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Politics and Activism

Famous Alumni: Fraternity Edition

18

Did you know that since 1825, all but three presidents have been Greek? Not to mention that 85 percent of U.S. Supreme Court justices were fraternity men; and historically, 76 percent of US Senators were also Greek. These statistics just confirmed something we already knew: great people go Greek.

 If you’re trying to capture the heart of a future politician, try citing some of your political alums listed below to show them what your chapter has to offer.

Alpha Gamma Rho

Earl Butz (1909-2008). Secretary of Agriculture.

Not so fun fact: Butz had to resign from his position after making an offensive comment.


Alpha Phi Alpha

Edward R. Dudley (1911-2005). U.S. Ambassador to Liberia.

Fun Fact: He was the first African American to serve as a U.S. ambassador.


Alpha Sigma Pi

Ross Swimmer (1943-present). Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Fun Fact: He’s an Oklahoma native and a Principal Chief for the Cherokee Nation.

Alpha Tau Omega

Robert Latham Owen (1856-1947). U.S. Senator for Oklahoma.

Fun Fact: He was one of the first two senators from Oklahoma.


Beta Theta Pi               

Don Nickels (1948-present). US Senator for Oklahoma.

Fun Fact: He graduated from Oklahoma State in 1971.


Delta Kappa Epsilon

George W Bush (1946-present). 43rd U.S. President.

Fun Fact: DKE has been home to five U.S. presidents.


Delta Tau Delta

Brad Henry (1963-present). Governor of Oklahoma.

Fun Fact: He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma.


FarmHouse

Clayton Yeutter (1930-present). Secretary of Agriculture.

Fun Fact: His last name is pronounced “yigh-ter,” like “fighter”.


Kappa Alpha Order

Carl Albert (1908-2000). 54th Speaker of the House.

Fun Fact: He was only five feet and four inches tall, so many affectionately titled him as the “Little Giant from Little Dixie."


Kappa Sigma

Paul Patton (1937-present). Governor of Kentucky.

Fun Fact: Over the span of nearly 200 years, Patton was the only Kentucky governor to serve two consecutive terms.


Lambda Chi Alpha

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972). 33rd U.S. President.

Fun Fact: His middle name is just the letter “S” because his parents couldn’t agree on whether to have the middle name Solomon, after his maternal grandfather, or Shippe after his paternal grandfather.


Phi Delta Theta

James Baker (1930-present). Secretary of State.

Fun Fact: He served as the Chief of Staff for  President Ronald Reagan and President George. H. W. Bush.


Phi Gamma Delta

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933). 30th U.S. President.

Fun Fact: He was born on July 4. 


Phi Kappa Tau

Thomas C. Sawyer (1945-present). U.S. House of Representatives for Ohio.

Not so fun fact: He was expelled his senior year of high school for academic dishonesty.


Kappa Alpha Psi

Adrian Fenty (1970-present). Mayor of Washigton, D.C.

Fun fact: He’s an amateur triathlete and runner.


Pi Kappa Alpha

Strom Thurmond (1902-2003). U.S. Senator for South Carolina.

Fun Fact: He served as a senator for 48 years.


Sigma Alpha Epsilon

William McKinley (1841-1901). 25th U.S. President.

Fun Fact: After being shot, McKinley called off the mob attacking his assassinator, likely saving his murderer’s life.


Sigma Chi

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). 22nd and 24th U.S. President.

Fun Fact: He is the only president to serve two, non-consecutive terms.


Sigma Nu

Lloyd Bentsen (1921-2006). U.S. Senator for Texas.

Fun Fact: He received the presidential Medal of Freedom.


Sigma Phi Epsilon

Ron Brown (1941-1996). U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Not so fun fact: He died in a plane crash, along with 34 others.


Sigma Pi

Emory Swank (1922-2010). U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia.

Fun Fact: He survived an assassination attempt while in Cambodia.


Tau Kappa Epsilon

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). 40th U.S. President.

Fun Fact: Reagan is the only U.S. president to get a divorce.


Theta Chi

Randall L. Tobias (1942-present). Administrator of the U.S. Agency of International Development.

Fun Fact: He became the first US Director of Foreign Assistance


To the ladies of Pi Beta Phi:

I am so sorry for leaving you out of last week's article! Let's just go with the fact that you're actually a Fraternity for Women and pretend it was intentional.

Pi Phi

Helen Eugenie Moore Anderson (1909-1997)

US Ambassador to Denmark

Fun Fact: She was the first female ambassador.

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