History
Chi Psi was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles of a brotherhood. The 10 students' qualification for membership were simply embodied in one word: "gentleman". The 10 founding members were: Philip Spencer (later hanged on charges of mutiny aboard the brig USS Somers), Robert Heyward McFaddin, Jacob Henry Farrell, John Brush Jr., Samuel Titus Taber, James Lafayette Witherspoon (cousin of McFaddin), William Force Terhune, Alexander Peter Berthoud, James Chatham Duane, and Patrick Upshaw Major. Spencer designed the Chi Psi badge, while Terhune was considered the 'poet' writing the rites of initiation.
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