This Week in History
1863 January 26 | Early Action in Founding of the Union League Invitations are sent for the initial organizational meeting of the Club, to occur four days later.
1820 January 26 | George Templeton Strong is Born George Templeton Strong is born. A founder of the Union League Club, Strong is a tireless champion of the Union cause and his diary found in 1933 provides a window into the turmoil of the Civil War in New York City.
1843 January 29 | William McKinley is Born Honorary club member, President William McKinley is born. McKinley is first elected President of the United States in 1896. During his campaign for re- election, he selects Club member and Governor of New York Theodore Roosevelt as his vice-president. The Club today proudly displays a campaign banner promoting their ticket. Sadly, President McKinley is assassinated in 1901.
1863 January 30 | Meeting Held to Form a National Club The initial organizational meeting of the Club is held at 8 p.m. at the home of Dr. Wolcott Gibbs at 59 East 29th Street. A Committee of Three forms to plan a proposed National Club and to also consider establishing an affiliated organization for the same object throughout the country.
1882 January 30 | Henry Bellows Dies Reverend Henry Whitney Bellows, president of the United States Sanitary Commission, dies. The Sanitary Commission is the major source of aid for wounded Union soldiers. A regular Union League Club member since 1863, Reverend Bellows is granted honorary membership in 1880, as was a past custom of the Club to recognize particular members for their contributions to the Club and the nation.
1863 January 31 | Meetings to Form a Club Continue An invitation to a second meeting on club formation is circulated. Frederick Law Olmstead writes Wolcott Gibbs that “Now is the time to drive that sort of thing home.”
1931 January 31 | Moving Day to the Present Clubhouse The move to our present clubhouse begins. The decision to move is made in 1929, and the corner stone of the new building is laid in 1930, and by the second week in February 1931, the members are settled in present quarters.