Rotary history timeline

Discover the history of Rotary International in France and around the world in this timeline, from its creation to the present day.

1905

Creation

The Rotary Club of Chicago was founded on February 23 by a young lawyer, Paul Harris, and three friends.

1912

International

Rotary becomes International with the creation of a club in Canada and then in London in 1912.

1917

The Foundation

Launch of The Rotary Foundation, now one of the world's largest private foundations.

History of The Rotary Foundation

1921

Rotary in France

Birth of Rotary in France, with the club of Paris. The French President hosted a reception at the Palais de l'Elysée.

1922

Rotary and Peace

The promotion of peace and understanding among peoples is added to the bylaws of Rotary International in «The Objects of Rotary» (more)

1942

Rotary and UNESCO

The « Conference of Allied Ministers of Education«, organized by Rotarians in London in 1942, led to the creation of UNESCO in 1945.

Cyril Noirtin, President-Founder of our club, is the Rotary's Chief Representative to UNESCO.

The creation of Unesco
Rotary representatives

1945

Rotary and the United Nations

Rotary International acts as consultant to the U.S. delegation at the San Francisco conference, where the United Nations Charter is adopted. 49 Rotarians participate in the drafting of the UN Charter.

The creation of the United Nations

1947

Death of Paul Harris

Rotary founder dies. Donations in his memory are used to create the fellowship program. Rotarians contribute more than $1M to The Rotary Foundation, or $14M today.

Rotary scholarship programs

1962 – 1968

Rotaract & Interact

Launch of Interact and Rotaract clubs, youth service clubs sponsored by Rotary clubs.

Rotaract history

1965

Youth Exchange Program

Launch of The Rotary Foundation's first program, the Rotary Scholarships for abroad advanced studies.

Rotary Youth Exchange Program
French Rotarian Youth Center

1965

Rotary Foundation Grants

The Rotary Foundation begins funding club and district projects with matching grants, the first program of this kind.

1979

Fight against Polio

First polio vaccination campaign organized by Rotary International in the Philippines, thanks to The Rotary Foundation. The success of this operation gave rise to the PolioPlus program and then to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)

1985

The PolioPlus program

Launch of PolioPlus, Rotary's priority public health program, which goes beyond child immunization to include other vaccines, medical infrastructure and training, healthcare staff training, etc.

Discover the «PolioPlus Plus Points»

1989

Women in Rotary

Women are eligible for membership of Rotary clubs. Previously, they were admitted to a parallel organization: Inner Wheel.

Women in Rotary

2002

Rotary Peace Centers

In 1999, the Fondation Rotary decided to create several international study centers on peace and conflict resolution.
Since the program's launch in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1700 graduates who now work in over 140 countries.

We welcomed two awardees of this remarkable program for a conference.

2005

The centenary

Rotary International celebrates 100 years. Over the past 20 years, more than 2 billion children worldwide have been vaccinated against polio, as part of the PolioPlus program.

To mark the occasion, the 18 districts of France are launching the « Hope in Mind » in partnership with the Brain Research Foundation. Our club contributes regularly to it.

2013

Partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offers to double Rotary's polio eradication funding to $35 million a year for five years. Rotary accepts the challenge and launches the "End Polio: Make History Today" initiative.

Press release
Bill Gates' speech at the 2017 International Convention
Why Bill Gates Partners With Rotary To Eradicate Polio (Archive) (Forbes)

2021

Rotaract ascends

The status of Rotaractors is changing: they are now considered Rotarians. This is a major sign of recognition for all the projects they have carried out.