Famous Masons in History
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization which exists in a number of forms worldwide. Throughout history some prominent members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvement; as a result, some famous (and infamous) Freemasons are well-known. The membership of Freemasonry is vast, diverse, and resists any single characterization.
However, Masonic membership can sometimes be difficult to verify, particularly for historical figures. Membership records are most often kept at the individual Lodge level, and may be lost due to fire, flood, deterioration, or simple carelessness. Grand Lodge governance may have shifted or reorganized, resulting in further loss of records on the member or the name, number, location or even existence of the Lodge in question. In areas of the world where Masonry has been suppressed by governments, records of entire Grand Lodges have been destroyed.
Standards of "proof" for those on this list may vary widely; some figures with no verified Lodge affiliation are claimed as Masons if anecdotal evidence suggests they were familiar with the "secret" signs and passes, but other figures are rejected over technical questions of irregularity in the Lodge that initiated them. Where available, specific Lodge membership information is provided; where serious questions of verification have been noted by other sources, this is indicated as well.
Political and Civil Rights Leaders
- John Jacob Astor, Holland Lodge No. 8, NY
- David Rice Atchison, Platte Lodge No. 56, MO
- Gunning Bedford, Jr., Lodge No. 14, Christina Ferry, DE; Past Grand Master of Delaware
- Julian Bond, St. James Lodge No. 4
- Ernest Borgnine, Lodge No. 48, Abingdon, VA
- John C. Breckinridge, US Senator, Vice President of the United States, General CSA, Secretary of War CSA.
- William Jennings Bryan, Lincoln Lodge No. 19, Lincoln, Nebraska
- John Brown, Hudson Lodge No. 68, Hudson, Ohio
- Asa S. Bushnell, (Governor of Ohio 18961900), made a Mason at Sight by Grand Master Levi C. Goodale in 1894, Affiliated with Anthony Lodge No. 455 in Springfield on 3 April 1894
- Jonathan Byrne, 33°, Charlotte Lodge No. 39, (former American Gladiator)
- Henry A. Wallace, Pioneer Lodge No. 22 in Des Moines, Iowa Henry Clay, Past Grand Master of Kentucky
- Samuel L. Clemens AKA "Mark Twain", Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St. Louis, Missouri
- DeWitt Clinton, Past Grand Master of New York, Holland Lodge No. 8, NY
- George Clinton, Warren Lodge #17, NYC
- Mac Collins, former Congressman, St. John's Lodge #45, Jackson, GA
- George M. Dallas, Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania (1835): Franklin Lodge #134, Pennsylvania
- William Crosby Dawson, Past Grand Master of Georgia 18431856, San Marino Lodge No. 34, Greensboro, Georgia
- Cecil B. DeMille, Film Director. Prince Orange Lodge No. 16 NYC
- W.E.B. Du Bois, Widow's Son Lodge No. 1, New Haven, CT
- Bob Dole 33°, Grand Cross. Russell Lodge No. 177, KS
- Jimmy Doolittle, 33°, Grand Cross
- Sam Ervin 33°, Grand Cross
- Benjamin Franklin, February 1731, St. John's Lodge of Philadelphia; Lodge at Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, PA; WM, Loge des Neuf Surs, Paris; Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania
- Elbridge Gerry, Philanthropic Lodge, Marblehead, MA
- John H. Glenn, Jr. 33°. Concord Lodge No. 688, Concord, Ohio
- Barry Goldwater, Arizona Lodge No. 2, Phoenix, AZ
- Gus Grissom Mitchell Lodge No. 228, Indiana
- Jesse Helms, Past Grand Orator of North Carolina
- Burl Ives, 33°, Grand Cross
- Henry A. Wallace, Pioneer Lodge No. 22 in Des Moines, Iowa
- Jack Kemp, Fraternal Lodge No. 625, Hamburg, NY
- William King, Past Grand Master of Maine
- Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Garibaldi Lodge No. 542, NY
- General Douglas MacArthur, 33°, Manila Lodge No. 1, 1936, Philippines
- George C. Marshall, Made mason on site at GL of Washington, DC
- Abner V. McCall, 33°, Grand Cross
