Presidents List
 

We've all heard various stories and statistics about US Presidents from fraternities, but do we know who they all were? Here's what I've been able to find so far...


George Washington - Mason
James Monroe - Mason
John Quincy Adams - Sigma Phi Society
Andrew Jackson - Mason
James K. Polk - Mason
James Buchanan - Mason
Andrew Johnson - Mason
Rutherford B. Hayes - Delta Kappa Epsilon
James A. Garfield - Mason, Delta Upsilon
Chester Arthur - Psi Upsilon
Grover Cleveland - Sigma Chi
Benjamin Harrison - Delta Chi and/or Phi Delta Theta
William McKinley - Mason, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Theodore Roosevelt - Mason, Delta Kappa Epsilon
William H. Taft - Mason, Psi Upsilon
Woodrow Wilson - Phi Kappa Psi
Warren G. Harding - Mason
Calvin Coolidge - Phi Gamma Delta
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Mason
Harry S. Truman - Lambda Chi Alpha and/or Alpha Delta Gamma
John F. Kennedy - Phi Kappa Theta
Lyndon B. Johnson - Mason
Gerald Ford - Mason, Delta Kappa Epsilon
Ronald Reagan - Tau Kappa Epsilon
George Bush - Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Beta Kappa
Bill Clinton - Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Beta Kappa
George W. Bush - Delta Kappa Epsilon

Does anybody have different information about any of the above or anything on any of the other Presidents? Thanks.

SAEactive

I have to say this, that was nice results. Good Job.

D

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The Power of one
The Force of Many
HOO RAH!!

My questions is how many of those are honorary? I know bill clinton isn't greek. He's honorary. I won't get into how I feel that piece of shit. On the other hand, Grover clevelend(Sigma Chi), is also honorary, our only honorary sig. I have no idea why we made him a member but im going to try to find out.

Consul,

Of those I listed, only Phi Beta Kappa is honorary although Alpha Phi Omega is a national coed service fraternity. Other than those two and the Masons, however, all of them are regular national social fraternities.

Bill Clinton pledged Alpha Phi Omega as an undergraduate at Georgetown University. He is not an honorary brother. I even know pretty well a man who was in his pledge class with him. Georgetown University has banned NIC greeks from Georgetown since the late 40's or early '50s. I can get you further information on the size of his pledge class, the date of his pledging ceremony, the date of his initation ceremony and the fellow members of his pledge class. He was *not* an honorary.



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Naraht
Alpha Phi Omega Alumni Volunteer

Truman was an honorary initiate, but I think it was before he got into politics, at least before he was pres. I don't know why he was either. I should try to find that out.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

Lyndon Johnson was a brother in the local fraternity called The Harris Blairs. It became Zeta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, and all the alumni were supposed to carry over and become Pikes. Johnson was never initiated however, and the Pikes' National does not publicize him as a Brother.

This may sound bizzarre, but I am not making it up. I have seen references to Confederate President Jefferson Davis being a Kappa Sig. They were not founded until 1869, so if he was a member it must have been honorary. Anyone know?

This raises a way to be more specific about the president's greek affiliation. Alpha Phi Omega has had chapters give honorary membership to every US president between Kennedy and George Bush (the elder), but in many (I believe most) cases, the presentation was just "congratulations, our chapter has decided to do this", with the president having almost no idea who we are.

What I would like to see in this list of presidents is for each of the fraternities they are listed as belonging to, did their membership occur 1) the "normal" way, joining the fraternity after a pledging process as a student (for masons, advancing normally before being US president), 2) Honorary Membership granted before the person was elected president, 3) Honorary Membership granted after the person became president. In the case of 2) & 3) I'd like to know if the president ever went through the brotherhood ceremony (Honorary APO brothers can go through the brotherhood ceremony). While Gerald Ford (for example) was given honorary brotherhood in Alpha Phi Omega, I'd be surprised if he remembered us at this point. Brother Clinton, OTOH, definately remembers us. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Part of this for me is the idea that President Grant is listed as a greek, but he went through west point...

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Naraht
Alpha Phi Omega Alumni Volunteer

All of the DKE Presidents (Taft, Teddy Roosevelt, Ford, both Bushes) were undergraduate members of the fraternity.

Yes it is true, his grandson (son? sorry..I don't remember exactly from the Docet) was a Kappa Sigma and they made Jefferson Davis our only honorary member.

