About Alpha

First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All.

Our aims are Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind. Founded December 4, 1906 at Cornell University, Alpha is the first intercollegiate fraternity founded by African American men.

The Seven Jewels

Seven founders established Alpha at Cornell University in 1906.

Henry Arthur Callis

Became a physician and professor of medicine at Howard University. Known as the philosopher of the founders, he was the only Jewel to serve as General President. He died in 1974 at age 87.

Charles Henry Chapman

Became Professor of Agriculture at Florida A&M University and helped establish FAMU's Beta Nu Chapter. He was the first Jewel to pass away, in 1934.

Eugene Kinckle Jones

Served 20 years as the first Executive Secretary of the National Urban League. He organized the first three chapters beyond Cornell and helped create the Fraternity's name and ritual. He died in 1954.

George Biddle Kelley

Became the first African American registered engineer in New York. He was Alpha Chapter's first President and helped develop the handshake and ritual. He died in 1963.

Nathaniel Allison Murray

Completed graduate work and taught in Washington, D.C. public schools, primarily at Armstrong Vocational High School. He took part in the organizing committees and died in 1959.

Robert Harold Ogle

Worked as a secretary and served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. He proposed the Fraternity's colors and was Alpha Chapter's first secretary. He died in 1936.

Vertner Woodson Tandy

Became New York's first registered Black architect and designed the Fraternity pin. He was the first African American to pass the military commissioning examination and Alpha Chapter's first treasurer. He died in 1949.