Some Famous Masons
Presented at Shelby
Lodge # 662, F.&.A.M. Waddy, Kentucky
by Bro. Steve Case
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Brothers, I wish to thank the brethren of Burbank Lodge No. 406 in California for the internet listing of famous Masons. As you can see, many just and upright members of the fraternity have been an important influence on their communities and nation in years past. May that tradition continue.
George Washington, our 1st President from 1789 to 1797 and Commanding General during the American Revolution was made a Mason August 4, 1753 in Fredericksburg Lodge, now No. 4, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
James Monroe, 5th President, 1817 to 1825, was made a Mason November 9, 1775, in Williamsburg Lodge, now No. 6, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Andrew Jackson, 7th President, 1829 to 1837, was a member of Harmony Lodge No. 1, Nashville Tennessee. In 1822 and 1823 he served as the Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee.
James Garfield, 20th President, 1881, made a Mason November 22, 1864 in Columbus Lodge No. 30, Columbus Ohio.
William McKinley, 25th President, 1897 to 1901, made a Mason May 3, 1865 in Hiram Lodge No. 21, Winchester Virginia.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901-1909, made a Mason April 24, 1901, in Matinecock Lodge No. 806, Oyster Bay, New York.
William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909 to 1913, Chief Justice Supreme Court 1921 to 1930, made a “Mason at Sight” in an “Occassional Lodge” called for that purpose on February 18, 1909, in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio by the Grand Master of Masons in Ohio.
Warren Harding, 29th President 1921 to 1923 made a Mason August 27, 1920 in Marion Lodge No. 70, Marion, Ohio.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President, 1933 to 1945, made a Mason November 28, 1911, in Holland Lodge No. 8, New York, New York, the same Lodge in which George Washington held an “Honorary” Membership.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945 to 1951, made a Mason March 18, 1909, in Belton Lodge No. 450, Belton Missouri. He served as the Grand Master of Masons of Missouri in 1940. In 1911 several Members of Belton Lodge separated to establish Grandview Lodge No. 618 in Grandview, Missouri, and Brother Truman served as its first Worshipful Master. Brother Truman served as the Grand Master of Missouri in 1940-1941. Brother Truman was presented a fifty-year award and was the only U.S. President to reach that golden anniversary in Freemasonry.
Gerald R. Ford, 38th President, 1974 to 1977, was raised to the Sublime degree of Master Mason on May 18, 1951 in Columbia Lodge No. 3, in Washington, D.C. as a courtesy for Malta Lodge No 465, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, our 36th President, 1963 to 1969, was regularly initiated to the Entered Apprentice degree at Johnson City Lodge No 561, Johnson City, Texas on October 30, 1937. Did not advance.
Some Presidential Candidates who did not get elected as President but who WERE Masons included: Thomas E. Dewey, New York Governor, Bob Dole, U.S. Senator, Barry Goldwater, U.S. Senator, Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice President, George McGovern, Senator, and Governor George Wallace.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence: Return to TOP
Of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, the following were known to be members of a Masonic Lodge with firm evidence of their affiliation and membership:
Benjamin Franklin was a member of St. John’s Lodge, Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also 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, 1745. At the time, he was 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 Thornton is said 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. Johns Lodge no. 1, Portsmouth, New Jersey.
Brothers, there are a number of other signers of the Declaration of
Independence, who are thought to have been Masons, depending up on the source
and the writer. Indeed, some writers have stated that a majority of the
signers were Masons. However, some of them are open to debate as many of the
older records from 200 years plus ago have been lost, burnt, or are unreadable.
Indirect evidence such as records of visits to other Lodges do lead some
researchers to list some as in the probable or “likely” column. However my
source could NOT show the exact Lodge affiliation.
Those would include:
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Benjamin Rush
Robert Morris
John Witherspoon
George Wythe
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Richard Henry Lee
Roger Sherman
Josiah Bartlett
Phillip Livingston
Joseph Hewes
Robert Treat Paine
Thomas McKean
John Penn
Lyman Hall
William Ellery
Thomas Nelson
and others
I found this listing as interesting. Foreign Leaders who have been Masons include Sir John Abbott, Primer Minister of Canada from 1891-1892.
Salvador Allende, Former President of Chile, Lodge Progresso No. 4, Valpariso.
Francisco Bertrand, President of Honduras.
Sveinn Bjornsson, First President of Iceland.
Simon Bolivar, Hero of the Independence of South American countries from Spain. Known as the George Washington of South America.
Emilio Aguinaldo, Phillippine Patriot and General
Mustapha Ataturk, President of Turkey 1923 to 1938.
Napolean Bonaparte, Emperor of France……..there is some lack of firm evidence to show the affiliation of Napolean, however there are strong records to show his four brothers as Masons.
Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920.
Joseph Brant, Chief of the Mohawks.
King Charles the Eighth of Sweden.
Sir Winston Churchill, member of the Studholme Lodge 1591, of London.
Edward the Eighth, King of England.
Frederic the Great, King of Prussia.
Francis the First and Second, Holy Roman Emperors.
Frederic the Seventh, King of Denmark.
George the Second, King of Greece.
Gustave the Fifth, King of Sweden.
Marquis de Lafayette, the famous French Supporter of American Freedom.
Leopold the First, King of Belgium.
Alexandre Mitterand, President of France.
Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia.
William the Second, King of the Netherlands.
and William the Fourth, King of England.
My source listed 35 of the United States Supreme Court Justices who were Masons. Among those included are Thurgood Marshall, John Marshall, William O. Douglas, Sherman Minton, and Earl Warren.
Some famous U.S. Military Leaders who have been Masons include:
Ethan Allen, General in the Revolutionary War
General Henry “Hap” Arnold
Five Star General Omar Bradley
Admiral Richard Byrd
General Claire Chenault
General James Doolittle
Gus Grissom, as well as several other Astronauts
Air Force General Curtis LaMay
Five Star General Douglas MacArthur
Five Star General George C. Marshall
General George B. McClellan of the Union Army
Audie Murphy, most decorated American Soldier of World War II
John Joseph “Blackjack” Pershing
Zebulon Pike
Eddie Rickenbacker
Some famous U.S. Pioneers who were Masons Include:
John Jacob Astor
Stephen F. Austin
James Bowie
William Clark and Meriwether Lewis
Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain
Buffalo Bill Cody
Samuel Colt
David Crockett
Richard Gatling, inventor of the Gatling Gun
Patrick Henry, famous Patriot
Sam Houston
Francis Scott Key
Orville and Wilber Wright.
A listing of some other miscellaneous Masons includes:
Albert “Happy” Chandler
Ty Cobb
Cy Young
Sir Arthor Conan Doyle
Rudyard Kipling
Gene Autry
Irving Berlin
Ernest Borgnine
Roy Clark, Country Western Singer
Lou Costello
Cecil B. DeMille
Clark Gable
Arthur Godfrey
Oliver Hardy
Harry Houdini
Burl Ives
Louis B. Mayer
Tom Mix
Carroll O’Conner
Mel Tillis
John Wayne
Henry Ford
James C. Penny, founder of J.C. Penney
Colonel Harlan Sanders
and many others, too numerous to list.
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