Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal organization, was founded in 1882 by Rev. Michael J. McGivney of New Haven, Conn., where the national headquarters of the order are still maintained. To be eligible for membership one must be eighteen years of age, a practical Catholic, and not engaged in or connected in any way with the liquor business. The basic principles of the order are "charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism." Local lodges or societies are called councils. Four locals in a state may form a state council, and delegates from the several state councils constitute the national council. In 1910 there were about 1,400 local councils in the United States, with the membership of 250,000, and the benefits disbursed since organization amounted to nearly $5,000,000.

The first council in Kansas, which was also the first west of the Missouri river, was organized at Topeka on Sept. 9, 1900, with 27 members. E. L. Mooney was elected grand knight; J. W. Gibbons, deputy grand knight; T. J. Coughlin, financial secretary; and Thomas Delahoyde, treasurer. At the same time P. J. Monaghan was appointed territorial deputy, his district extending from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean. The first state council met at Topeka in May, 1902, when P. J. Monaghan was elected the first state deputy, and T. J. Coughlin the first state secretary. In 1911 there were 46 local councils in the state, with a total membership of over 5,000.