About Delphian

How We Began

The National Delphian Society was founded in Chicago around 1910 to promote women's education in the arts, literature and history. Following the formation of the society, several chapters formed across the U.S. including a local chapter in San Jose. Small group discussions were held twice monthly across the United States and followed a specific curriculum to be completed over a six year period.

On January 30, 1931, the San Jose chapter received their Charter from the national organization with seventy-nine founding members. Their goal was to promote higher education, personal improvement, and social progress. Seeking more flexibility and autonomy, San Jose separated from the national orgnization in 1939 and became The Delphian Study Club. This spilt allowed members the ability to chart their own study course based on subjects of interest and speakers of their choice.

Learn more about our past by viewing our archives held at the San Jose State University Library and through other resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphian_Society https://cdn.calisphere.org › data › 13030 › m5 › kt6q2nf4m5 › files › kt6q2nf4m5.pdf https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6q2nf4m5/ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6q2nf4m5/dsc/ https://libguides.sjsu.edu/womenshistory/svwomen https://snaccooperative.org/view/14979397 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00947679.2019.1603055. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/speccoll_archives/15/ https://journalism-history.org/2019/08/20/webb-delphiansociety/

https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/events/66b41b2842fa12abcec9a5b1