Alpha Xi Delta sorority founded at Lombard College (1893)

Alpha Xi Delta was founded on April 17, 1893, at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois. Ten young women established the organization, which initially operated as a local chapter. The founders ranged in age from 16 to 26, marking the creation of the first chapter of the national sorority.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Lombard College, located in Galesburg, Illinois, was a Universalist institution founded in 1853. It was rechristened as Lombard University following a major fire in 1855 and a significant financial gift from Benjamin Lombard. The college served as the site for the founding of the first chapter of Alpha Xi Delta in 1893.

Founding. On April 17, 1893, ten young women at Lombard College founded Alpha Xi Delta. The founders ranged in age from 16 to 26. The organization was initially referred to as a sorority. The event established the first chapter of the national sorority, though the constitution was developed later.

Participants. The founders included Cora Bollinger Block, Alice Bartlett Brummer, Frances Elizabeth Cheney, Elmira Lowry Cheney, Bertha Cook Evans, Elizabeth Curtis Everton, Julia Maude Foster, Lucy W. Gilmer, and Harriet McCollum. These ten young women established the sorority at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois.

People involved

Sources

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