Freemasonry has counted among its members rulers, scientists, writers, composers, explorers and statesmen. They are documented members, grouped by the century of their initiation; each entry gives its source.
The seventeenth century
Elias Ashmole
1617–1692
Antiquary and founder of the Ashmolean Museum; made a Freemason at Warrington in 1646.
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The eighteenth century
Benjamin Franklin
1706–1790
Printer, scientist and Founding Father; initiated in St. John’s Lodge, Philadelphia, in 1731.
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Frederick the Great
1712–1786
King of Prussia; received into Freemasonry at Brunswick in 1738, as Crown Prince.
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Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
1729–1781
Dramatist and critic, author of Ernst und Falk; initiated in the lodge Zu den drei Rosen, Hamburg, in 1771.
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George Washington
1732–1799
First President of the United States; initiated in 1752 in Fredericksburg Lodge, Virginia.
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Joseph Haydn
1732–1809
Composer, the father of the symphony; joined the lodge Zur wahren Eintracht, Vienna, in 1785.
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Paul Revere
1735–1818
Boston silversmith and patriot who made the midnight ride of 1775; initiated in St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston, in 1760, later Grand Master of Massachusetts.
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Nikolay Novikov
1744–1818
Russian publisher and Enlightenment figure; entered a Masonic lodge in 1775 and became a leading Mason of Moscow.
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John Paul Jones
1747–1792
Naval commander of the American Revolution; initiated in St. Bernard’s Lodge, Kirkcudbright, Scotland, in 1770.
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749–1832
Poet, dramatist and statesman; admitted to the Weimar lodge Anna Amalia zu den drei Rosen in 1780.
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John Marshall
1755–1835
Fourth Chief Justice of the United States, 1801–35; member of Richmond Lodge No. 10 and Grand Master of Virginia in 1794–95.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756–1791
Composer; admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit, Vienna, in 1784.
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Robert Burns
1759–1796
Scotland’s national poet; initiated in Lodge St David, Tarbolton, in 1781.
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Meriwether Lewis
1774–1809
Co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; admitted to Door to Virtue Lodge No. 44, Virginia, in the 1790s.
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The nineteenth century
Edward Jenner
1749–1823
Developer of the smallpox vaccine; a member of Faith and Friendship Lodge No. 270, Berkeley, and its Master in 1812.
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Sir Walter Scott
1771–1832
Novelist and poet; initiated in Lodge St David No. 36, Edinburgh, in 1801.
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Giuseppe Garibaldi
1807–1882
Leader of Italian unification; initiated in Montevideo in 1844.
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Franz Liszt
1811–1886
Composer and pianist; initiated in the lodge Zur Einigkeit, Frankfurt, in 1841.
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Mark Twain
1835–1910
American novelist and humorist; joined Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St. Louis, in 1861.
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Murad V
1840–1904
Ottoman sultan in 1876; initiated in 1872 in the lodge I Proodos, Istanbul.
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Edward VII
1841–1910
King of the United Kingdom; initiated in Sweden in 1868 and Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1874.
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John Philip Sousa
1854–1932
American composer of “The Stars and Stripes Forever”; initiated in Hiram Lodge No. 10, Washington, in 1881.
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Arthur Conan Doyle
1859–1930
Creator of Sherlock Holmes; initiated in Phoenix Lodge No. 257, Southsea, in 1887.
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José Rizal
1861–1896
Philippine national hero and writer; made a Master Mason in Logia Solidaridad, Madrid, in 1890.
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Rudyard Kipling
1865–1936
Writer and Nobel laureate; initiated in Lodge Hope and Perseverance No. 782, Lahore, in 1886.
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The twentieth century
William Howard Taft
1857–1930
27th President of the United States and later Chief Justice; made a Mason at sight in Kilwinning Lodge No. 356, Cincinnati, in 1909.
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Theodore Roosevelt
1858–1919
26th President of the United States; initiated in Matinecock Lodge No. 806, Oyster Bay, New York, in 1901.
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Jean Sibelius
1865–1957
Finnish composer of Finlandia; initiated in Suomi Lodge No. 1, Helsinki, in 1922, and later wrote its ritual music.
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Robert Falcon Scott
1868–1912
Royal Navy officer who led the Discovery and Terra Nova Antarctic expeditions; joined Drury Lane Lodge, London, in 1901.
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Ernest Shackleton
1874–1922
Antarctic explorer; initiated in Navy Lodge No. 2612, London, in 1901.
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Winston Churchill
1874–1965
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1940–45 and 1951–55; initiated in Studholme Lodge No. 1591, London, in 1901.
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Douglas MacArthur
1880–1964
General of the Army who commanded Allied forces in the Pacific; made a Mason at sight in 1936 and joined Manila Lodge No. 1.
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Alexander Fleming
1881–1955
Scottish bacteriologist who discovered penicillin; initiated in Sancta Maria Lodge No. 2682, London, in 1909.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
1882–1945
32nd President of the United States, 1933–45; initiated in Holland Lodge No. 8, New York, in 1911.
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Harry S. Truman
1884–1972
33rd President of the United States; initiated in Belton Lodge No. 450, Missouri, in 1909, and Grand Master of Missouri in 1940.
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King George VI
1895–1952
King of the United Kingdom, 1936–52; initiated in Navy Lodge No. 2612, London, in 1919.
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Gerald Ford
1913–2006
38th President of the United States; initiated in Malta Lodge No. 465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1949.
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John Glenn
1921–2016
First American to orbit the Earth and later US Senator; made a Mason at sight in Concord Lodge No. 688, Ohio, in 1978.
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Buzz Aldrin
1930–
Apollo 11 astronaut and second man on the Moon; initiated in Oak Park Lodge No. 864, Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.
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