Phi Beta Delta (fraternity)

This article is about the social fraternity. For the honor society, see Phi Beta Delta (honor society).

Phi Beta Delta (ΦΒΔ) was an American college social fraternity for Jewish students. It was founded at Columbia University in 1912. After chartering 36 chapters, the fraternity merged with Pi Lambda Phi in 1941.

Phi Beta Delta
ΦΒΔ
Founded	April 4, 1912; 112 years ago (1912-04-04) Columbia University
Type	Social
Former affiliation	NIC
Status	Merged
Merge date	February 1, 1941
Successor	Pi Lambda Phi
Scope	National
Member badge
Colors	Blue and   Gold
Symbol	star. crossed keys
Flower	Hyacinth
Jewel	Pearl
Publication	What's Doing in Phi Beta Delta The Tripod of Phi Beta Delta
Chapters	36 inactive
Members	1,800+ lifetime
Headquarters	36 Mill Plain Rd, Ste 309 Danbury, Connecticut 06811 United States

History

Phi Beta Delta was founded at Columbia University on April 12, 1912 as a college social fraternity for Jewish students. Its eight founders were David H. Cohen, Henry C. Fenton, William Haas, Darcy M. Heinemann, Joseph Michtom, Samuel Null, Julius Rudd, and Bernard Shapiro ^[1][2]

The founders stated, "Its purpose is to inculcate among its membership a fine spirit of loyalty, activity, and scholarship toward their Alma Mater, to develop the highest ideals of conduct, and to promote a close fraternal bond through means of carefully selected associates."^[1]

While entering the ranks of national fraternities somewhat later than its national peers, the organization quickly grew, with chapters quickly formed at several eastern schools. In 1934, Phi Beta Delta absorbed the UPenn chapter of Omicron Alpha Tau, a smaller Jewish fraternity that was dispersing that year. This group either merged with the existing Phi Beta Delta chapter on the campus or re-established it. Four of ΟΑΤ's other chapters went to Tau Delta Phi.^[3]

In 1930, Phi Beta Delta had initiated 1,811 members and chartered 32 chapters, with three being inactive.^[4] Ten chapters owned houses.^[4] The fraternity had alumni clubs in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York City, Oklahoma, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Western Pennsylvania.^[4]

Phi Beta Delta effectively merged into Pi Lambda Phi on February 1, 1941. Baird's Manual (19th edition) notes the merger documents were signed on October 1, 1940. At the time, Pi Lambda Phi had twenty active chapters, and Phi Beta Delta had sixteen. Considering duplications, the combined post-merger fraternity had a net of 33 chapters. All members and alumni of Phi Beta Delta were admitted into Pi Lambda Phi.^[5]

Symbols

The Phi Beta Delta badge was diamond-shaped and edged with twenty pearls. Across the center, it displayed the Greek letters ΦΒΔ in gold on a blue background. Above the letters was a five-pointed star, and below were two crossed keys.^[5][4]

The fraternity's colors were blue and gold.^[5][4] Its jewel was the pearl. Its flower was the hyacinth.^[5][4] Its publications were the monthly What's Doing in Phi Beta Delta and the quarterly magazine The Tripod of Phi Beta Delta.^[4]

Chapters

Following are the chapters of Phi Beta Delta, listed in the order of formation, with inactive chapters and institutions are in italics.^[3][6][4]

