August 13, 1839, was Commencement Day at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Five days earlier, on August 8, at the first official meeting, eight young men established Beta Theta Pi, the first men’s fraternity founded west of the Allegheny Mountains. The men, “of ever honored memory” were John Reily Knox, Michael Clarkson Ryan, David Linton, Samuel Taylor Marshall, James George Smith, Charles Henry Hardin, John Holt Duncan, and Thomas Boston Gordon. The first three were members of the Class of 1839.
Miami University was founded in 1809 but it was 1826 before it conferred its first baccalaureate degree. From 1826 through 1839, there were 222 graduates, they were all male, as Miami was not yet coeducational.
The Beta Theta Pi chapter became inactive in January of 1848 due to the “Snowball Rebellion.” It was the goal of Erasmus D. McMaster, Miami’s president, to rid the institution of the fraternities and a decree came down from the university banning them from the institution. The students rebelled. It snowed heavily, as it often does in Ohio in winter. To protest his decision, the main entrance was blocked off and a dozen or more huge snowballs found their way to the first floor of Old Main. McMaster was livid! He was determined to expel the men involved. The second chapter of Alpha Delta Phi had been founded at Miami in 1833. At the time of McMaster’s edict, they were the only two national groups on campus.
On the following evening, the rebellion continued. Doors were nailed shut, and Old Main was filled with snow. McMaster cancelled classes for a week and began disciplinary proceedings. All but nine seniors and five juniors were expelled from the University.
Three of the men were admitted to Centre College in Kentucky and founded the Epsilon chapter. That spring, the two remaining members left. The Alpha chapter did not come back to life until 1855. Miami University’s decision to fire McMaster due to the loss in critical revenue resulted in a change of course for the institution regarding Greek-letter organizations. The story of Miami University’s role in the history of the fraternity movement is a rich one, but it will have to wait until another day. Happy Birthday to the first of the Miami Triad!
I love this map and it relates to Beta’s founding.This is what the country looked like in 1839 when Beta was founded. It’s from a copy of the Son of the Stars:A Manual for Pledges of Beta Theta Pi, by G. Herbert Smith, President of the Fraternity, 1947. The top legend states “The Fraternities in 1839” and the bottom one reads “the United States and Territories in 1839 when Beta Theta Pi was established showing the colleges with fraternity chapters.”
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com. 2013. All Rights Reserved.
