicago Bar Association.
During his lifetime, he received many recognitions and awards from different countries, including
the coveted Legion of Honour by France. He was elected President Emeritus of Rotary
International in 1912 and was active in Rotary until his death on January 27, 1947.