Phi Delta Theta | |
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ΦΔΘ | |
Founded | December 26, 1848 Miami University |
Type | Secret, Social |
Affiliation | Independent |
Former Affiliation | NIC |
Status | Active |
Scope | International |
Motto | Εἷς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ |
Slogan | One man is no man. |
Colors | Azure and Argent [1] |
Flag | |
Flower | White carnation |
Patron Greek divinity | Pallas Athena and her Owl |
Publication | The Scroll |
Philanthropy | Live Like Lou (Lou Gehrig's disease) |
Chapters | 219 active, 300 installed [2] |
Members | 312,000 [2] lifetime |
Nicknames | Phi Delts, Phis |
Headquarters | 2 South Campus Avenue Oxford, Ohio 45056 United States |
Website | phideltatheta.org |
[3] |
Phi Delta Theta (ΦΔΘ), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad.[4] The fraternity has over 200 active chapters and colonies in over 44 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces and has initiated more than 310,000 men between 1848 and 2024.[5] There are over 180,000[2] living alumni. Phi Delta Theta chartered house corporations own more than 135 houses valued at over $141 million as of summer 2015.[6] There are nearly 100 recognized alumni clubs across the U.S. and Canada.
The fraternity was founded by six undergraduate students: Robert Morrison, John McMillan Wilson, Robert Thompson Drake, John Wolfe Lindley, Andrew Watts Rogers, and Ardivan Walker Rodgers, who are collectively known as The Immortal Six. Phi Delta Theta was created under three principal objectives: "the cultivation of friendship among its members, the acquirement individually of a high degree of mental culture, and the attainment personally of a high standard of morality".[7] These cardinal principles are contained in The Bond of Phi Delta Theta, the document to which each member pledges on his initiation into the fraternity.
Among the best-known members of the fraternity are Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States, Vice President Adlai Stevenson I, Baseball Hall of Fame member Lou Gehrig, actor Burt Reynolds, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, astronaut Neil Armstrong, and John S. McCain Sr., U.S. Navy Admiral and grandfather of John McCain.