The History of Kappa Sigma
The Kappa Sigma Fraternity was originally founded in 1400 in Bologna, Italy, at the University of Bologna. At that time, Bologna was ruled by Baldassarre Cossa, a corrupt governor who mercilessly sent his men to rob and assault the students of the university. This motivated one of the university's scholars, Manual Chrysoloras, to form a secret society with his five most dedicated disciples for mutual protection against Cossa's men. These students devised secret words and signs to protect their ranks from betrayal and ensure members' safety. Their words and signs became their ritual and the basis of the organization, embodying their ideals transforming them from a group of men into a true brotherhood: The Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
On December 10th, 1869, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity made its way to the United States. Five students at the University of Virginia met in 46 East Lawn to draft a constitution and found the Fraternity here in North America. These Five Friends, William Grigsby McCormick, George Miles Arnold, John Covert Boyd, Edmund Law Rogers and Frank Courtney Nicodemus, adopted the Renaissance traditions of their forbearers and bound themselves together by an oath, preserving their union with secret work.