The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread and within a decade clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York to Winnipeg, Canada.

By 1921 Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents. The organisation adopted the 'Rotary International' name a year later.

As Rotary grew its mission expanded beyond serving club members’ professional and social interests. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organisation's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.

By 1925 Rotary had grown to 200 clubs with more than 20 000 members. The organisation's distinguished reputation attracted presidents, prime ministers and a host of other luminaries to its ranks.

The Four-Way Test

In 1932, Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor created The Four-Way Test. This was a code of ethics adopted by Rotary 11 years later.

The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks:

Of the things we think, say or do