| 1905 |
Chicago attorney Paul Harris organizes first Rotary meeting on 23 February, leading to formation of the Rotary Club of Chicago. |
| 1906 |
Rotary Club of Chicago provides a public toilet outside City Hall, Rotarys first community service project. |
| 1910-11 |
Paul Harris elected first president of National Association of Rotary Clubs at the first convention. |
| 1911-13 |
Clubs formed in Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland; organization name changes to International Association of Rotary Clubs. |
| 1915-16 |
Club chartered in Cuba, the first non-English-speaking Rotary country. |
| 1916-17 |
President Arch Klumph proposes establishing an endowment fund, precursor of The Rotary Foundation. |
| 1942-43 |
Rotary conference in London on education and cultural exchange sets stage for UNESCO. |
| 1945-46 |
Forty-nine Rotarians help draft the UN charter. |
| 1946-47 |
Founder Paul Harris dies in Chicago; outpouring of funds from Rotarians used to establish fellowship program. |
| 1948-49 |
First 18 Rotary Fellows study abroad, a precursor of Ambassadorial Scholars. |
| 1962-63 |
First Interact club formed in Melbourne, Florida, USA. World Community Service program launched. |
| 1965-66 |
Special Grants (now Matching Grants) and Group Study Exchange programs begin. |
| 1968-69 |
Rotaract program launched. |
| 1979-80 |
Foundation grant to immunize six million Philippine children against polio sets stage for PolioPlus. |
| 1984-85 |
Rotary launches PolioPlus program and campaigns to raise US$120 million to immunize all the children of the world. |
| 1987-88 |
Through the PolioPlus campaign, Rotarians raise US$247 million. First women join Rotary. |
| 1988-89 |
Rotary returns to Hungary and Poland. |
| 1994-95 |
Western Hemisphere declared polio-free. |
| 1998-99 |
Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution established. |
| 2000-01 |
Western Pacific region declared polio-free. |
| 2001-02 |
Europe declared polio-free. |
| 2002-03 |
Rotary launches a second polio eradication fundraising campaign to help fill a critical funding need. Rotarians raise over US$129 million. |
| 2004-05 |
Clubs celebrate Rotarys centennial by launching hundreds of Centennial Community Projects and contributing thousands of volunteer hours. |
| 2005-06 |
Rotary opens extension to China and Cuba. |
