On This Day

Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale University

Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America.

Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen sophomores who were discontented with the existing fraternity order on campus. The men established a fellowship where the candidate most favored was "he who combined in the most equal proportions the Gentleman, the Scholar, and the Jolly Good Fellow."

Historical Significance

Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America.

Events Before

  1. Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony

    Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony

  2. Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America opens, the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY)

    The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (also known as Mutual of New York or MONY) was the oldest continuous writer of insurance policies in the United States.

  3. American Frontiersman Kit Carson (33) weds Mexican socialite Josefa Jaramillo (14) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in T

    American Frontiersman Kit Carson (33) weds Mexican socialite Josefa Jaramillo (14) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in Taos, Mexico

  4. Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and educator, marries Julia Ward, American poet and author

    Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and educator, marries Julia Ward, American poet and author

  5. First wagon train departs Independence, Missouri, for Oregon with 700 to 1,000 migrants

    The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory.

Events After

  1. Explorer and medical missionary David Livingstone (31) weds Mary Moffat

    David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish doctor, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa.

  2. Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel

    Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel

  3. Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue

    Scientific American, informally abbreviated SciAm or sometimes SA, is an American popular science magazine.

  4. English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light

    English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light

  5. The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules

    The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules

More from the 1840s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 22, 1844?
Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen sophomores who were discontented with the existing fraternity order on campus. The men established a fellowship where the candidate most favored was "he who combined in the most equal proportions the Gentleman, the Scholar, and the Jolly Good Fellow."
Why is Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale ... significant?
Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America.

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