Sigma Phi

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The Sigma Phi Society, founded on 4 March 1827 on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York is the second oldest Greek social fraternal organization in the United States.^[1]The Sigma Phi Society was the first Greek organization to establish a second chapter at another college, which occurred with the founding of the Beta of New York at Hamilton College in 1831, thus making it the first National Greek Organization.^[2] Its Union College chapter has been in continual operation since its founding, making it the oldest fraternity chapter in the United States. Little is known about the membership or initiation procedures of the Sigma Phi, since both have been closely guarded secrets since its inception.

Contents 1 Chapters of The Sigma Phi Society 2 Founders 3 Notable alumni 4 External links 5 References

[edit] Chapters of The Sigma Phi Society

• Union College
• Hamilton College
• Williams College
• Hobart College
• University of Vermont
• University of Michigan
• Lehigh University
• Cornell University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Virginia
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

[edit] Founders

• Charles Thorne Cromwell

• Thomas Fielder Bowie

• John Thomas Bowie

• Thomas Sydenham Witherspoon

[edit] Notable alumni

• Thomas Fielder Bowie - One of the founding members of Sigma Phi and member of the thirty fourth and thirty fifth Congress of the United States.
• Sen. Elihu Root - U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. Root was a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and U.S. Senator.^[3]
• Earl Warren - Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Governor of California, member of the Bohemian Grove.
• James Schoolcraft Sherman - Vice President under William Howard Taft.
• Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., son of Arthur C. Nielsen creator of Nielsen Ratings (both were Sigma Phi members).
• Henry Rathbone, major in the U.S. army during the Civil War and present in Lincoln's booth at Ford's Theatre; was stabbed tackling John Wilkes Booth.^[4]
• Hon. Ken Dryden - NHL Hall of Fame Goaltender and Canadian Member of Parliament.
• Rep. Hastings Keith - United States Congressman from Massachusetts.
• Rep. John Cochrane - United States Congressman, Attorney General of New York, and Brigadier General in the Civil War.
• Philip Will, Jr, co-founder of architecture firm Perkins+Will and President of the American Institute of Architects.
• Ward Wettlaufer, amateur golfer.
• Daniel Butterfield, civil war hero, composer of Taps bugle call
• Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com
• John Bigelow, US diplomat to France under Lincoln, NY Secretary of State, published The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, helped found the New York Public Library

[edit] External links

• Official Site

[edit] References

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