- Kweisi Mfume, Mt. Olive Lodge No. 25, Baltimore, MD
- Audie Murphy 33°
- Sam Nunn, 33°, Grand Cross. Honored as Supreme Temple Architect 1995
- Arnold Palmer, 33°
- Norman Vincent Peale, 33°, Grand Cross
- Matthew Perry, (Commodore) Holland Lodge No. 8, NY
- John J. Pershing, Lincoln Lodge No. 19, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Albert Pike, Western Star Lodge No. 2, Little Rock, Arkansas. Sovereign Grand Commander AASR, Southern Jurisdiction
- Joel Roberts Poinsett, Solomon's Lodge No. 1, Charleston
- Roscoe Pound, Lancaster Lodge No. 54, Lincoln, Nebraska
- John A. Quitman, Past Grand Master of Mississippi
- Will Rogers, 32°
- John Sparkman, Helion Lodge #1, Huntsville, Alabama
- John Philip Sousa, 33°
- Richard Tea, Aztlan Lodge #4, Prescott, Arizona
- Daniel D. Tompkins, Grand Master of New York, 181922
- George Wallace, Past Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Alabama
- Marvin Zindler, 33°
American Revolution
- Benedict Arnold, Hiram Lodge No. 1, New Haven, CT
- John Blair, Williamsburg Lodge No. 6; Past Grand Master of Virginia
- Chief Joseph Brant, Hiram's Cliftonian Lodge No. 47, Barton Lodge No. 6, Hamilton, ON
- Benjamin Franklin, February 1731, St. John's Lodge of Philadelphia; Lodge at Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, PA; WM, Loge Les Neuf Surs, Paris; Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania
- John Hancock, Massachusetts Lodge No. 277, QC; St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston, MA
- Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer, St. Patrick's Lodge, Johnstown, NY
- William Hooper, Hanover Lodge, Masonborough, NC
- John Paul Jones, St. Bernards Lodge No. 122, Kirkudbright, Scotland
- Rufus King, St John's Lodge, Newburyport, MA
- General Rufus Putnam, Past Grand Master of Ohio
- Paul Revere, St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston, MA; Grand Master of Massachusetts 1794-97
- Baron von Steuben, Trinity Lodge No. 10, New York, NY
- Richard Stockton, charter Master, St. John's Lodge, Princeton, NJ
- George Walton, Solomon's Lodge No. 1, Savannah, GA
- Joseph Warren, St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston, MA; Past Provincial Grand Master of Massachusetts
- William Whipple, St. John's Lodge, Portsmouth, NH
U.S. Presidents
- George Washington, Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4; Alexandria Lodge No. 22, VA
- James Monroe, Williamsburgh Lodge No. 6, VA
- Andrew Jackson, Harmony Lodge No. 1; Past Grand Master of Tennessee
- James K. Polk, Columbia Lodge No. 31, TN
- James Buchanan, Past Master of Lancaster Lodge No. 43, Lancaster, PA; Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
- Andrew Johnson, Greenville Lodge No. 119, TN
- James A. Garfield, Magnolia Lodge No. 20, OH
- William McKinley, Hiram Lodge No. 21, VA
- Theodore Roosevelt, Matinecock Lodge No. 806, Oyster Bay, NY
- William Howard Taft, "Mason at sight"; affiliated Kilwinning Lodge No. 356, OH
- Warren G. Harding, Marion Lodge No. 70, OH
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Holland Lodge No. 8, NY
- Harry S. Truman, 33° Belton Lodge No. 450, Belton, MO; Past Grand Master of Missouri
- Gerald Ford Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, DC, courtesy to Malta Lodge No. 465, Grand Rapids, MI
U.S. Supreme Court Justices
- Henry Baldwin, Associate Justice (1830-1844)
- Hugo L. Black, Associate Justice (1937-1971), Birmingham Temple Lodge No. 836, Birmingham, AL
- John Blair, Associate Justice (1789-96), Grand Master of Virginia from 1778 to 1784
- Samuel Blatchford, Associate Justice (1882-1893)
- Harold H. Burton, Associate Justice (1945-1958)
- James F. Byrnes, Associate Justice (1941-1942)
- John H. Clarke, Associate Justice (1916-1922)
- Thomas C. Clark, Associate Justice (1949-1967)
- William Cushing, Associate Justice (1789-1810), St. Andrews Lodge, Boston
- Willis Van Devanter, Associate Justice (1911-1937)
- William O. Douglas, Associate Justice (1939-1975)
- Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice (1796-1800)
- Stephen J. Field, Associate Justice (1863-1897)
- John M. Harlan, Associate Justice
- Robert H. Jackson, Associate Justice (1941-1954)
- John Jay, Chief Justice (1789-1795)
- Joseph E. Lamar, Associate Justice (1888-1893), Webb Lodge No. 166 F.& A.M., Augusta, Georgia
- John Marshall, Chief Justice (1801-1835) - Grand Master of Virginia (1793 & 1794)
- Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice (1967-1991), Coal Creek Lodge No. 88, Tulsa, Oklahoma PHA
- Stanley Mathews, Associate Justice (1881-1889)
- John McLean, Associate Justice (1829-1861)
- Sherman Minton, Associate Justice (1949-1956)
- William H. Moody, Associate Justice (1906-1910)
- Samuel Nelson, Associate Justice (1845-1872)
- William Paterson, Associate Justice (1793-1806)
- Mahlon Pitney, Associate Justice (1912-1922)
- Stanley F. Reed, Associate Justice (1938-1957)
- John Rutledge, Chief Justice (1795), Associate Justice (1789-1791)
- Potter Stewart, Associate Justice (1958-1981)
- Joseph Story, Associate Justice (1811-1845)
- Noah H. Swayne, Associate Justice (1862-1881)
- William H. Taft, Chief Justice (1921-1930), Made Mason at sight by C. S. Hoskinson in Kilwinning Lodge No. 356, Cincinnati, Ohio on 18 February 1909
- Thomas Todd, Associate Justice (1807-1826)
- Robert Trimble, Associate Justice (1826-1828), Past Master, Union Lodge No. 16 F.& A.M., Paris, Kentucky
- Frederick M. Vinson, Chief Justice (1946-1953)
- Earl Warren, Chief Justice (1953-1969) - Grand Master of California 1935 to 1936
- Levi Woodbury, Associate Justice (1845-1851)
- William B. Woods, Associate Justice (1881-1887)
Republic of Texas
- Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana Lodge No. 109, St Genevieve, MO
- Jim Bowie, Humble Cottage Lodge No. 19, Opelousas, LA
- Sam Houston, Cumberland Lodge No. 8, Nashville, TN
- William B. Travis, Alabama Lodge No. 3, Claiborne, AL
Military Leaders
- General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, 32° Cassia Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 273, PA. Raised in Union Lodge No. 7, Junction City, Kansas, and received the higher degrees in the Army Scottish Rite bodies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was also a 020Shriner
- General Omar N. Bradley, West Point Lodge No. 877, NY
- Admiral Arleigh Burke, 33°
- Major General Claire Chennault 32° K.C.C.H. League City Lodge No. 1053, League City, Texas. He was also a Shriner
- General Mark W. Clark, Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Indianapolis, IN
- Brigadier General James Doolittle, 32° Mason and Shriner
- Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Elgin Lodge No. 91, Leven, Scotland
- Admiral John Jellicoe, Past Provincial Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England
- Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Made Master Mason in 1935, George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 22, D.C.
- Lord Horatio Kitchener, Past District Grand Master of Egypt and Sudan; Past Grand Warden and District Grand Master, Punjab, India; founder of several Lodges
- General Douglas MacArthur, 33° Manila Lodge No. 1, Philippines. Elected a Knight Commander of the Court of Honour in 1937, and was also a Shriner
- General George C. Marshall, Made a Mason in an Occasional Lodge with all three degrees being conferred upon him by the Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia, Ara L. Daniels
- Admiral Horatio Nelson, York Lodge No. 256
- General John J. Pershing, 33° Lincoln Lodge No. 19, Lincoln, NE. Fifty year Mason and a member of the Shrine
- Brigadier General Albert Pike, Western Star Lodge No. 2, Little Rock, Arkansas. Sovereign Grand Commander AASR, Southern Jurisdiction
- Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, Kilwinning Lodge No. 297, MI
- Field Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov, Lodge Zu den Drei Kronen, Königsberg
- Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, Lodge Zur Aufrichtigen Herzen, Frankfurt
