Delta Tau Delta, commonly known as Delt or DTD, is a United States-based international Greek lettercollege fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia,. It currently has around 140 student chapters nationwide, as well as few regional alumni groups. Its national philanthropic partner is the diabetes research organization JDRF.
History
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity was founded in 1858, though some early documents reference the founding in 1859 or 1860, at Bethany College in Bethany, Virginia. The social life on campus at that time centered around the Neotrophian Society, a literary society. According to Jacob S. Lowe, in late 1858 a group of students met in Lowe's room in the Dowdell boarding house to discuss means to regain control of the Neotrophian Society and return control to the students at large. The underlying controversy was that the Neotrophian Society, in the opinion of the eight men who formed Delta Tau Delta, had awarded a literary prize after a rigged vote. A constitution, name, badge, ritual and motto were devised, and Delta Tau Delta was born. Member Henry King Bell of Lexington, Kentucky, heard of the Civil War's effects on Bethany College and the membership of Delta Tau Delta. After riding to Bethany and realizing that the longevity of Delta Tau Delta was at risk, Bell traveled to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. On February 22, 1861, Bell rode to Jefferson College from Bethany to bring the designation of the Alpha Chapter and the governance of the Fraternity back to his home campus.. In response to Jefferson College merging with the Washington Academy, an election was held at the General Convention. Ohio Wesleyan then assumed the Alpha designation. Before the Alpha designation was finally transferred to Allegheny College, the Ohio Wesleyan chapter dissolved temporarily because of a lack of membership. After the Ohio Wesleyan chapter disappeared in 1875, the Allegheny College chapter, the fourth and final chapter to hold Alpha designation, assumed control of the fraternity. Allegheny College member James S. Eaton, traveled to Delaware, Ohio, to collect what remained of the organization's records and to investigate what had happened the Ohio Wesleyan chapter which returned in 1890. Eaton brought the "Alpha" designation back with him to Allegheny College, where a group of undergraduates managed the larger organization as well as their own chapter. During that time a magazine was established and 15 chapters were founded, of which eight survive. In 1886, Delta Tau Delta merged with the secret society known as the Rainbow Fraternity, a southern fraternity founded in 1848 at the University of Mississippi. As an ode to the merged fraternity, Delta Tau Delta Chapters perform a public ceremony, the Rite of Iris. The national organization's seasonal magazine is also called "The Rainbow". The Delta Tau Delta Founders House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Members of Delta Tau Delta are informally referred to as "Delts."
Founders
The eight men considered to be the Founders of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity are:
