Back In Time

WHO FREEMASONS ARE

Many of our nation’s early patriots were Freemasons, as well as thirteen signers of the Constitution and fourteen Presidents of the United States, beginning with George Washington.

Today, the more that four million Freemasons around the world come from virtually every occupation and profession. Within the Fraternity however, they all meet as equals. They come from diverse political ideologies, but they meet as friends. They come from virtually every religious belief, but they all believe in one God.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Freemasonry has been: how so many men, from so many different walks of life, can meet together in peace, never have political or religious debates, always conduct their affairs in harmony and friendship, and call each other “Brother!”

American Masonic History

20 GREATEST NAMES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

John Adams - (Spoke favorably of Freemasonry - never joined)

Samuel Adams - (Close and principle associate of Hancock, Revere & other Masons)

Ethan Allen - Mason

Edmund Burke - Mason

John Claypoole - Mason

William Daws - Mason

Benjamin Franklin - Mason

Nathan Hale - No evidence of Masonic connections

John Hancock - Mason

Benjamin Harrison - No evidence of Masonic connections

Patrick Henry - No evidence of Masonic connections

Thomas Jefferson - (Deist with some evidence of Masonic connections)

John Paul Jones - Mason

Francis Scott Key - No evidence of Masonic connections

Robert Livingston - Mason

James Madison - (Some evidence of Masonic membership)

Thomas Paine - Humanist

Paul Revere - Mason

Colonel Benjamin Tupper - Mason

George Washington - Mason

Daniel Webster - (Some evidence of Masonic connections)

Summary: 10 Masons, 3 probable Masons, 1 Humanist, 2 Advocates of Freemasonry, 4 no record of connections.

Freemasonry is ancient, having existed in some form for so long that many serious students have differed as to the time and place of its origin. There is evidence of a basic type of craft association which antedates the Christian era. It survived various transitions which took place during the Middle Ages. It was during this period that the word "Free" was prefixed to the word Mason, because these builders were one of the very few classes of persons allowed to travel from country to country and to practice the builder's art wheresoever they went. It was these companies of Masons who constructed the beautiful cathedrals and other stately structures which dot the plains of Europe and the English countryside. These men differed from the main from others of the working crafts because they, possessing knowledge and skills not found elsewhere, were free men rather than bond servants.

Until about the Sixteenth Century Masons were strictly an operative craft, bond together by the close ties found in the constructive craft guilds of the day. Early in the Seventeenth Century, men of prominence were admitted, not as craftsmen, for they were not skilled in the builders art, but rather as patrons. Gradually these men came to be known as "accepted" Masons. Thus, by the time the Seventh Century came to its end the accepted or speculative Masons were predominant in many of the older Lodges of Freemasons. Today the Masonic Lodge is termed speculative because its emphasis is on the moral philosophy which is its foundation, rather than the operative art of the Sixteenth and earlier centuries. The tools of the stonemason are used to symbolize moral virtues rather than to build cathedrals.

