Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" because of its relation to Erasmus of Formia with some chapters known almost exclusively by one of these names on their respective campuses. Delta Phi was, after the Kappa Alpha Society and Sigma Phi Society, the third and last member of the Union Triad. History Delta Phi was officially founded on November 17, 1827 at Union College by nine upperclassmen. Delta Phi and the other Union Triad fraternities were established during a time of strong Anti-Masonry sentiment in the United States and became targets of the Anti-Masonry movement. This led Phi Beta Kappa, the original fraternity, to abandon secrecy and become a strictly honor society. In the early 1830s, Dr. Eliphalet Nott, president of Union College, called for the dissolution of all fraternities. Before this policy could be enacted, John Jay Hyde, a member of Delta Phi, argued the benefits of the fraternity system so convincingly that Dr. Nott relented and permitted the organizations to remain in existence. Hyde went on to design the badge still worn by members of Delta Phi today, which includes a Maltese Cross, a symbol used by the Knights of Malta. This connection to the Knights of Malta led Delta Phi to become known as "St. Elmo", a name first used by the Omicron chapter at Yale, which since has transformed into a senior secret society known as St. Elmo Society that is no longer associated with Delta Phi. Beginning at some point shortly after the Omicron chapter's inception in 1889, the brothers there used the name of St. Elmo, the patron saint of mariners and the Knights of Malta. On some campuses, Delta Phi chapters are known almost exclusively as "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or simply "Elmo." Expansion In 1838, the Beta chapter of Delta Phi was founded at Brown University and Delta Phi finally became a “national” fraternity. Next, the Gamma chapter was established at New York University in 1841, followed quickly by the Delta chapter at Columbia University in 1842, the Epsilon chapter at Rutgers University and the Zeta chapter at Harvard University, both in 1845, and the Eta chapter at University of Pennsylvania in 1849. In 1844,