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Daniel William Cooper's Sigma Phi badge.
Daniel William Cooper was born in September 1830 near Fredericktown, Ohio. He was 25 years old when he and the other six Founders founded Sigma Chi at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, 1855. Cooper is credited with contributing much to the spiritual content and nature of the Fraternity. Cooper was also the first Consul (president) of the Alpha Chapter until his graduation.
Cooper attended seminary after graduation and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. He was a pastor in many congregations in Ohio and engaged in special missionary service. In retirement, he lived for some years in the Southern United States, returning to Ohio where he spent his last years of his life with his son, James G. Cooper. Until he died in the early 1900s, Founder Cooper wore his original Sigma Phi badge; it can now be seen at the Sigma Chi Fraternity Headquarters museum. The original Sigma Phi badge is pinned on every newly-installed Grand Consul at each Grand Chapter, and the Grand Consul wears the replica badge for the duration of his term.
