
As you may have noticed from our home page, many important people in US and World History were Freemasons. Below, you will find a few links to fellow lodges, who have taken the time to develop impressive lists of Freemasons.
Links:
http://www.la-mason.com/famous.htm
http://www.mastermason.com/daylight760/famous.htm
http://www.calodges.org/no406/FAMASONS.HTM
http://summit213.freemason.com/index.html
http://www.toledoaasr.com/famous.htm
http://www.masonicinfo.com/famous.htm
http://www.unitylodge.com/famousmasons.html
http://www.durham.net/~cedar/famous.html
http://www.edmond-mason.org/education/educationfamousmasons.htm
http://www.suburban740.org/famousmasons.htm
http://www.hoffmanlodge412.org/famous.htm
| Signers of the Declaration of Independance**: |
|---|
|
·
Benjamin
Franklin - 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S.
member of St. John's Lodge, Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Past
Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania ·
Elbridge
Gerry, member of Philanthropic Lodge, Marblehead, Massachusetts.
·
John
Hancock, made a Master Mason, at the age of 23, in 1760, in
Merchants Lodge No. 1, Quebec City, the first civilian Lodge established
in Canada after the Conquest. In 1763, he went to Boston, Massachusetts,
where he affiliated with St. Andrew's Lodge. ·
William
Hooper, member of Hanover Lodge, Masonborough, North Carolina.
·
Richard
Stockton, charter member, and first Master of St. John's Lodge,
Princeton, New Jersey. ·
Matthew
Thornton, made a Mason in a Lodge attached to a British Regiment
of Foot during the Siege of Louisburg, Canada, in 1745, serving in a New
Hampshire Colonial Regiment as a surgeon. Baron Von Steuben, while at
Valley Forge, is said to have conferred the higher Degrees on him and to
have been the only Signer who attained the 32nd Degree of the Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite. ·
George
Walton, member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.
·
William
Whipple, member of St. John%u2019s Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, New
Jersey. |
The
following named Signers have been referred to as members of the Fraternity by
various Masonic writers, and in Masonic publications, but their Lodge
affiliation is not known:
|
·
Roger
Sherman, claimed to have been made a Mason prior to the American
Revolution. A Masonic Apron said to be worn by him is in the collection at
Yale University. ·
Josiah
Bartlett, one so named is listed as a charter member of King
Solomon's Lodge, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Descendants, however, say he
was not a member of the Craft. There is doubt that this Bartlett is the
signer, and records of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts do not show his
Lodge affiliation. ·
Philip
Livingston, often referred to as a Mason, but this is open to
debate. Records of the Grand Lodge of New York do not disclose his name.
Several members, named Livingston, are noted in the records of Holland
Lodge No. 8, New York City, New York. ·
Joseph
Hewes, Records of Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Edenton, North Carolina,
show his name as a visitor on St. John's Day, December,
1776. ·
Robert
Treat Paine, member of a Massachusetts Lodge. The Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts records do not show his affiliation He was said to be
present at the celebration of St. John's Day, Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, in June, 1759. ·
Thomas
McKean, noted as a frequent visitor to Perseverance Lodge No. 2l,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The McKean genealogy has stated he was a Mason,
although his name is not found on the records of the Grand Lodge of
Delaware, which was not organized until the close of the American
Revolution. A brother, Samuel McKean, was a member of the
Fraternity. ·
John
Penn, known to have attended Lodges in North Carolina, but his
Masonic affiliation is not known. ·
Lyman
Hall, claimed to have been a member of Solomons Lodge No. 1,
Savannah, Georgia. ·
William
Ellery, claimed as a member of a Lodge in Boston,
Massachusetts. ·
Thomas
Nelson, Jr., claimed to have visited Lodge No. 9, Yorktown,
Virginia, after the Siege of that place was lifted in the Revolutionary
War, accompanied by Lafayette and
Washington. |
**
Absence of definite proof of the Masonic affiliation of the Signers named in the
foregoing paragraphs, precludes the possibility of knowing. This is also the
case with Thomas Jefferson; John Adams; Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris; John
Witherspoon; George Wythe; Francis Lightfoot Lee; Richard Henry Lee, and others.
