National Founding
Phi Kappa Psi was founded at Jefferson College (currently Washington & Jefferson College) in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on the grounds of "the great joy of serving others," our philanthropic motto. A typhoid epidemic struck Jefferson's campus and many people fled the school. Some of the few that stayed to give aid to the sick students were William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore. While caring for those who had contracted the contagious disease, the two formed a strong and lasting bond. The following year, Letterman and Moore decided to create a fraternity based on the joy they gained from helping others. On February 19, 1852, Phi Kappa Psi was formed.