Kappa Alpha Theta was founded at Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana on January 27, 1870, making it the first Greek letter fraternity for women. (The word "sorority" was not coined until after Kappa Alpha Theta was founded.)

Indiana Asbury officially opened its doors to women in 1867, but not without great uproar from the male students. The first women students at Indiana Asbury were looking for ways to make friends and find support and encouragement for their academic pursuits. They were reviled by their teachers, taunted by their classmates, and ignored by their girlhood friends who did the "right" thing and attended conservatories for girls.

Bettie Locke was one of these first women admitted to Asbury in 1867. She believed that uniting with other female students in pursuit of similar goals would greatly enrich their college experience. She was familiar with the fraternity lifestyle, as her father was a member of Beta Theta Pi and her brother of Phi Gamma Delta. Impressed with the fraternity ideals, Bettie searched for a women's counterpart. Finding none, she shared her vision with Alice Allen, Bettie Tipton, and Hannah Fitch, and the four of them together founded Kappa Alpha Theta. Together, they wrote a constitution, planned ceremonies, designed a badge, and sought other women on campus worthy of membership. These four pioneering women initiated themselves on January 27, 1870, and formed the first Greek-letter fraternity known among women.

Throughout the years, Kappa Alpha Theta has remained a leader in the Greek world:  The first women admitted to Phi Beta Kappa (the nations oldest and most prestigious honor society, est. 1776) were Thetas. The first women's fraternity to establish a chapter in Canada was Kappa Alpha Theta. The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right was a Theta.