Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (1879)/Sigma Delta Pi
This society, called also the “Vitruvian,” was founded at Dartmouth College, in 1858, by members of the class of 1862, in the scientific department. The founders were Augustus Livingstone, Wm. H. Fessenden, Henry L. Bartholomew, W. U. Potter, John A. Staples, and Charles W. Thompson. The chapter was called the “Alpha,” and wvas established mainly by the efforts of Prof. I. S. Woodman.
It rapidly grew in favor and number, and soon rivalled the other fraternities in the college as regards membership. For a long time it possessed no hall, and meetings were held in the rooms of the members, but now it is in a flourishing condition.
Charters have been granted to two other colleges, so that its roll is now as follows:
- Alpha, Dartmouth College, 1858.
- Beta, Cornell University, 1871 (died 1874).
- Gamma, Wooster University, 1873 (died 1877).
The two outside chapters, however, having now ceased to exist, it remains at Dartmouth as a local society.
John H. Eastman, of the United States Naval Observatory, Frank A. Sherman, Professor at Dartmouth, L. E. Cropsey, ex-United States Consul at Chemnitz, and Robert L. Read, of the “Cincinnati Enquirer,” are among the names of its prominent alumni.
The badge is a gold shield, on which is an enclosed shield-shaped space, displaying a sextant; above the sextant are the letters “S. D. P.” and, below, “S” and “D” on either side of a clinched hand. Above the shield is a scro11, upon which is the date “1858,” and, below, a similar scroll bears the name “Dartmouth.”
The total membership to date is about 290.