The First Years of Rotary
Within a year of its creation, the Chicago Rotary Club became so large it became necessary to adopt the now-common practice of a regular meeting place! The next four Rotary clubs were formed in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The National Association of Rotary Clubs in America was formed in 1910. The first international Rotary club was chartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1912 – officially making Rotary an international service organization. The name was then changed to “The International Association of Rotary Clubs.”
The Rotary clubs of London and Dublin were also chartered in 1912, moving Rotary outside the North American continent. In 1922, the name was changed to Rotary International, and by 1925, there were over 2,100 clubs worldwide with over 110,000 members.