Abbott, Sir John J.C. - Prime Minister of Canada 1891-92
Abbott, Robert Sengstacke - Founder/publisher "Chicago Defender"
Aldrin, Edwin E. "Buzz" - Astronaut
Allen, Richard - Founder/first bishop AME Church
Armstrong, Louis - Jazz Musician
Armstrong, Neil - Astronaut
Arnold, General Henry "Hap" - Commander of the Army Air Force
Atkins, Chet - Musician
Austin, Stephen F. - Father of Texas
Autry, Gene - Actor
Baldwin, Henry - Supreme Court Justice
Balfour, Lloyd - Jewelry
Bartholdi, Frederic A. - Designed the Statue of Liberty
Bassie, William "Count" - Orchestra leader/composer
Baylor, Robert E. B. - Founder Baylor University
Beard, Daniel Carter - Founder Boy Scouts
Bell, Lawrence - Bell Aircraft Corp.
Bellamy, Rev. Francis - Authored U.S. Pledge of Allegiance
Bennett, Viscount R.B. - Prime Minister of Canada 1930-35
Berlin, Irving - Entertainer
Black, Hugo L. - Supreme Court Justice
Blair, Jr., John - Supreme Court Justice
Blake, James Herbert "Eubie" - Composer/pianist
Blatchford, Samuel - Supreme Court Justice
Bolivar, Simon - South American freedom fighter
Booth, Rev. William - Founder of the Salvation Army
Borden, Sir Robert L. - Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920
Borglum, Gutzon & Lincoln - Father and Son who carved Mt. Rushmore
Borgnine, Ernest - Actor
Bowell, Sir Mackenzie - Prime Minister of Canada 1894-96
Bowie, James - Alamo
Bradley, Omar N. - Military leader
Bradley, Thomas - Former mayor of Los Angeles, California
Brant, Joseph - Chief of the Mohawks 1742 - 1807
Brundridge, Avery - Olympic Committee
Bryan, Richard - U.S. Senator
Buchanan, James - President of the U.S.
Burnett, David G. - 1st President of the Republic of Texas
Burns, Conrad - U.S. Senator
Burns, Robert - The National Poet of Scotland
Burton, Harold H. - Supreme Court Justice
Byrd, Robert - U.S. Senator
Byrd, Admiral Richard E. - Flew over North Pole
Byrnes, James F. - Supreme Court Justice
Cain, Michael - Actor
Calvo, Father Francisco - Catholic Priest who started Freemasonry in Costa Rica 1865
Carnahan, Melvin - Governor of Missouri
Carson, Christopher "Kit" - Frontiersman, scout and explorer
Casanova - Italian Adventurer, writer and entertainer
Catton, John - Supreme Court Justice
Chrysler, Walter P. - Automotive fame
Churchill, Sir Winston - British Leader
Citroen, Andre - French Engineer and motor car manufacturer
Clark, Roy - Country Western Star
Clark, Thomas C. - Supreme Court Justice
Clark, William - Explorer
Clarke, John H. - Supreme Court Justice
Clemens, Samuel L. - Mark Twain - writer
Cobb, Ty - Baseball Player
Cody, "Buffalo Bill" William - Indian fighter, Wild West Show (see More Information below)
Cohan, George M. - Broadway star
Cole, Nat 'King' - Great ballad singer
Collodi, Carlo - Writer of Pinocchio
Colt, Samuel - Firearms inventor
Combs, Earle Bryan - Baseball Hall of Fame
Cosmos, Amor De - First Premier of British Columbia after Confederation
Cooper, Gordon - Astronaut
Cox, Palmer - Born in Granby, Quebec Illustrator and Poet
Crockett, David - American Frontiersman and Alamo fame
Cushing, William - Supreme Court Justice
Dempsey, Jack - Sports
DeMille, Cecil B. - Movie director
Desaguliers, John Theophilus - Inventor of the planetarium
Devanter, Willis Van - Supreme Court Justice
Diefenbaker, John G. - Prime Minister of Canada 1957-63
Disney, Walt - Cartoonist/movies
Dole, Robert - U.S. Senator
Doolittle, General James - Famous Air Force Pilot
Douglas, William O. - Supreme Court Justice
Dow, William H. - Dow Chemical Co.
Doyle, Sir Author Conan - Writer - Sherlock Holmes
Drake, Edwin L - American Pioneer of the Oil industry
DuBois, W.E.B. - Educator/scholar
Dunant, Jean Henri - Founder of the Red Cross
Edward VII - King of England
Edward VIII - King of England who abdicated the throne in less than 1 year
Ellington, Duke - Composer, Arranger and Stylist
Ellsworth, Oliver - Supreme Court Justice
Evers, Medger Wiley - Civil rights leader
Ervin Jr, Samual J. - U. S. Senator - headed "Watergate" committee
Faber, Eberhard - Head of the famous Eberhard Fabor Pencil Company
Fairbanks, Douglas - Silent film actor
Field, Stephen J. - Supreme Court Justice
Fields, W.C. - Actor
Fisher, Geoffrey - Archbishop of Canterbury 1945 - 1961
Fitch, John - Inventor of the Steamboat
Fleming, Sir Alexander - Invented Penicillin
Ford, Gerald R. - President of the U.S.
Ford, Henry - Pioneer Automobile Manufacturer
Forten, James - Abolitionist/manufacturer
Fortune, Timothy Thomas - Journalist
Franklin, Benjamin - 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S.
