The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.

As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called the 4-Way Test that has been translated into hundreds of languages.

During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49 Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications. Rotary International's relationship with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dates back to a 1943 London Rotary conference that promoted international cultural and educational exchanges. Attended by ministers of education and observers from around the world, and chaired by a past president of RI, the conference was an impetus to the establishment of UNESCO in 1946.

An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his honor, totaling US$2 million launched the Foundation's first program - graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.

An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his honor, totaling US$2 million launched the Foundation's first program - graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.

In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and national governments thorough its PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign. Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of a polio-free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to the cause.

As it approached the dawn of the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet the changing needs of society, expanding its service effort to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. The organization admitted women for the first time (worldwide) in 1989 and claims more than 145,000 women in its ranks today. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to some 31,000 Rotary clubs in 166 countries.

Paul P. Harris (1868-1947) was a Chicago attorney in 1905 when he had an idea for a club in which professionals could share "mutual cooperation and informal friendship such as all of had once known in our villages." On the evening of Thursday, 23 February 1905, Harris gathered three business acquaintances to form a group that became the Rotary Club of Chicago, initiating the world's first service organization. Harris became the first president of what would later become Rotary International, the association of Rotary clubs around the world with 1.2 million members united under the motto Service Above Self.

Silvester Schiele (1870-1945) was a coal dealer and a client of Paul Harris in 1905. Born in rural Indiana, Schiele liked to tell Harris interesting anecdotes of his "young pioneer" boyhood. During the course of their business dealings, Harris first shared the idea with Schiele for a new kind of club for professionals. On 23 February 1905, Harris invited Schiele for dinner to develop his ideas of a fellowship and booster club. In addition to becoming first president of the Rotary Club of Chicago, Schiele developed a close lifelong friendship with Harris.

Gustavus H. "Gus" Loehr (1864-1918) was a Chicago mining engineer who lent his office on the seventh floor of the Unity Building at 127 Dearborn Street in Chicago for the first gathering of the founders of Rotary on 23 February 1905. Loehr invited Hiram Shorey to this meeting. His health later deteriorated and he left the club, but remained a supporter of Rotary until his death at age 53.

Hiram E. Shorey (1862-1944) was a merchant tailor in 1905. One of the founding four members of the Rotary Club of Chicago, he remained a Rotarian for only a short time before moving back to his home state of Maine. Upon his later return to Chicago, he rejoined for a brief time before resigning again. Despite his brief membership, Shorey was always supportive of the Rotary Club of Chicago and voiced pride at his early association with Rotary.

Paul Percival Harris, the founder of Rotary was born in Racine, wisconsin, USA. Paul was the second of six children to George N Harris and Cornelia Bryan Harris. A man with varied knowledge and experience, he received Bachelor of Physical Culture and an honorary LLD degree from the University of Vermont and LLB from the University of Iowa.

Paul Harris worked as a newspaper reporter, a business teacher, stock company actor, cowboy and as a salesman for marble and granite concern before finally settling in Chicago in 1896 to practice law.

In July 1910, he married Jean Thomson Harris, a Scottish girl and a co-member in Chicago Prairee Club. One evening Paul went with a professional friend to his suburban home. After dinner, as they strolled through the neighborhood, Paul's friend was greeted by name by various tradesmen at their stores. This reminded Paul of his New England village and it occurred to him, why not in Chicago have a fellowship composed of just one man from each of many different occupations, without restrictions as to their politics or religion, with broad tolerance of each other's opinion. In such a Fellowship could there not be mutual helpfulness?

On 23 February 1905, Paul Harris formed the fist club with three young businessmen: Sylvester Schiele, a coal merchant, Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer and Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor.

Paul Harris was the first President of the National Association of Rotary Clubs in 1910 and also of the International Association of Rotary Clubs (the name later changed to Rotary International) in the year 1912, Paul was active in Rotary until his death on 27 January 1947.

Today the seed he sowed in 1905 has blossomed into a large tree covering 190 countries and geographical regions with more than 30,000 clubs having a membership of over 1.13 million Rotarians worldwide.