Thomas Jefferson was a member of the "Flat Hat Club" at William and Mary, one of the precursors to GLO organizations at universities.

Ct
TKE Mu Omega
GMU

Jefferson Davis's son was a Kappa Sigma initiate, but he died of an illness soon after his initation. The fraternity then made Jefferson Davis an honorary brother.

Okay here's some corrections and additions:

James K. Polk - Mason AND Kappa Alpha (the original KA which is now extinct)

Benjamin Harrison - definately a Phi Delta Theta and possibly a Delta Chi as well

Theodore Roosevelt - Mason, DKE, and Alpha Delta Phi

Warren G. Harding - Mason and ADPhi

Harry S. Truman - Mason, Lambda Chi Alpha and possibly also an Alpha Delta Gamma

Lyndon B. Johnson - Entered Apprentice Mason (their 1st of 3 major degrees)

US Vice Presidents (other than those who later became President):

Adlai E. Stevenson (1893-97 under G. Cleveland) - Phi Delta Theta

Charles Fairbanks (1905-09 under Theodore Roosevelt) - Delta Chi and Alpha Delta Phi

James S. Sherman (1909-12 under Taft) - Sigma Phi Society

Thomas R. Marshall (1913-21 under Wilson) - Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji)

Charles Dawes (1925-29 under Coolidge) - Delta Upsilon

Henry A. Wallace (1941-45 under FDR) - Delta Tau Delta

Alben Barkley (1949-53 under Truman) - Delta Tau Delta

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Thanks for all the replies so far and if you know of anyone not yet mentioned, PLEASE post it!!!

Dan Quayle was DKE and on the varsity golf team. Don't remember the school; it wasn't Butler or Wabash, but like one of those. The reason some have double memberships (ie. Phi Delt and Delta Chi, DKE and Alpha Delta Phi) is becaaue at one time in certain northeastern universities it was the practice for soem fraternities to be "sophmore" fraternities and others to be "upperclassmen" fraternities, and it was accepted that a student could progress from one fraternity to another between his junior sophmore and junior years.

You mean there was ANOTHER KA besides KA Order and KA Society? This is confusing!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

I had to remind myself that the Adlai Stevenson who ran for President in the 50's was Adlai Jr. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif



[This message has been edited by 33girl (edited June 20, 2001).]

Reference Kappa Alpha. Yes, Kappa Alpha Society was founded in 1825 at Union College in New York, one of three national fraternities founded there. Kappa Alpha Order, inspired by the character and life of Robert E. Lee, was founded in 1865 (I think). I was not aware that Kappa Alpha Society had no chapters and no longer existed. It may still have a few chapters.

Um....there should be 2 psi u presidents on that list. And for Clinton the Secertary of defense was a Psi U

That's actually not the one to which I was referring. From Baird's Manual (1963ed., page 722), "KAPPA ALPHA - the first Kappa Alpha - was founded in 1812 at the University of North Carolina by four members of Phi Beta Kappa whose identity has been lost. Its constitution, ritual, and secrets were so similar to those of the original Phi Beta Kappa as to indicate strongly that it was a descendant of one of the community branches chartered by Phi Beta Kappa before its dissolution at William and Mary in 1781."

After Kappa Alpha's secrets were exposed in 1855, several KA chapters (called circles) reorganized in 1858 at the University of South Carolina under the new name of Phi Mu Omicron. No chapter of either organization survived the Civil War and "an attempt to revive the circle at Emory and Henry in 1879 resulted in several of the Kappa Alpha and Phi Mu Omicron alumni joining Kappa Sigma, which was revived there. (page 728)"

"Kappa Alpha Order is the outgrowth of a fraternity organized as Phi Kappa Chi at Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, in December, 1865." (page 263)

"Kappa Alpha Society is the oldest secret brotherhood of a social and literary character which has had a continuous existance in American colleges, and is the forerunner of the present vast system of American college fraternities... These nine founders held their first formal meeting on November 26, 1825, at which the organization was perfected, the name of the novel society decided upon, and a constitution adopted. (page 267)"

There were actually three different groups called Kappa Alpha. Kappa Alpha Order and Kappa Alpha Society still exist today. Kappa Alpha, also known as Kuklos Adelphon, no longer exists.

[This message has been edited by SAEactive (edited June 21, 2001).]

Was it Hanover? I think that's where he's from anyway.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.