- General Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, Lodge at Trim No. 494, Meath, Ireland
Composers, Fine Artists and Popular Musicians
- Roy Acuff, East Nashville Lodge No. 560, TN
- Johann Christian Bach, Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235, London
- Josephine Baker, France
- Frédéric Bartholdi, Lodge Alsace-Lorraine, Paris
- William "Count" Basie, Wisdom Lodge No. 102, Chicago, IL
- Irving Berlin, Munn Lodge No. 190, New York, NY
- Gutzon Borglum, Howard Lodge No. 35, NY
- Roy Clark, Jenks Lodge No. 497, OK
- George M. Cohan, Pacific Lodge No. 223, CA
- Nat King Cole, Thomas Waller Lodge No. 49, Los Angeles, CA, PHA
- Phil Collins, Soho Lodge No. 3
- Nate Dogg Sacramento Lodge No. 24 SA, CA
- Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, Social Lodge No. 1, Washington, DC, PHA
- Sir Banister Flight Fletcher, Authors Lodge No. 3456, London
- Sir William S. Gilbert, Lodge St. Machar No. 54, Aberdeen, Scotland
- Lionel Hampton, Boyer Lodge No. 1, New York, NY, PHA
- William C. Handy, Hiram Lodge No. 4, New York, NY, PHA
- Joseph Haydn, Lodge Zur Wahren Eintracht, Vienna
- Franz Liszt, Lodge Zur Einigkeit, Frankfurt
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lodge Zur Woltatigkeit, Vienna; Lodge Zur Wahren Eintracht Alfons Mucha, Paris; founder of Czech Freemasonry
- Tex Ritter, Metropolitan Lodge No. 646, CA
- Adolphe Sax, Loge Les Vrais Amis de L'Union
- Jean Sibelius, Suomi Lodge No. 1, Helsinki, Finland
- John Philip Sousa, Hiram Lodge No. 10, Washington, DC
- Sir Arthur Sullivan, Past Grand Organist of the United Grand Lodge of England
- Mel Tillis, Branson Lodge No. 587
Actors and Entertainers
- Bud Abbott, Daylight Lodge No. 525, MI
- Cliff Arquette, Ravenwood Lodge No. 777, Chicago, IL
- Gene Autry, 33°, Grand Cross. Catoosa Lodge No. 185, OK
- Wallace Beery, Blaney Lodge No. 271, IL
- Mel Blanc, Mid Day Lodge No. 188, OR
- Ernest Borgnine, Abingdon Lodge No. 48, VA
- Eddie Cantor, Munn Lodge No. 190, New York, NY
- William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Platte Valley Lodge No. 15, NE
- Harry H. Corbett, Chevin Lodge No. 6848, UK
- Charles Correll, Trio Lodge No. 57, Chicago, IL
- Donald Crisp, Harry S. Orme Lodge No. 458, CA
- Jim Davidson. British comedian [1]
- Cecil B. DeMille, Prince of Orange Lodge No. 16, NY
- Richard Dix, Harry S. Orme Lodge No. 458, CA
- Douglas Fairbanks, Beverly Hills Lodge No. 528, CA
- Glenn Ford, Palisades Lodge No. 637, CA; Riviera Lodge No. 780, CA
- W.C. Fields, E. Coppee Mitchell Lodge No. 605, Philadelphia, PA
- J.D. Fortune, Oakville Lodge No. 400, Oakville, ON
- Clark Gable, Beverly Hills Lodge No. 528, CA
- Arthur Godfrey, Acacia Lodge No. 18, Washington, DC
- Freeman Gosden, Petersburg Lodge No. 15, VA
- D.W. Griffith, St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, NY
- Oliver Hardy, Solomon Lodge No. 20, Jacksonville, Florida
- Anthony Harper, Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Barbaoo, Wisconsin; Past Master
- Harry Houdini, Initiated Aug 21, 1923, St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, NYC
- Sir Henry Irving, Jerusalem Lodge No. 44, London
- Burl Ives, Magnolia (now Magnolia-La Cumbre) Lodge No. 242, CA
- Al Jolson, St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, NY
- Harold Lloyd, Hamilton Lodge No. 535, Hollywood, CA; Shriner
- Harpo Marx
- Cedric The Entertainer, Sacramento Lodge No. 313, Sacramento, CA
- Louis B. Mayer, St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, New York, NY
- Tom Mix, Utopia Lodge No. 537, CA
- Eddy Murphy, Hollywood Lodge No. 542, North Hollywood, CA
- Bronson Pinchot, Harford Lodge No. 445, Hop Bottom, PA
- Richard Pryor, Henry Brown Lodge No. 22, Peoria, IL
- Michael Richards, Riviera Lodge No. 780, CA
- Alfred, John, Albert, Charles, William, August and Henry Ringling and their father, August Rüngeling, Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Baraboo, WI
- Jimmie Rodgers, John L. Spinks Lodge No. 507, MS
