On This Day

Sigma Alpha Mu is founded at the City College of New York by eight young Jewish men

Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣΑΜ), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909.

Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣΑΜ), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of all faiths in 1953. The fraternity was originally headquartered in New York City, where it was founded. Today, its headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, along with many other fraternities. Since its inception, Sigma Alpha Mu has initiated more than 67,000 members at 150 active and inactive chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada.

It is one of three major national/international social fraternities to have been founded at the City College of New York, the others being Delta Sigma Phi and Zeta Beta Tau.

Historical Significance

Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣΑΜ), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909.

Events Before

  1. Henri Farman becomes the first person to fly an observed circuit of more than 1km, winning the Grand Prix d'Aviation

    Henri Farman becomes the first person to fly an observed circuit of more than 1km, winning the Grand Prix d'Aviation

  2. Katie Mulcahey is arrested for lighting a cigarette, violating the one-day-old "Sullivan Ordinance" banning women from s

    Katie Mulcahey is arrested for lighting a cigarette, violating the one-day-old "Sullivan Ordinance" banning women from smoking in public, and is fined $5. Appearing before the judge, she states, “I’ve got as much right to smoke as you have. I never heard of this new law, and I don’t want to hear abo

  3. Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes "Scouting for Boys" as a manual for self-instruction in outdoor skills

    Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes "Scouting for Boys" as a manual for self-instruction in outdoor skills and self-improvement. The book becomes the inspiration for the Scout Movement.

  4. King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luís Filipe, are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do P

    King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luís Filipe, are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon

  5. Italian football club Inter Milan is founded as Football Club Internazionale

    Football Club Internazionale Milano, widely referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, and commonly known as Inter Milan outside Italy, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan,…

Events After

  1. Author James Weldon Johnson (38) weds civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson (24) at her family's home

    Author James Weldon Johnson (38) weds civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson (24) at her family's home

  2. 13th Dalai Lama (Thupten Gyatso) flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops

    The Dalai Lama (UK: , US: ; Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་, Wylie: Tā la'i bla ma [táːlɛː láma]) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

  3. First seaplane takes off from water under its own power, piloted by Henri Fabre from the Étang de Berre lagoon in Martig

    First seaplane takes off from water under its own power, piloted by Henri Fabre from the Étang de Berre lagoon in Martigues, France

  4. First night air flight by Claude Grahame-White takes place in England

    The 1910 London to Manchester air race took place between two aviators, each of whom attempted to win a heavier-than-air powered flight challenge between London and Manchester.

  5. Film producer Samuel Goldwyn (27) weds first wife Blanche Lasky

    Film producer Samuel Goldwyn (27) weds first wife Blanche Lasky

More from the 1900s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on November 26, 1909?
Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣΑΜ), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of all faiths in 1953. The fraternity was originally headquartered in New York City, where it was founded.
Why is Sigma Alpha Mu is founded at the City College of New York by eight young Jewi... significant?
Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣΑΜ), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909.

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