Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

The mission of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity is to provide a comprehensive and positive personal growth experience for all undergraduate and alumni brothers: social, ethical, leadership, scholastic, community service, and literary.

When Samuel Eells arrived on campus at Hamilton College, he found two existing literary societies, the Phoenix and the Philopeuthian, the latter of which he reluctantly joined.

Eells proposed to select members from both the Phoenix and the Philopeuthian and found a new society of limited membership based on "the loftiest of intellectual and moral ideals.

The other men were Lorenzo Latham, John Curtiss Underwood, Oliver Andrew Morse and Henry Lemuel Storrs.

A Brother of Alpha Delta Phi, Hamilton W. Mabie (Williams College, class of 1867), was the first President of the NIC.

[2] The Badge is an oblong slab with rounded corners, displaying on a shield of black enamel a white Crescent bearing the letters Alpha Delta Phi.

The Crest, which is the coat of arms, consists of the shield or escutcheon divided vertically into equal parts of green and white.

On the shield in honor point are three Greek letters, horizontally aligned, alpha, delta, and phi in gold.

Beneath the escutcheon is a motto ribbon bearing the Latin phrase "Manus Multae Cor Unum", meaning "many hands, one heart".

The Brothers-in-Arms statue is a unique memorial to the 2,300 men of the fraternity, of Canada and the United States, who served in World War I, and especially for the 93 Brothers who made the supreme sacrifice.

[7] The University of Michigan's Peninsular chapter was founded on August 5, 1846, and is the oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity on the campus.

[8] Authorized on June 12, 1846, by the President of the Alpha Delta Phi, William Henry Goodrich (Yale 1843), seven members were the first of the chapter to be initiated as brothers.

In 1847, however, faculty at the university began barring class admission and expelling students who were members of secret societies.

[12] This three-story Tudor Revival style chapter house was designed by architect Ralph W. Varney, an Alpha Delta Phi brother.

[4] The mission of the 1832 Foundation is to solicit financial resources, provide faithful stewardship, and engage in high-quality ethical practices in support of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity and leadership development.

It accepts deductible donations from Alpha Delts and others and makes grants and loans to chapters, individuals, and institutions of higher learning.

The Board of Governors appoints Regional Directors to coordinate activities of interest to nearby chapters and alumni organizations.

The new agreement maintained the original rights of the two independent and legally separate organizations to license and share the Greek letters alpha, delta, and phi, and other intellectual property.