- Friendship, Justice and Learning since 1855 -

The Founding of Sigma Chi

The Early Years

The seven young men who founded Sigma Chi were not ordinary men. They were men of vision, men of courage, men of action. They envisioned something new in fraternities, and sought to transform that vision into reality.

Prior to Sigma Chi’s birth, fraternities were based on the proposition that friendships are best formed by men of like minds, talents and personalities. Our Founders, however, believed that true brotherhood could prosper only when men of unlike minds, talents and personalities banded themselves together under a common set of ideals. It was on this precept that Sigma Chi was begun.  

Knowledge of the exemplary lives led by these men is a requisite to gaining an understanding of their ideals and the tremendous contribution they made to our Fraternity.

  • Benjamin Piatt Runkle

    Benjamin Piatt Runkle

    COURAGE

    Courageous in Spirit and Idealism – Runkle was born in West Liberty, Ohio. At the mere age of 18 he led the DKE rebellion and placed the seed of revolution in the minds of Bell, Caldwell, Cooper, Jordan, and Scobey when he threw down his DKE badge in disgust. He bonded with Lockwood to design the White Cross. He took his idea for the White Cross from divine vision of Constantine before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. He was so endeared to his cross design that he engaged in fisticuffs with someone who sneered at his pin. Due to his valiant efforts on the battlefield in the Civil war he won over his enemies, earning a tribute to him from his former counterpart, Whitehall Reid. He died on the 61st birthday of the Fraternity.

  • Thomas Cowan Bell

    Thomas Cowan Bell

    WISDOM

    The Qualities of Learning – Bell was born in the town of Dayton, Ohio. He was 23 when he founded Sigma Chi. He believed deeply in scholarship and friendship. After his graduation he became a teacher and worked his way up to Superintendent of School of Nobles County Minnesota. He is the inspiration for scholarship in the fraternity.

  • William Lewis Lockwood

    William Lewis Lockwood

    INTEGRITY

    Honest and Trustworthy Through Life – Like Runkle, Lockwood was 18 at the time he entered the circle of founders. He was the only founder who was not a member of DKE. He was the businessman of the Fraternity and his organizational skills were the reason the fraternity stayed afloat during the early years. He was the first of the Founders to perish, in 1867. He is the driving force behind our well drawn out guidelines and devotion to being a well run and organized Fraternity.

  • Issac M. Jordan

    Issac M. Jordan

    HIGH AMBITION

    Energetic and Faithful to Every Task – Jordan was born in central Pennsylvania, and was 20 when helped found Sigma Chi. He created the Jordan Standard in 1884, a document with which the criteria for entry into the Fraternity is based. After he left Old Miami he studied law and became a lawyer in Cincinnati. He was later elected to US Congress.

  • Daniel William Cooper

    Daniel William Cooper

    SELF-CONTROL

    Ruler of the Spirit – Cooper was born near Frederickstown, Ohio. He was 25 at the time of the Founding. Being an ordained minister he was the driving force behind the religious implications in the Fraternity. He was the last Founder to die, in 1920 at the age of 91. He was so devoted to his fraternity that he wore his Sigma Chi pin until his death.

  • Franklin Howard Scobey

    Franklin Howard Scobey

    COURTESY

    Courteous and Loyal In His Friendship – Scobey was born in Hamilton, Ohio. Though 18 at the time he was the driving force behind the Spirit of Sigma Chi. He was of different beliefs of many of the other founders but none the less they opened their mind to his ideas. He was in contrast to Lockwood the most, but the two became such good friends that Lockwood named his son Frank. He died in 1888.

  • James Parks Caldwell

    James Parks Caldwell

    FIDELITY

    True to Principle – Caldwell, at a mere 14 years of age became one of the Founders. He was born in Monroe, Ohio, and was a child prodigy. Caldwell was best known for his spirit of youth and creative genius. At the age of 16 he graduated from Old Miami and enlisted in the Confederate Army, when he was then taken captive in the Civil War. He died a lifelong bachelor in the year 1912.