- Roy Rogers, Hollywood Lodge No. 355, CA
- Will Rogers, Claremore Lodge No. 55, OK
- Peter Sellers, Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, London, England
- Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton, Vincennes Lodge No. 1, Vincennes, IN
- Robert Pershing Wadlow, Franklin Lodge No. 25, Alton, IL
- Hal B. Wallis, Prudence Lodge No. 958, Chicago, IL
- Jack Warner, Mount Olive Lodge No. 506, Los Angeles, CA
- John Wayne, Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 56, Tucson, AZ
- Ed Wynn, Philadelphia Lodge No. 9, PA
- Darryl F. Zanuck, Mount Olive Lodge No. 506, Los Angeles, CA
- Florenz Ziegfeld, Accordia Lodge No. 277
- Adolph Zukor, Centennial Lodge No. 763, New York, NY
Industrialists and Labor Leaders
- John Jacob Astor, W.M. Holland Lodge No. 8, NY
- Samuel Bronfman, Covenant Lodge No. 108, QC
- André Citroën, Lodge La Philosophie Positive, Paris
- Samuel Colt, St. John's Lodge, Hartford, CT
- Edwin Drake, Oil Creek Lodge No. 3, Titusville, PA
- Eberhard Faber, Chancellor Walworth Lodge No. 271, New York, NY
- Henry Ford, Palestine Lodge No. 357, Detroit, MI
- Samuel Gompers, Dawson Lodge No. 16, Washington, DC
- Charles Hilton, William B. Warren Lodge No. 309, IL
- Frank G. Hoover, William McKinley Lodge No. 431, OH
- Melvin Jones, Garden City Lodge No. 141, Illinois
- Sebastian S. Kresge, Palestine Lodge No. 357, Detroit, MI
- Sir Thomas Lipton, Scotia Lodge No. 178, Glasgow
- Frederick L. Maytag, Newton Lodge No. 59, IA
- John J. McLaughlin, Cedar Lodge No. 270, Oshawa, ON
- R. Samuel McLaughlin, Cedar Lodge No. 270, Oshawa, ON; Past Grand Steward; 75-year member
- John Molson, St. Paul's Lodge, No. 374, Montreal, QC; Past Provincial Grand Master of Lower Canada
- Ransom E. Olds, Capitol Lodge No. 66, Lansing, MI
- J.C. Penney, Wasatch Lodge No. 1, Salt Lake City, UT
- George Pullman, Renovation Lodge No. 97, Albion, NY
- A. Philip Randolph, Joppa Lodge No. 55, NYC USA
- James Mayer Rothschild Initiated Oct. 24, 1802: Emulation Lodge No. 12, London
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Emulation Lodge No. 12, London
- David Sarnoff, Strict Observance Lodge No. 94, NY
- Dave Thomas, Sol. D. Bayless Lodge No. 359, Fort Wayne, IN
- Steve Wozniak, Charity Jarman Lodge No. 362, Campbell, CA
Adventurers
- Sir Richard Francis Burton, Hope Lodge, Kurrachee, Scinde, India
- Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Federal Lodge No. 1, Washington, DC; established Antarctica Lodge No. 777 under the Grand Lodge of New Zealand
- Kit Carson, Montezuma Lodge No. 109, Taos, NM
- William Clark, Saint Lewis Lodge No. 111, PA
- Matthew Henson, Celestial Lodge No. 3, PHA, New York, NY
- Meriwether Lewis, Door to Virtue Lodge No. 44, VA; founder, St. Louis Lodge No. 111, St. Louis, MO under the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
- Charles Lindbergh, Keystone Lodge No. 243, MO
- Commodore Robert Peary, Kane Lodge No. 454, New York, NY
- Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Drury Lane Lodge No. 2127, London; Navy Lodge No. 2612
- Sir Ernest Shackleton, Navy Lodge No. 2612
- Matthew Webb, Neptune Lodge No. 22
Philosophers
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Lodge Amalia, Weimar
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Lodge Zu den Drei Goldenen Rosen
- Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), Raised 1778 Loge des Neuf S?urs, Paris
Athletes and Other Sports Figures
- Fabien Barthez, Lodge de Bordeaux No. 12
- Harold Ballard, Corinthian Lodge No. 481, GRC
- Avery Brundage, North Shore Lodge No. 937, Chicago, IL
- Ty Cobb, Royston Lodge No. 426, Detroit, MI
- Jack Dempsey, Kenwood Lodge No. 800, Chicago, IL
- Peter Ebdon, former snooker world champion
- Rogers Hornsby, Beacon Lodge No. 3, St. Louis, MO
- Tim Horton, Kroy Lodge No. 676, Toronto, ON
- Laurent Blanc, Lodge de Printemps No. 2
- Jack Johnson, Lodge Forfar and Kincardine No. 225, Dundee, Scotland
- Duke Kahanamoku, Surfer. Hawaiian Lodge No. 21, F.& A.M.
