1912

The first official Rotary club outside the United States is chartered. The Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, receives its charter on 13 April, two years after its first meeting. The Rotary Club of London is the first European club to be chartered. Rotary changes its name to the International Association of Rotary Clubs to reflect its new membership.

Courtesy of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg.

1914

Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland form the British Association of Rotary Clubs. R.W. Pentland is their first president. At the international convention, Rotary recognizes the British association of 1,128 members as a legitimate extension.

Read about Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland

1916

The Rotary Club of Havana, Cuba, is the first Rotary club in a non-English-speaking country. The club is established on 29 April with 22 members. The club participates in city planning and, in 1917, helps establish traffic laws.

Read about Rotary in Cuba

1917

RI President Arch C. Klumph proposes an endowment fund "for the purpose of doing good in the world." The fund receives its first contribution, $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The fund is the precursor to The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit philanthropic corporation that supports Rotary International.

Read about the history of The Rotary Foundation

1918

U.S. Rotarian Ancil Brown creates the Allied Rotary Club of France in Paris. The club's first meeting is on 23 August at the Hotel Continental. As the club's first president, Brown invites U.S. Rotarians who are in Paris for the war effort to attend.

The Rotary Club of Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay, becomes the first Rotary club south of the equator.

1919

The first International Assembly is held in March in Chicago. On 1 June, the Rotary Club of Manila, Philippines, becomes the first Asian club admitted to Rotary. On 17 July, the Rotary Club of Shanghai becomes China's first club.

Read about Rotary in China

1921

The 1,000th Rotary club is chartered in January in York, England. The Rotary clubs of Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales, are the first Australian clubs admitted to Rotary. The Rotary Club of Johannesburg, South Africa, is the first Rotary club in Africa.

1922

Rotary International becomes the official name of Rotary. The name is approved as part of the new constitution and bylaws adopted at the international convention.

Read about the history of Rotary International

1924

The Board of Directors votes to adopt the modern Rotary emblem, a new version of the gearwheel first adopted in 1918. The redesigned logo has a more realistic gearwheel with a keyway.

1928

Canadian Rotarian James W. Davidson embarks on a mission to organize clubs in Asia and the Middle East. During the three-year odyssey. Davidson charters 23 clubs in 12 countries, as far west as Turkey and as far east as Thailand.

View a photo gallery of Davidson's journey

1929

The Rotary Foundation gives its first gift of US$500 to the National Society for Crippled Children, later Easter Seals, founded in 1921 by Rotarian Edgar F. Allen, of the Rotary Club of Elyria, Ohio, USA. Paul Harris served as chair of the organization.

Read about Edgar F. Allen and Easter Seals