Famous Freemasons
From About Freemasons
There have been many millions of Masons throughout the history of Freemasonry, and while many were leaders in their communities – Freemasonry, after all, emphasizes leadership – most are not household names. Among the rosters of Masons, though, there have been some famous Freemasons.
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Scientists
- Sir Edward Victor Appleton (Physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1947)
- Sir Alexander Fleming (Nobel Prize winner in Medicine)
- Antoine Fourcroy (chemistry pioneer)
- Benjamin Franklin (US Inventor and Politician)
- Sir Bernard Spilsbury (British forensic scientist)
- Sir Christopher Wren (British astronomer and geometer)
- Sir Charles Warren ( Archaeologist)
- Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple Computer)
Artists
Many of the artists who were also Masons included elements of Freemasonry in their work:
- Ezra Ames (painter)
- Frederic Bartholdi (Sculptor; sculpted the Statue of Liberty)
- Marc Chagall (Russian artist)
- Gustave Eiffel ( Designer of the Eiffel Tower)
- Félicien Rops (artist)
- Constantin Daniel Rosenthal (Painter)
Politicians
Freemasonry emphasizes leadership, so perhaps it is not surprising that many politicians are Masons. Many royal leaders and US presidents have also been Masons:
- Agustín I (emperor of Mexico)
- José Eloy Alfaro Delgado (President of Ecuador)
- Constantin Argetoianu (Prime Minister of Romania)
- Stephen F. Austin (The “Father of Texas”)
- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Founder of the Republic of Turkey)
- James Buchanan (U.S. President)
- Carol II (King of Romania)
- Sir Winston Churchill
- Francesco Crispi (Prime Minister of Italy)
- Bob Dole
- King Edward VII ( King of Great Britain)
- King Edward VIII (King of Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand)
- Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian general)
- James A. Garfield (U.S. President)
- King George IV (King of Great Britain)
- King George VI (King of Ceylon, Great Britain, India, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan)
- Warren G. Harding (U.S. President)
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Andrew Jackson (U.S. President)
- Andrew Johnson (U.S. President)
- David Kalakaua (King of Hawaii)
- Leopold I (King of Belgium)
- Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
- Sir John A. Macdonald (The first Prime Minister of Canada)
- William McKinley (U.S. President)
- James Monroe (U.S. President)
- James K. Polk ( U.S. President.)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (U.S. President)
- Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. President)
- William Howard Taft (U.S. President)
- Harry S Truman (U.S. President)
- George Washington (US President)
- King William IV (King of Great Britain)
Entertainers and Musicians
A surprising number of musicians, composers, and actors have been Masons. Of these, Mozart is perhaps the most famous. He composed a number of musical pieces for use in Masonic Lodges.
- William "Bud" Abbott (of the Abbott & Costello comedy troupe)
- Louis Armstrong (musician)
- Thomas Arne (composer; composed Rule Britannia)
- Johann Christian Bach (composer)
- Irving Berlin (composer)
- Eddy Arnold (singer)
- George Cohan (Broadway star)
- Nat King Cole (pianist and singer)
- Cecil B. DeMille (movie maker)
- Duke Ellington (jazz legend)
- Douglas Fairbanks (movie star)
- Sir W S Gilbert (of the famous 'Gilbert and Sullivan')
- Burl Ives
- Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (composer, Wrote La Marseillaise)
- Harpo Marx
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)
- Roy Rogers (actor)
- Will Rogers (actor)
- Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton (actor)
- Sir Arthur Sullivan (half of the famous ‘Gilbert and Sullivan')
- Michael Richards (Actor)
- John Wayne (actor)
Writers
Many writers who were also Freemasons referred to Freemasonry in their works:
- François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire, writer and philosopher)
- James Boswell (writer)
- Robert Burns (poet)
- Cyriel Buysse (Flemish wrtier)
- Nicolas Chamfort
- Charles de Coster (Belgian writer)
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (writer of the Sherlock Holmes books)
- Rudyard Kipling (writer)
- Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (Poet)
- Alexander Pushkin (Russian writer)
- Friedrich Schiller (German Poet)
- Mark Twain (writer)
- Oscar Wilde (writer)
Others
Freemasons truly embody every class, profession and characteristic. From famous folk heroes to sports figures, company founders and inventors, many famous names were also Masons:
- Benedict Arnold (expelled 1781)
- John Jacob Astor (financier)
- Kit Carson (US Adventurer)
- Walter Chrysler (founder of the Chrysler Corporation)
- Tyrus Cobb (baseball star)
- William F. Cody (known as Buffalo Bill)
- Samuel Colt (manufacturer of Colt revolvers)
- Charlie Conacher (Toronto Maple Leaf ice hockey player)
- Davy Crockett (American folk hero and frontiersman)
- Jack Dempsey (heavyweight boxing champion)
- Jean Henri Dunant (founder of the Red Cross and co-winner of the first Nobel Prize
- Henry Ford (founder of the Ford Motor Company)
- Tim Horton (ice hockey star and founder of the Tim Horton’s donut franchise)
- John Molson (founder of the Molson Breweries)
- James Naismith (inventor of basketball)
- Paul Revere (American hero)
