Knight Commanders

Horace Henry White

13th Knight Commander

Chi–Vanderbilt University, 1883

Credited with choosing Kappa Alpha’s colors, White was a key member of the early Order.  He was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, in 1864 and as a chapter member of Chi, was initiated on April 9, 1883.  He served as associate editor, business manager, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal from 1885 to 1887 and Grand Historian from 1887 to September 13, 1889, when he was elected Knight Commander.  With W.M. Dupuy, he edited the constitution and ritual of 1886.  before being elected to the highest office, he founded Alpha Iota Chapter and helped found Alpha Gamma.  During his tenure, he chartered four active chapters, two alumni chapters, and one state association.  The catalogue of 1891 also appeared during his term.  White was elected Chairman of the Advisory Board in 1891, selected for the Council Of Honor, and served as President of the 1897  Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.    He was the leading spirit of the Atlanta Convention in 1903 and the New Orleans Convention in 1911.  In 1903 White, S.Z. Ammen, and Paul I. Murrill were appointed on the constitutional revision committee and he also served on the Electoral Commission from that year until 1912.  A resident of Alexandria, Louisiana, White was an attorney.  He died on October 13, 1946.