It was February 23rd 1905.
The aeroplane had yet to stay aloft more than a few minutes, the first cinema had not yet opened and Norway and Sweden were peacefully terminating their union.

On this particular day, a Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called three friends to a meeting. What he had in mind was a club that would kindle fellowship among members of the business community. He was tired of meetings filled with other lawyers, talking about the things that only lawyers talk about. He wanted to find in the large city the kind of friendly spirit and helpfulness that he had known in the small towns where he had grown up -- the spirit to reach out in service to others less fortunate and to share fellowship with others in different professions.

The first meeting . . .

The four businessmen didn't decide then and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club and the first service club in the world. As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name. It was also Paul’s thought that the first club should represent a cross-section of the business and professional life of the community.

From this idea developed our Classification Principle. Admission to a Rotary club membership is by invitation, and accepting the invitation represents a personal commitment of the Rotarian to exemplify high ethical standards in their own vocation or occupation. Rotary clubs and individual Rotarians strive to accomplish the Object of Rotary, by emphasising service activities by individuals and groups that enhance the quality of life and human dignity, encouraging high ethical standards, and creating greater understanding among all people to advance the search for peace in the world.

Focus on peace and goodwill 

Through the subsequent spread of the Rotary movement, the spirit of friendship and service evolved quite naturally into a focus on helping to build goodwill and peace in the world. Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem. It was the fore runner of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30 members.

The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away from Chicago in San Francisco. It was a much shorter leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, where the third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and New York City. Rotary became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg. By 1921 the organisation was represented on every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.

Today we are more that 1,200,000 Rotarians in 27,000 clubs in practically every country in the world.

In 1917, Arch C. Klumph, Rotary's sixth president, proposed to the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, , the creation of an "endowment fund for Rotary . "for the purpose of doing good in the world in charitable, educational and other avenues of community service." A few months later, the endowment received its first contribution of $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA. In 1928, when the endowment fund had grown to more than US$5,000, the fund was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International.

The Foundation grew only modestly until 1947 when it received a number of gifts in memory of Paul Harris upon his death on January 27th of that year. Since then growth has accelerated and in recent years significant contributions has made it a major source of activities to provide humanitarian assistance, to enhance education and promote international understanding and peace. Since 1917, contributions to the foundation have totaled nearly a billion dollars including $61.7 million in 1994-95.

Rapid Rotary growth in Asia . . .

A major source of the Foundation's recent growth, and of Rotary's increasing membership, has been the burgeoning of the Rotary movement in Asia. Also growing is the number of new Rotary clubs in countries formerly in the Communist-governed bloc of eastern Europe. Countries where there were no Rotary clubs in 1987 now have more than 220.

PolioPlus is the first and largest internationally coordinated effort by a non-governmental organisation in support of a public health campaign. Its goal is the one set by the 160 member countries of the World Health Assembly in 1988 -- the eradication of poliomyelitis by the year 2000. Rotary's partners in the global eradication effort include national ministries of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The effort is also supported by donor governments such as Japan, Canada, Australia and the United States.

Rotary International began polio Plus in 1985

Although now within reach, the goal of eradication would not have been dreamed possible when Rotary International began its PolioPlus Program in 1985. At that time, Rotary clubs worldwide embarked on a massive fund-raising drive, the PolioPlus Campaign which ultimately netted more than US$246 million to help underwrite the cost of polio vaccine, equipment and technical support. To date, The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International has allocated more than US$200 million towards immunisation and eradication efforts in 103 countries.

But the involvement of Rotary is not just a monetary one. Rotarians have served in numerous capacities at the grass-roots level, providing publicity and promotion, transportation for vaccine and health workers, and many other forms of logistical support.

Progress towards the goal of eradication is overwhelming,   

	In 1994 there was an announcement by the Pan American Health Organisation that polio has been eradicated in the Western Hemisphere;
	A total of 144 nations are now polio-free, up from 85 when PolioPlus began in 1985;
	UNICEF estimates there are 2 million to 3 million children playing and walking normally today who would have contracted polio were it not for the immunisation efforts of the last 10 years.

If the disease is eradicated by the year 2000, the achievement will be certified in time for Rotary to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its birth in a polio-free world.

The 3H programme, Health, Hunger and Humanity, includes the Alleviation of Hunger. Some 35,000 people die each day simply because they don't have enough to eat. According to 1991 UN statistics, at least one billion people suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition. Since 1992, Rotary International has placed a high priority on the alleviation of hunger, seeking particularly to aid senior citizens and women with children. Many Rotary projects have aimed at providing those in need with the tools and training to produce their own food, even in climates inhospitable to agriculture.

Rotarians have a long tradition of providing food to the needy, dating back to the first quarter of this century. Now Rotary is helping the needy to provide their own food while also addressing issues of health and nutrition.

Training Program to teach local residents . . .

As an example the Rotary Club of Coombell in Bangladesh, with the assistance of Rotarian volunteers from several other countries, used a Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant from The Rotary Foundation to establish a training program to teach local residents how to develop fish nurseries for food and income.

From October 1983 to January 1990, nearly 16,000 people participated in the production and sale of some seven million fish, while one million villagers in the impoverished area had an opportunity to buy reasonably priced fish. The club also established a revolving loan fund for local residents to undertake fish cultivation as a profitable ongoing business enterprise.

The Rotary Foundation Educational Programs promote international understanding through scholarships and cultural exchanges.

The Ambassadorial Scholarships program sponsors about 1,200 scholars each year to study in a country other than their own. It is the largest and most international privately sponsored scholarship program in the world.

The Foundation's Group Study Exchange (GSE) program sponsors exchanges between teams of non-Rotarian business and professional people from different countries. Rotarian hosts organise a four-to-six week itinerary of educational and cultural points of interest for the teams to visit.

Rotary Grants for University Teachers to Serve in Developing Countries are awarded to faculty members to teach in a developing nation for three to ten months. These grants enable teachers to share their expertise in a part of the world where it is most needed.

To date, some 492,000 individuals have been recognised as Paul Harris Fellows -- that is, someone who has contributed US$1000 or has had that amount contributed in his or her name.

Such strong support and involvement of Rotarians worldwide ensures a secure future for The Rotary Foundation as it continues its vital work for international understanding and world peace.

Paul Harris died on 27^th January 1947 and the Rotary Foundation was born of a desire to establish a worthy memorial to his vision. Today the Foundation is the largest private foundation in the world.

Paul left us with a movement that is strong because of an independence from political movements, with a truly international base and an altruistic belief in Service before Self. Rotary International has a record to be truly proud of and a future that depends on the activities of tens of thousands of others, just like us.