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Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at Cornell University, incorporates

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (ΑΦΑ) is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (ΑΦΑ) is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved into a fraternity with a founding date of December 4, 1906. It employs an icon from Ancient Egypt, the Great Sphinx of Giza, as its symbol. Its aims or pillars are "Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love For All Mankind," and its motto is "First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All." Its archives are preserved at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

Chapters were chartered at Howard University and Virginia Union University in 1907. The fraternity has over 290,000 members and has been open to men of all races since 1945.

Historical Significance

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Events Before

  1. Joe Gans lands a devastating right to the head of Canadian challenger Kid Herman to retain his world lightweight boxing

    Joe Gans lands a devastating right to the head of Canadian challenger Kid Herman to retain his world lightweight boxing title with an 8th-round knockout in Tonopah, Nevada

  2. American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (24) weds Bess Fosburgh in Boston, Massachusetts

    American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (24) weds Bess Fosburgh in Boston, Massachusetts

  3. Author Arthur Conan Doyle (48) weds Jean Elizabeth Leckie

    Author Arthur Conan Doyle (48) weds Jean Elizabeth Leckie

  4. Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, C

    Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland

  5. A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock leads to a nationwide run on US banks and the Panic of 1907

    A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock leads to a nationwide run on US banks and the Panic of 1907

Events After

  1. American Robert Fowler runs the then-world-record marathon (2:52:45.4) at Yonkers, New York

    American Robert Fowler runs the then-world-record marathon (2:52:45.4) at Yonkers, New York

  2. Stepan Bandera is born

    Stepan Bandera, Greek ukrainian nationalist leader, known for ukrainian nationalist leader, was born on 1909-01-01.

  3. Ernest Shackleton, as part of the British Nimrod Expedition, reaches a record farthest southern latitude of 88°23' south

    Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic.

  4. Russian military forces invade northern Persia to support Mohammad Ali Shah's coup d'état against the constitutional gov

    Russian military forces invade northern Persia to support Mohammad Ali Shah's coup d'état against the constitutional government in Persia and relieve the siege of Tabriz

  5. Mien Wenneker, Dutch prince Henry's lover, weds Uncle Cornelis Abbo

    Mien Wenneker, Dutch prince Henry's lover, weds Uncle Cornelis Abbo

More from the 1900s

First Powered Flight by the Wright Brothers

Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

science technology

Conference of 23 industrial trade unionists in Chicago, Illinois, issues the Industrial Union Manifesto, calling for a c

Conference of 23 industrial trade unionists in Chicago, Illinois, issues the Industrial Union Manifesto, calling for a convention in Chicago in June and laying the groundwork for the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

death

James Longstreet dies

James Longstreet, Confederate confederate army general, known for confederate army general, died on 1904-01-02.

1st Rose Bowl, Tournament Park, Pasadena, California: Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0; MVP: Michigan fullback Neil Snow

1st Rose Bowl, Tournament Park, Pasadena, California: Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0; MVP: Michigan fullback Neil Snow

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on January 29, 1908?
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (ΑΦΑ) is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved into a fraternity with a founding date of December 4, 1906.
Why is Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at Cornell University, incorporates significant?
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Explore More

January 29 in HistoryYear 1908