Kappa Phi Lambda () was an American collegiate fraternity. It was founded on August 3, 1862 at Jefferson College in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

(now

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

). The founder was Jacob Janeway Belville. The fraternity's official badge consisted of a shield, with a balance, a sunburst, a mountain, and a pennant bearing the fraternity's letters. Chapters existed at Mount Union College,

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Monmouth College,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, Moore's Hill,

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

Westminster College (Pennsylvania) Westminster College is a private liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The student population is approximately 1,307 undergraduate and graduate students. Histo ...

, Western University of Pennsylvania. A national Kappa Phi Lambda convention was held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1867. Following that convention, the

chapter became disenchanted with the authoritarianism of the national leadership and joined the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

. Following dissolution in 1874, the Mount Union College chapter joined Delta Tau Delta, the

chapter joined Psi Upsilon, and the

chapter joined Sigma Chi. The last known chapter of Kappa Phi Lambda was at

. It operated sub-rosa until 1920, and petitioned

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

. In 1948, it became the ''Epsilon Pi'' chapter of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...

. Kappa Phi Lambda is considered one of the members of the "Jefferson Triad" of fraternities founded at Jefferson College, with the other two being Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Kappa Psi. However, with the demise of Kappa Phi Lambda, the remaining two fraternities are known as the

Jefferson Duo The term Triad is used to designate certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities and sororities, fraternities in North America. Union Triad The Union Triad is a group of the three oldest existing Greek-letter social fraternities in No ...

. Notable alumni include Robert M. Nevin, a Congressman from Ohio, who was known to wear his Kappa Phi Lambda pin.

Chapter list

These are the known chapters of Kappa Phi Lambda Fraternity. Chapter names are conjectural, from the order in Baird's Manual. The fraternity is dormant, while some chapters lived on as part of other fraternities.

References

{{reflist Student organizations established in 1862 1874 disestablishments Student societies in the United States Defunct fraternities and sororities 1862 establishments in Pennsylvania