Founding in
Ithaca, New York, Sigma Chi was founded in 1855 by
Benjamin Piatt Runkle,
Thomas Cowan Bell, William Lewis Lockwood,
Isaac M. Jordan, Daniel William Cooper, Franklin Howard Scobey, and James Parks Caldwell as the result of a disagreement over who would be elected poet in the
Erodelphian Literary Society of
Miami University in
Ohio. Several members of Miami University's
Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter (of which all but one of Sigma Chi's founders were members) were also members of Erodelphian. In the fall of 1854, the
literary society was to elect its poet, and a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon was nominated for the position. He was supported by five of his brothers, but Caldwell, Jordan, Runkle, and Scobey supported another man who was not a member of the fraternity. Although Bell and Cooper were not members of Erodelphian, they had aligned themselves with the four dissenting members. The chapter had twelve members in total and was evenly divided on the issue. Both sides saw this as a matter of principle, and over the next few months, their friendships became distant. Lockwood used his business training to help organize the fraternity in its early years. The eventual theft of Sigma Phi's constitution, rituals, seals, and other records from Lockwood's room in
Oxford in January 1856 prompted them to change the name of the fraternity to Sigma Chi. It is possible this action could have been forced upon the group, as there was already a
Sigma Phi Society. Much of Sigma Chi's heraldry was influenced by the legendary story of the
Emperor Constantine from the
Battle of Milvian Bridge against
Maxentius. Runkle believed that Constantine should be an inspiration for members of the fraternity, and thus the vision of Constantine became the inspiration for the badge and the fraternity's public motto,
In hoc signo vinces. Founders , a Sigma Chi member and
Union Army soldier who was badly wounded at the
Battle of Shiloh during the
American Civil War and later interred in
Arlington National Cemetery •
Benjamin Piatt Runkle (September 3, 1836 – June 28, 1916) was born in
West Liberty, Ohio. Runkle helped design the badge of Sigma Chi based on the story of Constantine and the vision of the Cross. Runkle was known for having a fierce pride and was suspended from
Miami University when he fought a member of
Beta Theta Pi for sneering at his badge. When the
Civil War began, Runkle joined the
Union Army. He was badly wounded at the
Battle of Shiloh and left for dead on the battlefield. Runkle stayed in the army as a career and retired as a
major general. After his service in the Union Army, he was ordained an
Episcopal priest. He was the only founder to serve as Grand Consul. He died on Sigma Chi's 61st birthday in
Ohio. He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington County, Virginia. •
Thomas Cowan Bell (May 14, 1832 – February 3, 1919) was born near
Dayton, Ohio. He was twenty-three years old when Sigma Chi was founded, the second oldest of the founders. He graduated from Miami University in 1857 and began teaching. In 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army and rose to the rank of
lieutenant. After the war, he returned to his career in education, serving as the superintendent of schools in Nobles County, Minnesota, as well as the principal and president of several preparatory and collegiate institutions in the Western United States. Bell died the day after attending the initiation of the
Alpha Beta chapter at
University of California Berkeley on February 3, 1919. He is buried at the
Presidio of San Francisco in
San Francisco National Cemetery in California. Section OS, Row 43A, Grave 3. •
William Lewis Lockwood (October 31, 1836 – August 17, 1867) was born in New York City. He was the only founder who had not been a member of
Delta Kappa Epsilon. He was considered the "businessman" of the founders and managed the first chapter's funds and general operations, becoming the first treasurer of Sigma Chi. After graduating from Miami University in 1858, he moved back to New York and began work as a lawyer. He received serious wounds serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, from which he never fully recovered. He named his son after Franklin Howard Scobey. •
Isaac M. Jordan (May 5, 1835 – December 3, 1890) was born in
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania as Isaac Alfred Jordan. His family later moved to
Ohio, where Jordan met Benjamin Piatt Runkle and became close friends. After graduating from Miami University in 1857, he went on to graduate school, where he graduated in 1862. He then began work as an attorney and was elected to the
United States Congress in 1882. He proceeded to change his middle name, Alfred, to just the letter "M" to help distinguish himself from his brother and law partner, Jackson A. Jordan. He died in 1890 after accidentally falling down an elevator shaft while greeting a friend. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in
Cincinnati, Ohio. •
Franklin Howard Scobey (May 27, 1837 – July 22, 1888) was born in
Hamilton, Ohio. Scobey was considered the Spirit of Sigma Chi for being friendly with everybody and not just a select group of people. After graduating from Miami University in 1858, he went on to graduate again in 1861 with a law degree. He worked as a journalist in his hometown until 1879, but went on to become a cattleman in
Kansas until 1882. Scobey then moved back to Ohio, where he took up farming until his death. Never physically robust, Scobey was afflicted with hearing loss in his final years. •
James Parks Caldwell (March 27, 1841 – April 5, 1912) was born in
Monroe, Ohio. By the age of thirteen, Caldwell had completed all the academics that could be offered at his local academy. He was then sent to Miami University with advanced credits. Caldwell was just fourteen at the time of the founding, making him the youngest of the founders. After Caldwell graduated from Miami University in 1857, he practiced law in Ohio but moved to
Mississippi to begin a career as an educator. When the Civil War broke out, he joined the
Confederate Army. During the war, he was taken prisoner but, later, due to the influence of General Benjamin Piatt Runkle, was offered freedom on the condition that he renounce his allegiance to the Confederacy. He rejected this offer and remained loyal to the South. He was later released, again due to the influence of General Runkle. After the war, he moved back to Mississippi and was admitted to the bar. He moved to
California in 1867 and practiced law. In 1875, he began to travel frequently, practicing law and editing newspapers. He died in
Biloxi, Mississippi, where the latest issues of The Sigma Chi Quarterly were found in his room.
