[TSteven]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

That could be accurate, depending on whether non-social/general fraternities are included (and depending on whether Obama has been initiated by a fraternity).

Per The Center for the Study of the College Fraternity in Bloomington, Indiana:

The North-American Interfraternity Conference has also compiled a list of U.S. Presidents who were/are fraternity members. Contrary to the statistic quoted above ["All but two U.S. Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men"], no president prior to 1877 was a fraternity member and seven presidents since then have not been fraternity men. Presidents who were fraternity members are:

President/Years in Office/Fraternity
Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 Delta Kappa Epsilon
James Garfield 1881 Delta Upsilon
Chester Arthur 1881-1885 Psi Upsilon
Benjamin Harrison 1989-1893 Phi Delta Theta
William McKinley 1897-1901 Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 Delta Kappa Epsilon/Alpha Delta Phi
William Howard Taft 1909-1913 Psi Upsilon
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 Phi Kappa Psi
Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 Phi Gamma Delta
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945 Alpha Delta Phi
Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 Lambda Chi Alpha
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961 Tau Epsilon Phi
John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 Phi Kappa Theta
Gerald R. Ford 1974-1977 Delta Kappa Epsilon
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 Tau Kappa Epsilon
George H. W. Bush 1989-1993 Delta Kappa Epsilon
George W. Bush 2001- Delta Kappa Epsilon

That means that 7 presidents (not counting Obama) since 1877 were not social/general fraternity members, and all presidents since 1877, except for Rutherford B. Hayes, were born after 1825. If Warren G. Harding and Jimmy Carter (for Phi Alpha Delta) and Bill Clinton (for Alpha Phi Omega) are added, that does leave four (again, not counting Obama) who were not fraternity members.

It should also be noted that at least one president (Harry Truman) was an honorary initiate, not a collegiate. I leave to others how that should be counted.

Stephen Grover Cleveland 1885–1889 and 1893–1897 Sigma Chi

TO INITIATE MR. CLEVELAND.; HE WILL PROBABLY BE A SIGMA CHI SHORTLY.
December 17, 1892, Wednesday
The New York Times
Page 9, 739 words

The initiation of Grover Cleveland as an honorary member of the Sigma Chi fraternity is probably near at hand. The Alumni Chapter of the society in this city, of which the Rev. Dr. Theodore A.K. Gessler is Consul, has sent the following letter to the persons interested in the ceremony:

View the full original New York Times article here