Alpha Delta Pi founded at Wesleyan College, Macon
- When
- 1851
- Where
- Wesleyan Female College
- Episodes
- 1
Alpha Delta Pi originated as the Adelphean Society, founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia. This organization is recognized as the first secret society for women. The term 'sorority' is anachronistic for the 1851 founding, as the group was initially a society that later evolved into a fraternity and sorority.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Wesleyan College, located in Macon, Georgia, was chartered in 1836 as the first college in the world to grant degrees to women. It opened in 1839. The college is the birthplace of the first sororities in the United States, including the Adelphean Society in 1851, which later became Alpha Delta Pi.
Founding. The Adelphean Society was founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan Female College. The organization changed its name to Alpha Delta Phi in 1905. The first diamond-shaped badge was worn by the Adelpheans in 1851.
Legacy. The Adelphean Society is recognized as the first sorority in the United States. The organization is now known as Alpha Delta Pi. The term 'sorority' is anachronistic for the 1851 founding, as the group was initially a society that later evolved into a fraternity and sorority.
People involved
- Adelphean Society · Founding Organization
Sources
- Alpha Delta Pi Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01
- Wesleyan College Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-06
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.