History of Lambda DKE
The Lambda Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was first established at Kenyon College in June of 1852. The founding of the Deke Chapter marked the first appearance of Greeks at Kenyon, and the actives met in secret from the college community for several years because of the ban on secret societies on campus. Eventually, the ban was repealed and the members were allowed to wear their pins publicly and meet formally. The Lambda lodge, pictured here, was built in 1854 as a meeting place for the fraternity, the first of its kind in the United States. The West Wing of Old Kenyon has been home to Lambda Dekes for over one hundred and fifty years. In February of 1949, a fire started in Old Kenyon and burned the building to the ground. Dekes and members of Alpha Delta Phi helped to evacuate the building, and they were given Old Kenyon as a residence in gratitude for their service to the College.
Lambda chapter built the first fraternity lodge in America, seen here.
HISTORY of DKE
Each year at Yale University during the 1840's, certain members of the sophomore class were elected to two junior societies, Alpha Delta Phi and Psi Upsilon. In the spring of 1844, due to undergraduate politics and a division in the sophomore class, a number of men of high character and scholastic attainment did not receive bids from the two societies. So unfair, in fact, were the selections that some men who did receive bids promptly rejected them.
On Saturday, June 22, 1844, fifteen Yale sophomores, rejecting the status quo, met and formed a new junior society which they called Delta Kappa Epsilon. Very quickly DKE became more than just another junior society. Its predecessors' criterion of academic distinction, while still highly respected, was expanded to include the qualities of good fellowship and compatible tastes and interests and thus attracted a wider range of prospective members. More fraternal than its rival societies, DKE proceeded to recruit men who combine "in equal proportions the gentleman, the scholar, and the jolly good fellow" -- criteria which have remained unchanged to this day.
We are proud of our fraternity and the more than 70,000 men who have become
our brothers since DKE was founded in 1844. Dekes come from every w
alk of life.
Many have gone on to distinguish themselves in politics, the arts, sciences,
sports, education, and the humanities. Four U.S. Presidents have been Dekes,
the most of any fraternity. The first man to reach the North Pole was a Deke
and a Deke has carried our flag to the moon. In every corner of the world you
will meet fellow Dekes, but whatever their background or station in life, all
are united by the shared experience of membership in DKE.