On September 11, 1893, Swami Vivekananda rose at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago and opened with “Sisters and brothers of America.” The audience is reported to have given him a standing ovation of two minutes.
The record is less certain than the legend. A Chorus of Faith, an early book on the Parliament, does not mention the phrase, and the reaction may have grown in the retelling. Indian leaders still recall the speech on its anniversary.