In 1839, when Beta Theta Pi was founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, the college fraternity world consisted of only 19 chapters of five secret Greek-letter fraternities, located on 10 college campuses in five states. In addition, the Mystic Seven Society had been organized in 1837 at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., and Delta Upsilon had been founded at Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., as a protest against secret societies.

College life at Miami University in 1839 was very different from today. There were only 135 students, all male, and six professors. Tuition would be quite apealing to us at only $24 per year. The academic year lasted from early October until early August with breaks for Christmas and Easter. There were only three main buildings, Elliott and Stoddard halls serving as dormitories and one main academic building known as Old Main.

Students at Miami often had made a large commitment going off to college, perhaps leaving a farm short handed back home. Academics were a pursuit not to be taken lightly. This is demonstrated by the most important extracurricular activities being membership in the Erodelphian and Union Literary Societies. Each had accrued substantial libraries since their formation in 1825. Students gathered on Friday afternoons in the society halls on the third floor of Old Main where they read and criticized essays, debated, and developed skills in extemporaneous speaking. Each sought to provide its members mutual improvement, the cultivation of fellowship, and the promotion of standards of conduct. Most students were members of these societies. Knox was elected President of the Union Lit in June 1839 while Linton served as Treasurer of the Erodelphians for a year.

For some of the students something was missing. During the winter and spring of 1839 our Founders began planning something different. It was in this time that Knox and Marshall, rooming in the west wing of Old Main with Harding and Smith, jointly conceived and worked together to create Beta Theta Pi. On August 8th eight young men crept up to the third floor of Old Main and entered the Hall of the Union Literary Society of which Knox was the president. Five of them were only 19 and four of them just barely so. Knox, Linton, and Ryan were about to graduate so Duncan was elected the first president and Smith as Secretary.

When the five remaining Founders returned to Miami in October they began to recruit new brothers. At their first meeting they elected Smith's cousin, Henry Hunter Johnson, and in February added John Whitney, Alexander Paddack, and A. W. Hamilton, two of whom would soon play important roles in founding the Cincinnati Chapter. And so the Founding of Beta Theta Pi was complete.

Growth & Expansion

The Constitution provided that "other branches of the association may be established at such places as may be thought suitable and prudent." On April 4th, 1840, Paddack, Gordon, and Hamilton initiated four men at Cincinnati establishing the second chapter of our Fraternity. Cincinnati promptly took up the expansion work of the fraternity adding chapters at Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio, and Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

1850-1900: The Civil War caused the greatest crisis in the history of Beta Theta Pi. The war threatened the life of more than half of the 24 chapters in existence in 1860, with the functioning chapters being reduced by 1864 to those at Miami, Western Reserve, Jefferson, Washington, Indiana Asbury (DePauw), Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash, Hanover, Ohio, Knox and Indiana. The war threatened the fundamental principle of brotherhood.

The fraternity continued to expand steadily until in 1879 a union with Alpha Sigma Chi was approved adding five new chapters at Rutgers, Cornell, Stevens, St. Lawrence and Maine. This provided the fraternity with an important presence in the East that it had previously lacked. By 1889 another union was consumated with The Mystic Seven Society adding chapters at Davidson, North Carolina, and Virginia.

1900-1950: By the turn of the century, two important features of Beta Theta Pi had become apparent. The first — Beta character — had already manifested itself in stories such as that of John Holt Duncan and the men of the Michigan chapter who refused to forsake their membership and their badge.

In 1906 a significant milestone in Beta history occured with the chartering of its first chapter in Canada. The Theta Zeta chapter at the University of Toronto was established making Beta Theta Pi an international fraternity.

1950-present: With the establishment of the Administrative Office and appointment of an administrative secretary in 1949, the stage was set for spectacular growth and a solid future for Beta Theta Pi and her fraternal colleagues in the years ahead. Almost immediately, however, the Korean War took a tragic toll on the chapters, followed by the emergence of more independent collegians, quick to express themselves over the Vietnam War, often joined by their own faculties. Nonetheless, the Beta spirit endured, grew stronger and, by the end of the 20th century, a renewed commitment to the Beta principles — the Men of Principle initiative — was embraced by Beta Theta Pi, born of necessity and nurtured by yet another evolution of young men who yearn for excellence and thrive on brotherhood.

Heraldry

The seals and emblems of the Fraternity, provided for in The Laws of Beta Theta Pi, include a standard badge, pledge button, colors, flag, coat of arms, great seal, chapter seal and membership shingle.

Pledge Button: Before the development of the pledge button, pledges wore ribbons of pink and blue. Beginning in 1894, experimental pink and blue versions of the pledge button were used, followed by the adoption in 1899 of the present design. All versions of the pledge button were designed by George Moseley Chandler, Michigan 1898.

