Senior Historian, advisor, RGHF AMBASSADOR,  and contributor: Basil Lewis: Education Adviser (retired and currently working for BBC Radio); RC of Humberside D1270; District PRO 1993-1998, RIBI Communications Committee 1996-7. Sometime columnist RIBI magazine 'Rotary'; International Genealogy and Heraldry Fellowship of Rotarians (IGHFR) RIBI Branch Secretary and Newsletter Editor 1995-2001, International President IGHFR  2002 - 2005.  www.1905society.org 2007

 

Author of 'Paul Harris in Britain' available at a now discounted price 10 dollars for US. 5 pounds for UK and equivalent elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basil has been a contributor to the Rotary History Project since 2002. Lewis became a contributor to this archive in 2005.

 

"The origins and development of the Rotary movement are important in a full understanding of our present world position. It is only in such an understanding that we can move into a relevant future. This project seeks to encapsulate the evolution of the whole of Rotary in a way no book or other medium has done so effectively before."

Left - Basil Lewis at the 2004 Osaka Convention booth

This page was edited on Monday, April 21, 2008

• Basil Lewis Essays

• Early Leaders of Rotary

  • "The First President of Rotary" Silvester Schiele

    • The seven Schiele brothers in a pre-1900 photo

  • What did Abe Lincoln, his assassin John Wilkes Booth and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have in common? And how did former RI president Arch Klumph get involved?

  • Another "Early Leader" who sold membership and brought Rotary across the sea.

  • Background on Hiram Elmer Shorey

  • The obituary of founding member Hiram Shorey and a "Horse Story."

  • Ches Perry and Rufus Chapin - Rotary's First Secretary and First Treasurer

  • The "Gang of Four" (Harris, Schiele, Loehr and Shorey - plus #5 Ruggles)

    • Gus Loehr, background and his death

  • Jim Davidson

    • Davidson goes to Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine

• Presidents of Rotary

  • Paul P. Harris 1910-12

    • Paul Harris in England, by Basil Lewis

    • The Paul Harris "study" maintained by Rotary International at its headquarters in Evanston, IL, USA

    • What Paul Harris was telling clubs in England and Europe in 1928

    • The "Rawlins Survey" and how Rotary may have became non political

    • Paul Harris on the "Mayflower?"

    • Paul Harris in Britain (early RIBI article)

    • Paul and Jean visit Wallingford, England

    • History of the Wallingford Club

    • Paul Harris' Signature

    • The publisher of Harris' third book, "My Road to Rotary"

    • Paul Harris' office, now in Evanston

      • A special gift of a painting from RC of Cheltenham Spa, UK

    • Harris and Perry listen to the RIBI-RI difficulties in 1934

    • The tale of a photo (?) of Paul Harris

    • Reference to the Victor Hugo autographs

    • The Paul Harris "Study" project

    • British Memorial Service

    • The Founder's visits

      • Liverpool

      • Manchester

      • London

      • Glasgow

      • Dublin

      • Belfast

      • Edinburgh

      • Newcastle

      • Douglas, Isle of Man

  • Bill Huntley 1994-95

    • The interesting story of UK's RI president Bill Huntley and his presidential year theme.

    • Remembering Bill Huntley

• Conventions of Rotary

  • 1910 Chicago

    • Story of the official car

  • 1930 Chicago

• Women in Rotary

  • Women in 1912?

  • Women's Auxiliaries

• General History

  • Genealogy contributions http://www.rotarylibrary.org/genealogy/

    • Jean Thomson Harris' Parents

  • Early critics of Rotary. http://www.rotarylibrary.org/critics.htm

  • Issues of Club Business

    • Do Rotarians everywhere sing?

    • Do all clubs meet every week?

    • The question of extending new clubs

      • "Why One Only"

    • Rotary the World Over - types of clubs/meetings

  • Famous Rotarians

    • Harlan Sanders (Kentucky Colonel)

    • British Stage Stars of Rotary

    • SIR NIGEL GRESLEY

      • Rotary and the Railroads

  • Rotary during global conflicts

    • Rotary in World War I

    • Onset of World War II

    • End of World War II

    • The Outpost Club of Rotary in England

    • Revival of Rotary in Estonia

  • Friendship Trees

    • The first tree, according to Walsh

    • Trees in the "Harris Study"

  • Other Organizations

    • Free Masonry

      • Rotary "Lodge" #4195

    • Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

• Region History

  • History of Rotary in Australia

    • AN ENQUIRY LEADING TO A LINK BETWEEN THE UK AND AUSTRALIA: TEN POUND POMS

  • History of Rotary in Europe

  • History of Rotary in Poland

  • History of Rotary in Russia

    • Re-entry of Russia

  • ROTARY IN BELARUS (BYELO-RUSSIA)

  • Rotary Club of Liechtenstein, the First Club of Liechtenstein
  • Rotary Club of Luxembourg, the First Club of Luxembourg

• The early clubs

  • DISTRICTING IN RIBI, amended 3 August 2006

    • RI RIBI Peace Initiative

  • Early notes to Australia from President Greiner and Secretary Perry

  • How clubs are chartered and numbers? Notes on the UK & Ireland

  • The Allied Rotary Club of France Where America's World War One Soldiers gathered

  • Rotaryclubhistory?  "#100" -- was there more than one?

  • 13 Kansas City "Stand Together Club"

  • 50 London

    • Early Clubs of London

  • 60 Glasgow

    • Harry Lauder, Glasgow's famous Rotarian

  • 66 Manchester UK

  • Birmingham, UK

  • Brighton, UK

  • Newcastle, UK

  • Battersea, UK 1926, home of RIP Carter 1973

  • The formation of RC of Tokyo, the war and reconstruction

  • Wolverhampton

    • The constitutional "vacation" issue

  • Amsterdam, Holland

  • Hilversum, Netherlands. Home of RI President C. P. H. Teenstra 1965-66

  • First Club in community of less than 25,000 "Galesburg"

• First Club of Rotary Countries (Also see Terminated Clubs)

  • Sofia, First Club of Bulgaria

  • Praha (Prague) first of Czechoslovakia 1925

    • History of Rotary in Czechoslovakia

  • Cardiff, First Club of Wales (1917)

    • Paul Harris Visits Cardiff

  • Isle of Man (first club of country) (including a visit from Paul Harris)

  • Åland  Islands – Mariehamn

  • Kenya – Nairobi

  • Zimbabwe – Harare

  • Channel Islands – Guernsey

  • Rotary Club of Tallinn, the First Club of Estonia

  • Rotary Clubs of Kaunas & Vilnius, the First Clubs of Lithuania

  • Rotary Club of Riga, the First Club of Latvia

  • Rotary Club of Bucharest, the First Club of Romania

    • Letter from Harris to an RID from Bucharest

  • Rotary Club of Budapest, the First Club of Hungary

  • Rotary Club of Belgrade, the First Club of Yugoslavia

  • Rotary Club of Nanking, first club of Nanking

• District Histories

  • D1090 UK

  • D1110 UK

  • D1130 UK, partial

  • D1170 UK

  • D1230 UK

  • D1270 UK

• Histories of Global Networking Groups

  • Esperanto

  • RGHF History