Gable, Clark - Actor
Garfield, James A. - President of the U.S.
Garibaldi, Giuseppe - Italian freedom fighter
Gatling, Richard J. - Built the "Gatling Gun"
George VI - King of England during W.W. II
Gibbon, Edward - Writer - Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Gilbert, Sir William S. - Was the librettis for "Pirates of Penzance"
Gillette, King C. - Gillette Razor Co.
Glenn, John H. - First American to orbit the earth in a space craft/U.S. Senator
Godfrey, Arthur - Actor
Goldwater, Barry - Former U.S. Senator
Grassley, Charles - U.S. Senator
Gray, Harold Lincoln - Creator of "Little Orphan Annie"
Grissom, Virgil - Astronaut
Grock - Swiss Circus Clown
Guillotin, Joseph Ignace - Inventor of the "Guillotin"
Haley, Alex - Author of"Roots"
Hampton, Lionel - Orchestra leader/composer
Hancock, John - 1 of 9 Masonic signers of Declaration of Independance
Handel, George Fredrick - Composer
Handy, William C. - Composer "Father of the Blues"
Harding, Warren G. - President of the U.S.
Hardy, Oliver - Actor - Comedian
Harlan, John M. - Supreme Court Justice
Harvey, Paul - Radio personality
Hatfield, Mark - U.S. Senator
Hawkins, Augustus F. - U.S. Congressman California
Hedges, Cornelius - "Father" of Yellowstone National Park
Helms, Jesse - U.S. Senator
Henry, Patrick - Patriot
Henson, Josiah - Inspired the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Henson, Matthew - Explorer
Hilton, Charles C. - American Hotelier
Hoban, James - Architect for the U.S. White House
Hoe, Richard M. - Invented the rotory press, revolutinizing newspaper printing
Hollings, Ernest - U.S. Senator
Hooks, Benjamin L. - Former Executive Director NAACP
Hoover, Frank - Vaccum cleaner fame
Hoover, J. Edgar - Director of FBI
Hope, Bob - Comedian
Hornsby, Rogers - An original member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Houdini, Harry - Magician
Houston, Sam - 2nd & 4th President of the Republic of Texas
Humphrey, Hubert H. - Vice President of the U.S.
Irwin, Jim - Astronaut
Ives, Burle - Musician
Jackson, Andrew - President of the U.S.
Jackson, Rev. Jesse - Minister/politician
Jackson, Robert H. - Supreme Court Justice
James, Daniel "Chappie" - General U.S. Air Force
Jenner, Edward - Inventor - Vaccination for Small Pox
Johnson, Andrew - President of the U.S.
Johnson, John H. - Publisher EBONY and Jet magazines
Johnston, Jr. , J. Bennett - U.S. Senator
Jolson, Al - Fame as the first 'talking picture' the Jazz Singer
Jones, Anson - 5th President of the Republic of Texas
Jones, John Paul - Naval Commander
Jones, Melvin - One of the founders of the Lions International
Keaton, Buster - Movie pioneer
Kemp, Jack - Former U.S. Sentator/sports hero
Key, Francis Scott - Wrote U.S. National Anthem
Kipling, Rudyard - Writer
Knox, Henry - Revolutionary War General
Lafayette, Marquis de - Supporter of Amerian Freedom
Lake, Simon - Built first submarine successfull in open sea
Lamar, Joseph E. - Supreme Court Justice
Lamar, Mirabeau B. - 3rd President of the Republic of Texas
Land, Frank S. - Founder Order of DeMolay
Lewis, Meriwether - Explorer
Lincoln, Elmo - First actor to play Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
Lindbergh, Charles - Aviator
Lipton, Sir Thomas - Tea
Livingston, Robert - Co-Negotiator for purchase of Louisiana Territory
Lloyd, Harold C. - Entertainer
Lott, Trent - U.S. Senator
MacArthur, General Douglas - Commander of Armed Forces in Philipines
MacDonald, Sir John A. - Prime Minister of Canada 1867-73 & 1878-91
Marshall, James W. - Discovered Gold at Sutter's Mill California 1848
Marshall, John - Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court 1801 - 1835
Marshall, Thurgood - Supreme Court Justice
Mathews, Stanley - Supreme Court Justice
Mayer, Louis B. - Film producer who merged to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Mayo, Dr. William and Charles - Began Mayo Clinic
Mays, Benjamin - Educator/former president Atlanta University
Maytag, Fredrick - Maytag
McKinley, William - President of the U.S.
Menninger, Karl A. - Psychiatrist famous for treating mental illness
Mesmer, Franz Anton - Practiced Mesmerism which led to Hypnotism
Metcalfe, Ralph H. - Olympic champion
Michelson, Albert Abraham - Successfully measured the speed of light in 1882
Miller, Glenn - Musician
Minton, Sherman - Supreme Court Justice
Mix, Tom - U.S. Marshal turned actor - Starred in over 400 western films
Monroe, James - President of the U.S.
Montgolfier, Jacques Etienne - Co-developer of the first practical hot-air balloon