Early years Constantine chapter , a Sigma Chi member and
Confederate States Army soldier in the Civil War,
Harry St. John Dixon, a brother from the Psi chapter at the
University of Virginia in
Charlottesville, Virginia, who fought for the
Confederacy, kept a record of all Sigma Chis within his vicinity on the flyleaf of his diary during the
Civil War. He began planning a
Confederate Army chapter of Sigma Chi with this information. On September 17, 1864, Dixon founded the
Constantine chapter of Sigma Chi during the
Atlanta campaign with Harry Yerger, a brother from
Mississippi who was in Dixon's division. Dixon stated the reasons for which the wartime chapter was created, saying, Dixon and Yerger contacted all brothers listed in the diary who could come to the meeting. In the fall of 1881, Thomas P. Hawley applied for admission to the university. Having already been initiated into Sigma Chi, Hawley refused to sign the pledge and was denied admission. Hawley took Purdue to court, but the judge ruled in favor of the faculty's decision. He also ruled, however, that the faculty had no right to deny Hawley from his classes based on the
fraternity issue. The case was brought to the
Indiana Supreme Court, which reversed the decision on June 21, 1882. This victory for Sigma Chi also allowed other fraternities at Purdue and led to the Purdue president's resignation in 1883.
20th century in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts in
Oxford, Mississippi During the first half of the 20th century, the general fraternity expanded in many places. In 1899, the fraternity adopted the flag design created by Henry V. Vinton. In 1901, the grand chapter approved the fraternity's pledge pin. In 1903, at the grand chapter in
Detroit, the board of grand trustees was established. In 1922, the Alpha Beta chapter at
University of California, Berkeley held the Channingway Derby, which led to the creation of the Sigma Chi Derby Days. Some of the awards created during this time include the Significant Sig Award in 1935 and the Order of Constantine in 1948. As of the beginning of the 20th century, Sigma Chi had installed a total of 74 chapters, with 58 still active. Having only established a centralized form of government in 1922, Sigma Chi was installing new chapters at a rate of about one chapter per year. On April 22, 1922, the Beta Omega chapter was installed at the
University of Toronto in
Toronto, Ontario, thus making Sigma Chi an international fraternity. The Sigma Chi Foundation was created on November 9, 1939, when the Sigma Chi Endowment Foundation was incorporated in
Colorado. This educational endowment was first discussed in 1898 by alumni who wanted to assist undergraduates financially so they could finish their undergraduate studies. During this time period, the remaining four founders of Sigma Chi all died; Daniel William Cooper was the last founder to die. Cooper's death led to the fraternity gaining one of its most priceless objects, Cooper's Sigma Phi badge. Cooper's body was sent by train to his final resting place in
Pittsburgh, and the Beta Theta chapter at the
University of Pittsburgh was given the privilege to administer his memorial service. On December 13, 1920, Cooper's body was conveyed to the Beta Theta chapter house, where Beta Theta Consul Donald E. Walker removed Cooper's Sigma Phi Badge and replaced it with his own. Beta Theta pro-consul,
Regis Toomey, sang the hymn
"With Sacred Circle Broken" before Cooper was taken to his final resting place. ==Nomenclature and insignia==