- Arnold Palmer, Loyalhanna Lodge No. 275, Latrobe, PA
- Branch Rickey, Tuscan Lodge No. 360, St. Louis, MO
- Sugar Ray Robinson, Joppa Lodge No. 55, NY, PHA
- Lex Luger, Memphis Lodge No. 281, Memphis, TN
Astronauts
- Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417, Seabrook, TX
- Leroy Gordon Cooper, Carbondale Lodge No. 82, Carbondale, CO
- Donn F. Eisele, Luthor B. Turner Lodge No. 732, Columbus, OH
- John Glenn, Concord Lodge No. 688, Concord, OH
- Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Mitchell Lodge No. 228, Mitchell, IN
- James Irwin, Tejon Lodge No. 104, Colorado Springs, CO
- Edgar Mitchell, Artesia Lodge No. 28, Artesia, NM
- Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Canaveral Lodge No. 339, Cocoa Beach, FL
- Thomas Stafford, Western Star Lodge No. 138, Weatherford, OK
- James E. Webb, University Lodge No. 408, Chapel Hill, NC
- Paul J. Weitz, Lawrence Lodge No. 708, Erie, PA
Writers, Journalists and Publishers
- Andrew Bell, Lodge St. David No. 36, Edinburgh
- James Boswell, Master of Canongate Kilwinning Lodge for two terms, Depute GM Scotland 1776-78
- Robert Burns, Saint David's Lodge No. 2174, Tarbolton; many others
- Lord William Byron, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns)
- Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St. Louis, MO
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Phoenix Lodge No. 257, Southsea, Hampshire
- Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Loge des Neuf S?urs, Paris
- Edward Gibbon, Lodge of Friendship No. 3, London
- Edgar Guest, Ashler Lodge No. 91, Detroit, MI
- William Hagan, Euclid Lodge, Stoughton, MA
- Rudyard Kipling, Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782. E.C., Lahore, India; founding member, The Builders of the Silent Cities Lodge No. 12, St. Omer, France, F.R.
- Mark Lemon, Globe Lodge No. 23, London
- John B. MacLean, Ionic Lodge No. 25, Toronto, ON
- Dr. Robert Moray, Edinburgh [Lodge] 1641
- Norman Vincent Peale, Midwood Lodge No. 1062, Brooklyn, NY
- Alexander Pope, Lodge Goat-at-the-Foot-of-the-Haymarket No. 16, London
- Aleksandr Pushkin, Lodge Ovid, Kischinev
- Theodor Reuss, occultist and head of O.T.O., Pilger Loge #238 (UGLE) 1878, and excluded 1880, also Grandmaster of Rite of Memphis-Misraïm, 1913
- Rafael Sabatini, Jerusalem Lodge No. 197, London
- Friedrich Schiller, Rudolstadt Lodge, Berlin
- Sir Walter Scott, Saint David Lodge No. 36, Edinburgh
- Robert W. Service, Yukon Lodge No. 45, Dawson City, YT
- Gordon Sinclair, John Ross Robertson Lodge No. 545, Toronto, ON
- Jonathan Swift, Lodge Goat-at-the-Foot-of-the-Haymarket No. 16, London, England; Lodge No. 16, Dublin, Ireland
- Roy Thomson, North Bay Lodge No. 617
- Anthony Trollope, Banagher Lodge No. 306, Ireland
- Lew Wallace, Fountain Lodge No. 60, Covington, IN
- Oscar Wilde, Apollo University Lodge No. 357, Oxford
- Sir P.G. Wodehouse, Jerusalem Lodge No. 197, London
Lawyers, Jurists and Law Enforcement
- Izzy Einstein, Emanuel Lodge No. 654, NY
- Henry Frye Prince Hall Freemason, Khalif Temple No. 144 of the Shrine
- J. Edgar Hoover, 33°, Grand Cross. Federal Lodge No. 1, Washington, DC
- John Marshall, Past Grand Master of Virginia
- Moe Smith, Emanuel Lodge No. 654, NY
- Earl Warren, Past Grand Master of California
- Piotr Karama?ski, ul.?wierkowa 19 34-100 Wadowice, Poland
- Roscoe Pound
Doctors, Scientists and Inventors
- Sir Edward Victor Appleton, Isaac Newton Lodge No. 859, Cambridge020
- Elias Ashmole, Warrington Lodge, Lancashire