Moody, William H. - Supreme Court Justice
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Composer
Murphy, Audie - Most decorated American Soldier of WWII.
Naismith, James - Inventor of Basketball
Nelson, Samuel - Supreme Court Justice
New, Harry S. - Postmaster General who established Airmail
Newton, Joseph Fort - Christian Minister
Nunn, Sam - U.S. Senator
Olds, Ransom E. - American automobile pioneer
Otis, James - Famous for "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny"
Palmer, Arnold - Golf Pro
Papst, Charles F. - Coined the term "Athletes Foot"
Paterson, William - Supreme Court Justice
Peale, Norman Vincent - Founder of "Guidepost"
Peary, Robert E. - First man to reach the North Pole (1909)
Penney, James C. - Retailer
Pershing, John Joseph - Decorated American Soldier
Pitney, Mahlon - Supreme Court Justice
Poinsett, Joel R. - U.S. Minister to Mexico who developed the flower: Poinsettia
Polk, James Knox - President of the U.S.
Pound, Roscoe - Former Dean, Harvard Law School
Pullman, George - Built first sleeping car on train.
Pushkin, Aleksander - Russian Poet
Rangel, Charles B. - U.S. Congressman New York
Randolph, A. Phillip - Founder/ first president, Internat. Brotherhood Sleeping Car Porters
Reed, Stanley F. - Supreme Court Justice
Revere, Paul - Famous American
Rhodes, Cecil - "Rhodes Scholarship&
Rickenbacker, Eddie - Great American Air Force Ace
Rickey, Branch - Baseball legend
Ringling Brothers - All 7 brothers and their father were Masons.
Robinson, Sugar Ray - American Boxer
Rogers, Roy - American cowboy and screen star
Rogers, Will - Actor
Roosevelt, Franklin D. - President of the U.S.
Roosevelt, Theodore - President of the U.S.
Rutledge, Wiley B. - Supreme Court Justice
Salten, Felix - Creator of Bambi
Sanders, Harland "Colonel" - Founder Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants
Sarnoff, David - Father of T.V.
Sax, Antoine Joseph - Invented the Saxophone (1846)
Schoonover, George - Founder of "The Builder"
Schirra, Wally - Astronaut
Scott, Sir Walter - Writer
Sellers, Peter - Actor
Shakespeare, William - Writer
Sibelius, Jean - Composer (Finland)
Simpson, Alan - U.S. Senator
Skelton, Red - Entertainer
Smith, John Stafford - Wrote the music that became the U.S. National Anthem.
Sousa, John Philip - Led the U.S. Marine Band from 1880 - 1892
Stanford, Leland - Drove the gold spike linking the intercontinetal railroad
Stanford, Leland - Railroads & Stanford University
Starr, Bart - Football legend
Stewart, Potter - Supreme Court Justice
Still, Andrew T. - American Physician who devised treatment of Osteopathy
Stokes, Carl B. - Former mayor, Cleveland, OH
Stokes, Louis - U.S. Congressman Ohio
Stratton, Charles "Tom Thumb" - Entertainer
Swayne, Noah H. - Supreme Court Justice
Swift, Johathan - Wrote Gulliver's Travels
Taft, William Howard - President of the U.S.
Teets, John W. - Chairman and President of Dial Corporation
Thomas, Craig - U.S. Senator
Thomas, Dave - Founder of Wendy's Restaurant
Thomas, Lowell - Brought Lawrence of Arabia to public notice
Thompson, Tommy - Governor of Wisconsin
Thurmond, Strom - U.S. Senator
Tillis, Mel - Musician
Tirpitz, Alfred Von - German Naval officer responsible for submarine warfare
Todd, Thomas - Supreme Court Justice
Tolstoi, Leo - Author
Travis, Colonel William B. - Alamo
Trimble, Robert - Supreme Court Justice
Truman, Harry S. - President of the U.S.
Vinson, Frederick M. - Supreme Court Justice
Voltaire - French writer and philosopher
Wadlow, Robert Pershing - Tallest human on record being almost 9 feet tall
Wagner, Honus - Baseball legend
Wallace, Governor George C. - Presidential candidate who was nearly assasinated
Wallace, Lewis - Wrote "Ben Hur"
Wallenda, Enrico - Circus legend
Warner, Jack - Warner Brothers Fame
Warren, Earl - Supreme Court Justice
Washington, Booker T. - Educator and author
Washington, George - First President of U.S.
Wayne, John - Actor
Webb, Matthew - First man to swim the English Channel (1875)
Wells, H. G. - Author
Whiteman, Paul - "King of Jazz"
Williams, Egbert Austin "Bert" - Actor/ comedian
Williamson, Harry A. - Author/Masonic historian
Woodbury, Levi - Supreme Court Justice
Woods, William B. - Supreme Court Justice
Wyler, William - Director of "Ben Hur"
Young, Andrew - Former mayor of Atlanta, GA
Zanuck, Darryl F. - Co-founder of 20th Century Productions in 1933
Ziegfeld, Florenz - His Ziegfeld's Follies began in 1907

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