Founded December 4, 1906 · Cornell University
The history of Alpha Phi Alpha
The first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men — founded by seven students at Cornell University who saw the need for a strong bond of brotherhood. Its light reached Virginia Union in 1907 as the Gamma Chapter.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Eugene Kinckle Jones
A Virginia Union graduate who returned to his alma mater and chartered the Gamma Chapter on December 30, 1907. He later became the first executive secretary of the National Urban League.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Henry Arthur Callis
One of the seven Cornell students who founded Alpha Phi Alpha in 1906. He became a physician and professor of medicine at Howard University, served as a medical consultant at the veterans hospital in Tuskegee, and was the only Cornell founder to become General President.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Charles Henry Chapman
Alpha Chapter’s first chairman of the initiation and organization committees. He became a professor of agriculture at what is now Florida A&M University, helped found its Beta Nu Chapter, and in 1934 became the first Jewel to enter Omega Chapter.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
George Biddle Kelley
A founding Jewel trained in engineering at Cornell, remembered as the first African American registered as an engineer in New York State.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Nathaniel Allison Murray
He served on Alpha Chapter’s first organization committee, then spent his career teaching in Washington, D.C. public schools, much of it at Armstrong Vocational High School. He was a charter member of Mu Lambda Chapter.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Robert Harold Ogle
Alpha Chapter’s first secretary, he proposed the fraternity’s colors and worked with Kelley on the first ritual. He became a pioneering professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and a charter member of Mu Lambda Chapter.
The Founders
The Seven Jewels
Select a Jewel to read his story.
Vertner Woodson Tandy
The first African American registered architect in New York State. Among his works is Villa Lewaro, the estate of Madam C. J. Walker.
1905 → Today
A fraternity's timeline
Motto
“First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All”
National Programs
Service that carries the name
Brothers Who Shaped History