- Vannevar Bush, Richard C. Maclaurin Lodge, Cambridge, MA
- Erasmus Darwin, St. David's Lodge No. 36, Edinburgh
- John Theophilus Desaguliers, Past Grand Master of England
- John Fitch, Bristol Lodge No. 25, Bristol, PA
- Sir Alexander Fleming, London Scottish Rifles Lodge No. 2310; Past Master (later, Secretary) of Sancta Maria Lodge No. 2682; Past Master (later, Treasurer) of Misericordia Lodge No. 3286, 1935; Past Junior Grand Warden, Senior Grand Deacon 1942; Grand Warden, 1948 UGLE; Received the Distinguished Service Citation of the Grand Lodge of New York, USA
- Sir Sandford Fleming, St. Andrew's Lodge No. 16, Toronto, ON
- Richard Jordan Gatling, Centre Lodge No. 23, Indianapolis, IN
- Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, founding member of the Grand Orient of France
- James Hoban, founder, Federal Lodge No. 1, Washington, DC
- Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, Aesculapius Lodge No. 2410
- Edward Jenner, Royal Berkeley Lodge of Faith and Friendship No. 449, Berkeley, Gloucestershire
- Charles G. King, Whitman Lodge No. 49, Pullman, WA
- Charles Horace Mayo, Rochester Lodge No. 21, MN
- William James Mayo, Rochester Lodge No. 21, MN
- Franz Mesmer, Lodge Les Philadelphes, France
- Albert Abraham Michelson, Washington Lodge No. 21, New York, NY
- Jacques-Étienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, Loge des Neuf S?urs, Paris
- Wilhelm Ostwald, Past Grand Master, Grand Lodge Zur Aufgehenden Sonne, Bayreuth
- Charles Robert Richet, Lodge Cosmos, France
- George Shillibeer, Etonian Lodge of St. John No. 209, Windsor
- William Stukeley, Salutation Tavern Lodge, London
- Sir Christopher Wren, Lodge of Antiquity No. 2
Educators, Religious Leaders and Others
- Robert E.B. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, Past Grand Chaplain of Texas
- Daniel Carter Beard, Made a Mason in Mariner's Lodge No. 67, New York City, NY, and later affiliated with Cornucopia Lodge 563, Flushing, NY.
- Francis Bellamy, Little Falls Lodge No. 181, Little Falls, NY
- Charles P. "Pa" Ingalls, De Smet Lodge No. 55, De Smet, SD; He, wife Caroline and daughters Laura and Carrie were all members of Bethlehem Chapter No. 13 of the Order of the Eastern Star in De Smet
- Melvin Jones, Garden City Lodge No. 141, IL
- Heber C. Kimball 1823, Victor Flats Lodge, Ontario County, New York.
- Most Rev. Derwyn Trevor Owen, Ionic Lodge No. 25, Toronto, ON
- Joseph Smith, Nauvoo Lodge, IL
- Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, President of The George Washington University, Benjamin B. French Lodge No. 15, Washington, DC
- Swami Vivekananda, Hope and Anchor Lodge No. 1, Calcutta, India
- Booker T. Washington, Past Grand Master of Massachusetts, PHA
- Brigham Young, Nauvoo Lodge, IL
Famous Entered Apprentices
"Mason" generally refers to a Master Mason, or one who has received all three of the initiatory degrees of Freemasonry. Those who have received only the Entered Apprentice or Fellow Craft degrees are initiated members, but without all the rights and privileges accorded to Master Masons.
- General Nathan Bedford Forrest was initiated into the first degree of Freemasonry, but he never completed his second and third degrees and never returned to Lodge.
- President Lyndon B. Johnson was initiated into the first degree of Freemasonry, but his congressional duties made it impossible for him to pursue the second and third degrees.
For a more complete list of Famous Freemasons, click here