Caesar Rodney, of Delaware fame, had a son Caesar Augustus Rodney - a member of
the Craft. George Read, another Signer from Delaware, had a son - George M. Read
- who was Grand Master of Pennsylvania.
Samuel Huntington had a son who was Grand Master of Ohio. ** Credit is
given to Burbank Masonic
Lodge for their
work.
| US Presidents*: |
|---|
|
1.
GEORGE
WASHINGTON,
First President, born 1731/2, died 1799. Initiated Nov. 4, 1752, passed
March 3, 1753, raised Aug. 4, 1753 all in Fredericksburg Lodge (later No.
4) at Fredericksburg, Va. Charter Master, Alexandria Lodge No. 22,
Alexandria, Va., April 28, 1788 and reelected Dec. 20 1788.
2.
JAMES
MONROE,
5th President, born 1758; died 1831. Initiated in Williamsburg Lodge No. 6
at Williamsburg, Va., Nov. 9, 1775, but there is no record of his taking
any further degrees. The records of Cumberland Lodge No. 8 in Tennessee,
June 8, 1819, show a reception for Monroe as "a Brother of the Craft."
3.
ANDREW
JACKSON,
7th President, born 1767, died 1829. Grand Master of Tennessee, 1822-23.
His lodge is unknown but he is said to have attended at Clover Bottom
Lodge under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. He was present in Lodge at
Greeneville in 1801 and acted as Senior Warden pro tempore. The records of
St. Tammany Lodge No. 29 at Nashville, which became Harmony Lodge No. 1
under the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, show that Jackson was a member.
4.
JAMES
K. POLK,
11th President, born 1795; died 1849. Initiated, passed, and raised in
Columbia Lodge No. 31, Columbia, Tenn. Exalted a Royal Arch Mason in La
Fayette Chapter No. 4 at Columbia in 1825. 5.
JAMES
BUCHANAN,
15th President, Born 1791; died 1868;(1857-1861). Initiated December 11,
1816, in Lodge 43, at Lancaster, PA. Passed and raised in 1817. Junior
Warden in 1821 and 1822. Master in 1825. Also Deputy Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. 6.
ANDREW
JOHNSON,
17th President, born 1808 died 1875; initiated, passed and raised in
Greeneville Lodge No. 119 now No. 3 at Greeneville, Tenn. in 1851.
Probably a member of Greeneville Chapter No. 82 Royal Arch Masons, since
he joined Nashville Commandery of Knights Templar No. 1 in 1859. He
received the Scottish Rite degrees in the White House in 1867.
7.
JAMES
A. GARFIELD,
20th President, born 1831; died 1881; initiated and passed in Magnolia
Lodge No. 20, Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Columbus Lodge No.3O, 1864.
Affiliated with Garrettsville Lodge No. 246 in 1866 Affiliated with
Pentalpha Lodge No. 23 Washington, D. C. as charter member in 1869.
Exalted in Columbus Royal Arch Chapter, 1866 and Knight Templar, 1866.
14th Degree Scottish Rite, 1872. 8.
WILLIAM
MCKINLEY,
25th President, born 1843; died 1901; is sometimes said to have been
initiated, passed, and raised in Hiram Lodge No. 10 in Winchester, West
Virginia in 1865. But William Moseley Brown is authority for the statement
that this event took place in Hiram Lodge No. 21 at Winchester, Virginia
in that year. McKinley affiliated with Canton Lodge No. 60 at Canton, Ohio
in 1867 and later became a charter member of Eagle Lodge No. 43. He
received the Capitular degrees in Canton in 1883 and was made a Knight
Templar in 1884. 9.
THEODORE
ROOSEVELT,
26th President, born 1858, died 1919. Initiated, passed, and raised in
Matinecock Lodge No. 806, Oyster Bay, N. Y. in 1901.
10.
WILLIAM
H. TAFT, 27th President, born 1857; died 1930. Made a Mason at
sight in Kilwinning Lodge No. 356, Cincinnati, Ohio in 1901. Evidently,
that made him a member at large, for the Grand Lodge issued him a demit
and he became a member of the above lodge. 11. WARREN
G. HARDING,
29th President born 1865; died 1923. Initiated in Marion Lodge No. 7O,
Marion, Ohio, 1901. He received no other degree until after becoming
President. He was passed and raised in Marion Lodge in 1920, Royal Arch
Chapter degrees in Marion Chapter No. 62 in 1921; Knight Templar in Marion
Commandery No. 36, in 1921. Scottish Rite and Shrine in 1921.
