Leadership

Harper & Brothers in New York publishes the book Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville.

Louis Pasteur invents pasteurization.

SAE holds first national convention. Although the Fraternity has eight chapters, only four attend the convention.

369 SAEs fight for the Confederacy while seven serve in the Union Army. 70 SAEs die during the conflict.

General Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox, marking the end of the Civil War.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon holds its first post-war convention. The convention includes five chapters.

After 10 years of construction, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean and Red seas.

The first U.S. national park, Yellowstone, is created.

The Panic of 1873 occurs, triggering an economic depression that lasted until 1879

The Kentucky Military Institute chapter expresses concern about the future of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Thomas Edison invents the lightbulb.

Fraternity magazine The Record is published for the first time.

President James A. Garfield is assassinated.

The first steel-wire suspension bridge is constructed in New York City.

Mark Twain writes a novel called Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The Bunting campaign to expand SAE chapters launches, eventually doubling the number of chapters.

Brothers Harry and George Bunting launch a secret publication called The Hustler.

Billy Levere is initiated at the Northwestern University chapter of SAE.

Uniform badges are introduced. Later pins were modeled after the SAE badge.

The United States Supreme Court issues a ruling on Plessy v. Ferguson, establishing the separate but equal doctrine.

William McKinley is inaugurated as the 25th President of the United States.

The signing of the Paris Treaty led to the end of the Spanish-American War.

Billy Levere is elected as Eminent Supreme Deputy Archon. Two years later he's elected Eminent Supreme Archon.

Theodore Roosevelt becomes U.S. president after William McKinley dies.

The Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series played in Major League Baseball.

Ford begins producing the Model T.

Billy Levere publishes three-volume History of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

British ocean liner Titanic sinks.

World War I begins after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

More than 8,000 SAEs join call to arms for World War I. Billy Levere joins the YMCA to help support the troops.

Walt Disney produces his first animated cartoon series, The Alice Comedies.

The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized sound, is released.

Ground is broken for the construction of the Fraternity's national headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

The Levere Memorial Temple, the Gothic structure housing the headquarters, is dedicated.

New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt defeats incumbent Herbert Hoover to become U.S. President.

The ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment repeals the Eighteenth Amendment, ending alcohol prohibition in the United States.

SAE opens its first Leadership School, a short-term training program for undergraduates.

World War II begins.

The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to enter World War II.

World War II ends in Europe after the Yalta Conference, and in Asia with the occupation of Japan.

The U.S. and 11 other Western nations form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Korean War begins when Communist North Korean forces invade South Korea.

Scientists solve the structure of DNA, the hereditary material in humans.

SAE marks centennial with 139 active chapters.

Sputnik, a Soviet satellite, is launched, beginning the Space Age.

The Beatles, widely regarded as the most influential rock n roll band, form in Liverpool.

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.

Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis.

The permanent Collegiate Council is created to increase undergraduate participation in Fraternity governance.

Police arrest men attempting to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters, marking the beginning of the Watergate scandal.

The Era of Levere, a history of the Fraternity from 1910 to 1970, is published by Joseph W. Walt.

Facing impeachment charges, President Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to resign.

Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, is captured, ending the Vietnam War.

SAE withdraws from the National Interfraternity Conference.

The Levere Memorial Temple marks its 50th Anniversary.

MTV is launched featuring popular music videos.

Two pledges are initiated in Greece, the first initiations ever by a Greek-letter society in Greece.

The Challenger Shuttle explodes after launch.

Demolition begins on the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin.

Little Sisters of Minerva, an auxiliary collegiate women's group, is banned.

The first SAE chapter in Canada is established at the University of Western Ontario.

Dolly the sheep is the first mammal cloned.

American robotic spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars.

SAE is divided into three parts: the Fraternity, the Foundation and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Financial and Housing Corporation.

Apple releases the iPod.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon celebrates its Sesquicentennial.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the Harry Potter series, is released.

Americans elect the first African-American President.

The Record is voted Greek Magazine of the Year, after earning 80 awards for excellence over the previous decade.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon eliminates pledging.

In an effort to increase support for minority groups, SAE hires a Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

The Chicago Cubs win the World Series, ending a 108-year championship drought.

Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba for decades, dies at 90.