Editing Delta Gamma (section)

== History ==
Delta Gamma was founded as a fraternity in December 1873 at the [[Lewis School for Girls]] in [[Oxford, Mississippi]], near the [[University of Mississippi]].<ref name=":03" /> It was called a fraternity because the term "sorority" was not yet in use.<ref name=":03" /> The group's founders were [[Mary Comfort Leonard]], [[Eva Webb Dodd]], and [[Anna Boyd Ellington]].<ref name="Baird's Manual Online" /><ref name=":03" />

Delta Gamma's early growth was to women's colleges in the [[southern United States]]. Within a few years, it expanded into the [[northern United States]] and the East with the help of [[George Banta]], a member of [[Phi Delta Theta]] fraternity and Delta Gamma's only male initiate.<ref name="franbecque.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.franbecque.com/2013/01/24/george-banta-and-the-delta-gamma-phi-delta-theta-connection|title=George Banta and the Delta Gamma/Phi Delta Theta Connection &#124; Focus on Fraternity History & MoreFocus on Fraternity History & More|publisher=Franbecque.com|date=2013-01-24|access-date=2014-08-20|archive-date=2014-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101183804/http://www.franbecque.com/2013/01/24/george-banta-and-the-delta-gamma-phi-delta-theta-connection/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Baird's Manual Online" />

In 1882, Banta married Lillian Vawter, a Delta Gamma at [[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin College]].<ref name="phideltatheta.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.phideltatheta.org/2009/03/millers-meanderings-how-george-banta-sr-became-an-initiated-member-of-delta-gamma-sorority|title=Miller's Meanderings – Volume #1 &#124; Phi Delta Theta Fraternity |date=9 March 2009 |publisher=Phideltatheta.org|access-date=2014-08-20}}</ref> In his later years, Banta helped rewrite the Delta Gamma ritual.<ref name="phideltatheta.org" /> He frequently visited Delta Gamma conventions, often as a guest speaker. He gave his last speech in 1934, a year before his death.<ref name="franbecque.com" /> Because of Banta, Delta Gamma retains close historical ties with Phi Delta Theta.<ref name="phideltatheta.org" />

Delta Gamma was one of seven charter members of the [[National Panhellenic Conference]] when the first inter-sorority meeting was held in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], in 1891.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Adventure in Friendship: A History of the National Panhellenic Conference |url=https://npcwomen.dynamic.omegafi.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2037/2017/10/Adventure-in-Friendship-2017-Web.pdf |access-date=November 14, 2022 |website=National Panhellenic Conference}}</ref> Delta Gamma and the six other charter members formally joined the National Panhellenic Conference in 1902.

In 2013, Delta Gamma founded the #IAmASororityWoman campaign for members of any sorority to start conversations about what sorority women truly value to combat common stereotypes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deltagamma.org/library/ttdtdm/iamasororitywoman|title=#IAmASororityWoman|date=3 August 2018|website=DeltaGamma.org}}</ref> The organization's executive office is in [[Columbus, Ohio]].<ref name="Baird's Manual Online" />