Definition of Rotary
Rotary is an
organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who
provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical 
standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the
world.
There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 27,000 Rotary clubs in 158 countries and geographical areas.
A brief history
Rotary's first day and the years that followed...
February 23, 1905. The airplane had yet to stay aloft more than a few
minutes. The first motion picture theater had not yet opened. Norway and
Sweden were peacefully terminating their union. On this particular day,
a Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called three friends to a meeting.
What he had in mind was a club that would kindle fellowship among
members of the business community. It was an idea that grew from his
desire to find within the large city the kind of friendly spirit that he
knew in the villages where he had grown up.
The four businessmen didn't decide then and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club. As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name. Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem. It was the precursor of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30 members.
The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away from Chicago in San Francisco, California. It was a much shorter leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, California, where the third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York. Rotary became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. By 1921 the organization was represented on every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.