Mind-Benders of Hindu History
A Hindu society opened in Manhattan in 1894
After speaking at the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, the Bengali monk Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) stayed on in America and, in November 1894, founded the Vedanta Society of New York in two rented rooms on West 33rd Street. It is documented as the first Hindu organization established in the United States, and it remains active today, more than 130 years later.
How we know
Vedanta Society of New York founded by Swami Vivekananda (b. Jan 12, 1863 - d. July 4, 1902) in Nov. 1894 at 54 West 33rd St., Manhattan, after his Sept. 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions address; documented as the first Hindu organization in the US, still operating in 2026.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.