The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta was officially founded on May 1, 1848 at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (now known as Washington and Jefferson College). The Fraternity was founded on the basis of secrecy by six distinguished gentlemen. This element of secrecy serves as a common bond between the "Immortal Six" of 1848, and the Phi Gams of today. About one month after the founding of the fraternity, in June of 1848, the Beta Chapter was chartered at Washington College (these two colleges went on to form what is presently known as Washington and Jefferson College).

     As the years went on, more Chapters were chartered. Some of the first ones included: Nashville University (Gamma) 1850, Union University (Delta) 1851, and University of North Carolina (Epsilon) 1851. To this date, Alpha, Gamma, Theta (University of Alabama), Lambda (DePauw University), Xi (Gettysburg College), Omicron (University of Virginia), and Pi (Allegheny College) are the only Chapters founded before 1860 and still active. Currently there are approximately 130,000 members and 130 chapters and colonies. Fiji is one of the biggest national fraternities and continues to expand every year.

The International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta  

1201 Red Mile Road
P.O. Box 4599
Lexington, Kentucky 40544-4599
Telephone: 606/255-1848
Fax: 606/253-0779
E-Mail: phigam@phigam.org