12. FRANKLIN
D. ROOSEVELT,
32nd President, born 1882; died 1945. Initiated, passed, and raised in
Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City, in 1911, 32nd Degree Scottish Rite in
Albany Consistory 1929, Shrine in 1930. 13. HARRY
S. TRUMAN,
33rd President, Born May 8, 1884, Lamar, Missouri. Received the degrees in
Belton Lodge No 450; organized and became a charter member of Grandview
No. 618. Served as both district lecturer and deputy Grand Master for
several years. Elected Grand Master of Masons in Missouri in 1940. He
always claimed this was the greatest honor that had ever come to him. He
received the first Gourgas Medal of the Scottish Rite, NMJ granted while
he was serving as a Senator. Elected vice-president in 1944 and became
President on the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt (a Mason) on April 12,
1945. He died on December 26 1972. On the 28th he was buried on his
library's grounds with impressive rites. These included the only Masonic
funeral service ever televised worldwide. 14. LYNDON
B. JOHNSON,
36th President of the US. Initiated on October 30, 1937, in Johnson City
Lodge 561, Johnson City, TX., but unfortunately never returned to
Freemasonry (due to Congressional, Vice-Presidential and Presidential
duties) and completed the next two degrees, the Fellow Craft Degree and
the Master Mason Degree. 15.
GERALD
R. FORD,
38th President, Born July 14, 1913 as Leslie L. King, Jr. He was later
adopted and took the name of his mother's second husband (a Freemason).
Became President on August 9, 1974 on the resignation of Richard Nixon
(not a Mason). Ford received the degrees in Malta Lodge No. 405, Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Brother Ford was the 1974 recipient of the NY Grand
Lodge Distinguished Achievement Award, the highest honor that can be
presented by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of
New York. |
·
*Credit
is owed to
MasterMason.com and
their sources for their research in this matter.
| People in Literature: |
|---|
|
1.
Abbott,
Robert Sengstacke - Founder/publisher Chicago Defender
2.
Burns,
Robert - National Poet of Scotland; St. David's Lodge No. 174, Tarbolton,
Scotland. 3.
Chagall,
Marc - Artist, painter. 4.
Collodi,
Carlo - Author of Pinocchio 5.
Conan
Doyle, Sir Arthur - 1859-1930. Member of Phoenix Lodge 257, Portsmouth, in
1886. Author of Sherlock Holmes 6.
Dac,
Pierre. 1895-1975 - Humorist 7.
Fleming,
Sir Alexander - USA. Invented penicillin. 1881-1955.
8.
Fortune,
Timpothy Thomas - Journalist 9.
Gannett,
Frank E. - Hobosco Lodge No. 716, Ithaca, NY - media empire
10.
Gibbon,
Edward - Author of "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
11.
Gray,
Harold Lincoln - Creator of "Little Orphan Annie" 12.
Guest,
Edgar A. - Poet; "The Lambskin Apron" 13.
Haley,
Alex - Author 14.
Harvey,
Paul - Radio personality 15.
Johnson,
John H. - Publisher EBONY and Jet magazines 16.
Kipling,
Rudyard - Author. Nobel Prize in 1907. 17.
Lemon,
Mark - Founder of Punch, humorous British magazine 18.
Pushkin,
Aleksander - Russian Poet 19.
Salten,
Felix - Creator of Bambi 20.
Scott,
Sir Walter - Writer 21.
Service,
Robert - Poet of the Klondike Gold Rush 22.
Swift,
Johathan - Wrote Gulliver's Travels 23.
Tolstoi,
Leo - Russian Author 24.
Voltaire,
François-Marie Arouet 1694-1778. - French writer and philosopher
25.
Wallace,
Lewis - Wrote "Ben Hur" 26.
Wilde,
Oscar. 1854-1900. - Writer |
| Supreme Court Justices: |
|---|
|
·
·
·
|
| People in the Arts: |
|---|
|
·
·
·
|
| Other Interesting Freemasons: |
|---|
|
·
·
·
|