Badges: The standard badge of the Fraternity is to be worn over the heart and in a manner befitting the honor and diginity to which the badge is entitled. the use of the badge as a ring, as a decoration or in any other element on printed matter or T-shirts or in any other printer manner (other than as the official badge of the Fraternity) is specifically prohibited.

Coat of Arms: A coat of arms is a stylized emblem, governed by certain rules. It consists of a shield, crest and banner bearing a motto. In 1897, the current coat of arms containing the dragon and ____kai____, designed by George M. Chandler, then an undergraduate, replaced the original Arms, which was designed by John I. Covington in 1869.

The Flag: The first flag was designed in 1890 by John I. Covington, Miami 1870. Its white rectangular border was in honor of the 1889 alliance with the Mystic Seven. It was redesigned in 1902 by George M. Chandler.

The Rose: Betas who gathered to celebrate the Fraternity's Semi-Centennial in 1889 were guests of the Western Female Seminary at a reception. Here, roses of the "June" or "Queen of the Prairie" variety, growing on the bush adjacent to the veranda of Peabody Hall, were presented to several Betas including Founders Knox and Marshall, at the suggestion of Leila McKee, Western's principal. Later that summer, the 1889 Convention selected the rose as our official flower. The Convention found its beauty symbolic of our principles and its hardiness suggestive of the universality of our moral aims.

Arms: At the urging of the Michigan Chapter, the 1909 Convention authorized each chapter to adopt its own arms. According to the laws of heraldry, the arms of the first nine chapters after Miami are "differenced" by symbols centered in the upper half of the shield. One of these symbols is the cross moline which is used on the arms of DePauw, our ninth chapter. The arms of other chapters have a device, peculiar to that chapter, in the upper left quadrant. Michigan uses the lamp of knowledge on two books from the university arms; Toronto, the maple leaf from the Canadian flag; and Middle Tennessee, the Tennessee walking horse. Each chapter has its own motto, written in Greek on the scroll in words beginning with the same letters as the chapter name. (Pictured is Central Michigan.)

Great Seal: The first Great Seal was designed by John I. Covington and adopted in 1879. The Greek phrase at the bottom means great seal. The first Great Seal can be found on documents such as the 1879 Constitution and charters of that period. The current Great Seal, adopted in 1899, is in the custody of the general secretary. It is most frequently seen on charters and Sisson Awards. The first Great Seal was designed by John I. Covington and adopted in 1879. The Greek phrase at the bottom means great seal. The first Great Seal can be found on documents such as the 1879 Constitution and charters of that period. The current Great Seal, adopted in 1899, is in the custody of the general secretary. It is most frequently seen on charters and Sisson Awards.

The Shingle: The shingle is the membership certificate. The initial design, devised by Morris R. Ebersole, Cincinnati 1898, then at Cornell, is represented by his shingle. Instead of the chapter seal this version uses a wax impression of the badge. A later variation added the member's class year. The official version, designed by George M. Chandler and adopted in 1913, was in adaptation of Ebersole's design and is represented by the shingle of Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence 1922. When a member becomes a Fraternal Fifty, he receives a Great Seal of the Fraternity to add to his shingle.

Chapter Seal: The 1842 Convention authorized chapter seals consisting of clasped hands and the chapter letter to be used on the wax seals of letters. By the Civil War many chapters were using these seals and the use of an embossed seal consisting of the badge and chapter letter either above or below the badge became prevalent. The 1881 Convention re-adopted the original chapter seal concept specifying the addition of the three stars in a triangle surrounded by a circle containing the legend "FRATERNITY BETA THETA PI, 1839." Subsequently, the legend was modified to reflect the member's chapter. Today, the chief use of the chapter seal is on the shingle.

Chapter Allegory Drawings: Each chapter was asked to select a frontispiece for its listing in the 1882 Catalogue. These became known as the chapter allegory drawings. Other chapters have also created them. A few chapters have written allegories to accompany their drawing. Some, such as the Centre Dragon, Kenyon's Boy in the Window Seat and Boston's Diogenes, have become famous Beta artwork. The Centre Dragon, perhaps the most famous, was the subject of a stained glass window at the clubhouse of Wooglin-on-Chautauqua.

Beta's Colors: The colors were adopted in 1879 following impassioned speeches by Walter D. Dennison, Ohio Wesleyan 1877, and Paul Wilcox, DePauw 1879, for selection of their own chapter colors of pink and blue. Their purity signifies our purposes and their harmony symbolizes the perfect blending of souls in unsullied friendship. They are also the colors of the sunrise and sunset, a daily reminder to every Beta to his cherished membership. Thus, delicate shades of pink and blue.