The Chestertonians were a group of people, primarily academics, interested in the life and works of G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). The organization was founded in 1979 and appears to have been most active from 1979-1981, although some correspondence and activities extend beyond this date, including bringing Stanley L. Jaki to Notre Dame in 1983. The group was led and founded by Rufus William Rauch (1904-1988), an Emeritus Professor of English at Notre Dame (active faculty from 1927-1970). Other leading members included honorary chairman John Bennet Shaw and secretary Anton Masin, head of Notre Dame’s Department of Special Collections. While the Chestertonians were not formally affiliated with Notre Dame, most of its members were University faculty and staff from English, Philosophy, Theology, and the Library, and many of the groups events were held on campus.The Chestertonians met regularly to discuss various aspects of Chesterton’s work and, in 1980, they organized and hosted a Chesterton Celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of Chesterton’s semester at Notre Dame, the proceedings of which were later published as a collection of essays: “Chesterton Celebration at the University of Notre Dame,” ed. Rufus Rauch, UND Press, 1983.