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	April 5, 1912 – 1929	Columbia University	New York City, New York	Inactive
Gamma	1912–1935	City College of New York	New York City, New York	Inactive
Lambda	1912–1926	New York College of Dentistry	New York City, New York	Inactive	[a]
Sigma	1913–1918, 1934–1941	Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[b]
Zeta	1915–1934	New York University	New York City, New York	Inactive
Beta	1916–1935	Fordham University	New York City, New York	Inactive
Eta	1919–1941	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[c]
Epsilon	1919–1939	University of Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	Inactive	[d]
Theta	1920–1941	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Boston, Massachusetts	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[e]
Mu	1920–1941	University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[f]
Nu	1920–1935	Polytechnic Institute of New York (Tandon)	New York City, New York	Inactive	[g]
Kappa	1921–1941	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[h]
Omicron	1921–1941	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[i]
Rho	1921–1925	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	Worcester, Massachusetts	Inactive
Xi	1921–1930	Tufts University	Medford, Massachusetts	Inactive
Pi	1921–1941	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, Missouri	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[j]
Tau	1922–1941	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[k]
Upsilon	1922–1941	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[l]
Iota	1922–1941	University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[m]
Phi	1922–1936	University of Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	Inactive
Chi	1924–1934	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive	[n]
Psi	1924–1930	Drake University	Des Moines, Iowa	Inactive	[o]
Delta	1925–1941	University of Florida	Gainesville, Florida	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[p]
Omega	1925–1931	University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Inactive	[q]
Alpha Alpha	1925–1933	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Inactive
Alpha Beta	1927–1934	University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Inactive	[r]
Alpha Gamma	1927–1933	Lehigh University	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	Inactive	[s]
Alpha Delta	1927–1933, 19xx ?–1941	Temple University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[7][t]
Alpha Epsilon	1927–1941	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[u]
Alpha Zeta	1928–1941	University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[v]
Alpha Eta	1928–1937	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Inactive	[w]
Alpha Theta	1928–1941	Indiana University	Bloomington, Indiana	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[x]
Alpha Iota	1931–1934	University of Colorado	Boulder, Colorado	Inactive	[y]
Alpha Kappa	1934–1941	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, Illinois	Merged (ΠΛΦ)	[z]

1. Chapter went inactive when the College of Dentistry merged with New York University.
2. Chapter went inactive during World War I when all of its members enlisted. In 1934, the chapter reformed from Phi Delta Mu (local), established in 1925. With the national merger, it joined the NY Delta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
3. Eta absorbed the Lambda chapter of Omicron Alpha Tau in 1934 when that national fraternity disbanded. With the national merger, Eta joined the PA Epsilon Zeta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
4. Chapter formed from Kappa Omega (local).
5. With the national merger, the chapter restored the Theta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
6. With the national merger, the chapter became the OH Mu chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
7. Chapter formed from Lambda Beta (local).
8. With the national merger, the chapter became the CA Kappa chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
9. With the national merger, the chapter joined the MI Epsilon chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
10. With the national merger, the chapter became the MO Pi chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
11. With the national merger, the chapter became the CA Tau chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
12. With the national merger, the chapter became the CA Upsilon chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
13. Chapter formed from Sigma Beta Tau (local), established in 1921. With the national merger, it became the OK Iota chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
14. Chapter formed from the Chi Club (local), established in 1922.
15. Chapter formed from Sigma Delta Phi (local), established in 1923.
16. With the national merger, the chapter became the FL Delta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
17. Chapter formed from Delta Gamma Tau (local), established in 1923.
18. Chapter formed from Alpha Beta Phi (local), established in 1922.
19. Chapter formed from Omega Phi (local), established in 1926.
20. Chapter formed from Sigma Iota Sigma (local), established in 1924. With the national merger, it became the PA Alpha Delta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
21. Chapter formed from Phi Delta Gamma (local), established in 1923. With the national merger, it became the OH Alpha Epsilon chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.
22. Chapter formed from The Evergreen Club (local) in 1927. With the national merger, it became the SC Alpha Zeta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi
23. Chapter formed from The Pioneers Club (local).
24. Chapter formed from Gamma Tau (local), established in 1927. With the national merger, it became the IN Alpha Theta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi
25. Chapter formed from The Alpha Club (local), established in 1929.
26. Chapter formed from Delta Pi (local), established in 1925. With the national merger, it became the IL Tau Delta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi.

Notable members

• Maurice Caro, Massachusetts State Legislature^[4]
• Richard Feynman (Theta, 1935) theoretical physicist^[8]
• Max Fisher (Alpha Epsilon) businessman and philanthropist
• Leopold Calvin Glass, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania^[4]
• Joseph L. Kun, judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas^[4]
• Louis B. Mayer, film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios^[4]
• Aaron M Sakolski, author^[4]

See also

• List of Jewish fraternities and sororities
• List of social fraternities