The story of the Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma is also the story of the founding of the Fraternity itself. Phi Kappa Sigma was founded by Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell at the University of Pennsylvania on August 16, 1850. Between August 16 and October 19, 1850, Mitchell sought 6 other men to constitute the Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma. The formal organization of the Alpha chapter occurred at the house of James Bayard Hodge on October 19, 1850. While the official founding date of the Fraternity is August 16, 1850, Phi Kappa Sigma celebrates "Founder's Day" on October 19 as a commemoration of the establishment of the Alpha Chapter.

Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell, born August 16, 1828, attained a high level of achievement at the University of Pennsylvania, earning B.A., M.A., and M.D. degrees. Inspired by the national trend in Universities, Mitchell was fascinated by the prospect of fraternal relations with his fellowmen and sought to create a separate fraternity at the University of Pennsylvania.

In the autumn of 1849, when Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell matriculated in the sophomore class at Penn directly after his graduation from Central High School in Philadelphia, the Delta Phi Fraternity established at chapter at Penn. The following summer, a chapter of the Zeta Psi Fraternity also established itself on the campus. It is likely that the establishment of these two chapters at Penn inspired Mitchell to formulate ideals of Phi Kappa Sigma: good fellowship; scholarly pursuit of knowledge; and the cultivation of genteelness all combined into a life long bond.

The idea of creating a new Fraternity on Penn's campus was first recorded in Mitchell's personal papers on August 16, 1850 (his 22nd birthday). This date signifies not only the birth of our founder and fraternity, but also as fate would have it, Mitchell's death on August 16, 1879. By the fall term of the 1850, Mitchell had developed the basic tenets of the Phi Kappa Sigma. These included a Constitution and Ritual, the order's name, and the design of the membership badge: a Maltese cross supporting the six-pointed star, the letters Phi, Kappa, Sigma, and the Skull and Bones. No modifications except in size have been made to the membership badge since.

After formulating his ideas about the Fraternity, Mitchell began to recruit ambitious young men like himself in order to realize his vision. Mitchell communicated his ideas to Charles Hare Hutchinson who in turn expressed these ideas to Alfred Victor duPont, John Thorn Stone, Andrew Adams Ripka, James Bayard Hodge, and Duane Williams. These are some of the same names that you see on Penn's buildings around the campus (Williams Hall and Hutchinson Gymnasium). It was these seven men, with Mitchell as their leader, who organized the Alpha Chapter and officially founded Phi Kappa Sigma on October 19th, 1850.

Through the years since our founding, the Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma has grown in strength and in number. Our house was built on what was then a side road to Penn's campus in 1910. Today it stands in the heart of one of the world's best universities. Our proud tradition has included influential businessmen, political figures, athletic legends, and entertainment moguls. But regardless of that, each member remembers "Once a Phi Kap, always a Phi Kap."