He may have done many notable things in his lifetime, in many different areas, but for most of us the name Paul Harris is only associated with Rotary International.

Paul was born in Racine, Wis., in 1868. Paul's father had been set up with a drug store in Racine, which should have been profitable, but through mismanagement he saw that business fail. There was no help from his wife's family. Her father was a dreamer who had lost all in an ill-conceived plan to prospect for gold in California. The family decided to split up. Paul, his father and brother returned to Vermont to live with Paul's paternal grandparents. Paul's mother and little sister stayed in Racine to fare the best they could. Paul's mother had inherited nothing but pride from her father, but this was enough to keep her from accepting charity from her father-in-law.

Years later Paul decided that living with his grandparents, with their strong conservative values, was a blessing, and did much to shape the course of his life.

In high school, Paul entered Black River Academy at Ludlow, Vt. He did well at his studies, but his fun-loving nature drove him into a series of semi-harmless pranks, which led to his expulsion from Black River. Again, at the University of Vermont, he and three of his friends were expelled, for pranks deemed too serious to be fun. Years later Vermont University conferred honorary degrees upon the four pranksters.

After a year with a private tutor, a year at Princeton, and a year working in an office, he migrated to Iowa, where studied law at the University of Iowa during the school year, and spent his summers at Lake Okoboji, already something of a resort.

Armed with a law degree, Paul was in no hurry to embark on the life of a lawyer. A visiting alum had offered him this advice: "Go out into a small town and make a damn fool of yourself for five years, then go to the city where you can make yourself some money." Paul liked the idea of taking off five years before settling down, but made his own 5-year plan somewhat different.

In the succeeding years he 1. Worked on a newspaper in San Francisco, 2. Made a three hundred mile tramp through the California mountains, 3. Took a job as an actor with a company, which gave performances at the old 15th Street Theater in Denver, 4. Lived the life of a cowboy on a Colorado ranch, 5. Served as a night clerk in the finest tourist hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., 6. Traveled as a marble and granite salesman, 7. As a reporter for the Washington Star he covered the inauguration of President Cleveland, 8. Took a job as "cattleboy" on the worst boat of the worst shipping line engaged in transporting cattle to England, 9. He was on hand for the Columbian Exposition, Chicago's great World's Fair in 1893, 10. Arrived in New Orleans to pick fruit, just in time to experience the worst hurricane the region had received in years.

Looking at such serious vagabonding one might assume that Paul Harris could not keep a job. This would be a serious mistake. This sojourn of five years really helped Harris to formulate the philosophy that would become the cornerstone of his life's work.

In a time of widespread unemployment, Harris seemed to find employment almost immediately. He had set up a very rigid code of conduct for himself: 1. He never stole free rides. He paid his way or worked for his passage. 2. He always carried luggage. 3. He was always well-dressed and well groomed. 4. He was available for any type of employment, physical or mental. 5. He gave a full measure of work for the agreed upon pay. During this time he made a host of friends, who remained friends for the rest of his life. Some of his employers became charter members of the first Rotary Clubs in their cities.

By 1901, Harris was ready to settle down, in Chicago. But building a successful law practice took time. After for four years there were still precious few clients.

It was on Feb. 23, of 1905 that Harris tested his idea of a club where friends could meet on a regular basis to bolster each other's morale, which would be good for one another's business. His first contact was a coal dealer, for whom he had helped collect a $10 debt. Those two then recruited a mining engineer, and a merchant tailor.

The original; plan was to rotate meetings among the various members -- a real Rotating Club, but as members brought in their friends, the little club grew and offices were no longer big enough to handle everyone. That rotating practice died, but the plan of meeting in hotels and restaurants began, which continues to this day.

Meeting for fellowship and mutual self interest was good, but something more was needed to motivate busy professional people to come to meetings. In 1907, the members heard about a preacher in downstate Illinois whose horse had died. The preacher needed the horse to make the journey to his churches, but was too poor to buy a horse. The members took up a collection, bought a horse and presented it to the preacher.

That kindled a spark in the club, and a few weeks later the club passed the hat again and furnished the money to build Chicago's first public rest room. With these two projects Rotary became the World's First Service Club.

In 1910, Rotary held its first convention. Harris was the first president, and two mottos were adopted, "Service Above Self," and "He Profits Most Who Serves The Best."

By 1910, clubs had formed in several locations in Canada, and by the end of Paul Harris' term as President in 1912, the movement had spread across the Atlantic to a number of Clubs in the British Isles. After World War I, the Rotary message mushroomed around the world, transcending national boundaries, race, language, and religion.

By 1925 there were some 200 clubs worldwide, with more than 20,000 members. The great humanitarian, Albert Schweitzer was a member, as was composer Jan Sibelius, diplomat Carlos Romulus from the Philippines, and author, Thomas Mann.

During World War II Rotary shifted to the task of providing emergency relief to victims of the war. At the same time Rotary was looking ahead to the post-war era. Fifty rotarians from clubs around the world were delegates, advisors, or consultants to the United Nations Charter Conference in 1945.

The Rotary Four-Way test was formally introduced in 1932. It has become a 24 word code of ethics for Rotarians. 1. Is it the truth? 2. Will it build good will and better friendships? 3. Is it fair to all concerned? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Three major events transformed Rotary since World War II. 1. In 1985 Rotary set a goal and made the commitment to eradicate Polio from the world with its PolioPlus campaign. To date a half billion dollars, and the mobilization of thousands of volunteers have gone into the campaign. Victory is close, but we're not quite there yet.

2. The second event was the welcoming of Women to Rotary. This proved to be a stormy step for the Old Boys Clubs to take. In the United States each individual club was integrated, with a nudge from the Supreme Court. Outside the United States some individual Rotary clubs are integrated, but some Clubs are entirely made up of women members, others are entirely men -- equal but separate.

3. The third event was the growth of the Rotary Foundation. At the death of Paul Harris in 1947 an outpouring of gifts of more than $2 million from clubs around the world was given to Rotary in Paul Harris' honor. Since 1947 more than $1.1 billion has been given to promote world understanding and peace in a myriad of ways.

So, entering its 2nd Century, I believe that Paul Harris would be pleased to see what has happened to his little club. It would seem that Rotary is alive and well, indeed, in robust health, with more than 1 million members in 161 countries throughout the world.

In spending nearly $100 million dollars a year toward humanitarian progress, in which Rotarians participate and voluntarily contribute funds, Rotarians are proud to be following in Paul Harris' footsteps as they proclaim "Service Above Self."

Source: Rotary International Web page.