Which sorority is the first?

[xp2k]

Can someone clear this up for me?

I have friends in Alpha Delta Pi and friends in Kappa Alpha Theta. Both sororities claim to be the first sorority but that cant be true. ADPi was founded in 1850 and Theta's were founded at Depauw in 1870. Is there any reason for this debate?

I went to the website but the explanation was not clear.

Thanks

Xp2K

[PiBetaPhi]

ACTUALLY, ADPI WASN'T NATIONALLY ORGANIZED UNTIL LATER THAN 1850....PI BETA PHI WAS THE FIRST SOCIETY FOR WOMEN...IN 1867...YOU CAN LOOK IN UP ANYWHERE AND IT WILL TELL YOU THAT PI PHI WAS THE FIRST EVER!
HOPE THAT SOLVES THAT DEBATE

[LexiKD]

I think it all depends on what you call sorority.

Some groups were secret societies and some were open organizations which then changed to Greek Letter. I guess each organization has its own claim to fame, they all were the first something.

All I know for sure is KD was founded 10-23-1897 and I am greatful for it!

PiBetaPhi,

I believe the original question asked which was first--not when it was nationally organized.

ADPi (founded as the Adelphean Society) was the first secret society for women and it was indeed founded first, followed by Phi Mu (the Philomathean Society). Pi Beta Phi (founded as I.C. Sorosis) was founded in 1867 (as stated earlier).

As ecukd said, it all depends on what you consider a sorority. Kappa Alpha Theta was the first women's organization founded with Greek letters...whereas Gamma Phi Beta was the first organization to use the word "sorority".

After considering all of this, I'd think that ADPi was the first secret organization for women, Theta's the first women's GLO, and GPhiB's the first "sorority".

That probably didn't answer your question--but I know that this topic has been discussed before and perhaps those threads can be of help to you.

[DBPM04]

This is from the national site...as you see ADpi is first followed by Phi Mu...the reason for the debate is the word sorority wasn't "coined" until 1900...but the word sorority is defined by websters as a "womens group organized primarialy for social purposes." Hope this settles the arguement.....The 26 college “sororities” which belong to the National Panhellenic Conference, with their founding dates are as follows: Alpha Chi Omega, 1885; Alpha Delta Pi, 1851; Alpha Epsilon Phi, 1909; Alpha Gamma Delta. 1904; Alpha Omicron Pi, 1897; Alpha Phi, 1872; Alpha Sigma Alpha, 1901; Alpha Sigma Tau. 1899; Alpha Xi Delta, 1893; Chi Omega, 1895; Delta Delta Delta, 1888; Delta Gamma, 1874; Delta Phi Epsilon, 1917; Delta Zeta, 1902; Gamma Phi Beta, 1874; Kappa Alpha Theta, 1870; Kappa Delta, 1897; Kappa Kappa Gamma, 1870; Phi Mu, 1852; Phi Sigma Sigma, 1913; Pi Beta Phi, 1867; Sigma Delta Tau, 1917; Sigma Kappa, 1874; Sigma Sigma Sigma, 1898; Theta Phi Alpha, 1912; Zeta Tau Alpha, 1898.

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pass that old silver goblet with the Phi Mu upon it and we'll all have another round of *cheer* cuz it's not for knowledge that we came to college but to have fun while we're here!

[IowaHawkeye]

Alpha Delta Pi is actually celebrating it's 150th anniversary on May 15, 2001. In my personal opinion, they are the first - but of course my personal org. is #1 in my heart

[PiBetaPhi]

Pi Beta Phi Fraternity was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, on April 28, 1867, as I.C. Sorosis.
****Pi Beta Phi was the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men.***
During a time when few women were admitted to colleges and universities, Pi Beta Phi created a feeling of unity among pioneering women.

[twinstars]

Kappa Alpha Theta considers itself "the 1st greek letter fraternity known among women"...

Theta is definitely one of the oldest "sororities."

[33girl]

I think it goes like this:
-ADPi was the first secret society founded for women. (they didn't become national or use Greek letters until well after their founding)
-Pi Beta Phi was the first society founded with the intention to become national.
-Kappa Alpha Theta was the first group to use Greek letters from the beginning.
-Gamma Phi Beta was the first to use the newly coined word "sorority."

So there are quite a few "firsts" in there.

I think many of the first GLOs had the intent of going national.

Not to single out anyone--but, all too often I've seen in past related posts that many GLOs claim to be the "first ever". While that may be true--you can see from this thread that there were many NPC groups that pioneered a certain area of Greek life. It's because of these women that made it all possible for us...and each of these "firsts" should be given equal honor.