Famous Masons
Many men throughout history have been members of our fraternity.
In these pages we will present you with them and try to impress upon you the great men that have been Masons.
Famous Mason Categories
Articles of Confederation • Astronauts • Businessmen • Entertainers • Explorers and Frontiersmen • Governors • Military Leaders
Politician • Presidents • Senator • Signer Declaration of Independence • Sports • Supreme Court Justice • US Constitution
Members on this page Masonic Signers
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the usual name of a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was unanimously approved on July 2. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term “Declaration of Independence” is not used in the document itself.
Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, although Adams wanted July 2.
Member of: First Lodge of Boston, 1748
BeWilliam Ellery was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Rhode Island. In 1764, the Baptists consulted with Ellery and the Congregationalist Reverend Ezra Stiles on writing a charter for the college that became Brown University. However, Ellery and Stiles attempted to give control of the college to the Congregationalists, but the Baptists withdrew the petition until it was rewritten to assure Baptist control.…
Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity.…
Became a Mason in Merchants Lodge No. 277 in Quebec, affiliated with Saint Andrew’s Lodge in Boston, 1762
A merchant, smuggler, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that the term “John Hancock” has become, in the United States, a synonym for a signature.…
Hewes was a member of Unanimity Lodge No. 7, visited in 1776, and was buried with Masonic funeral honors.
Native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he was born in 1730. Hewes’s parents were members of the Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers. Immediately after their marriage, they moved to New Jersey, which became Joseph Hewes’s home state.…
Member of Hanover Lodge in Masonborough, N.C.
American lawyer, physician, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777. Hooper was also a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, along with fellow North Carolinians Joseph Hewes and John Penn.
Hooper’s support of the colonial governments began to erode, causing problems for him due to his past support of Governor Tryon.…
Attended Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1759
Massachusetts lawyer and politician, best known as a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of Massachusetts. He served as the state’s first attorney general, and served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court.
Charter Master of St. John’s Lodge in Princeton NJ 1765
American lawyer, jurist, legislator, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In 1776, Stockton was elected to the Second Continental Congress, where he took a very active role. That August, when elections were held for the state governments of the new nation, Stockton and William Livingston each received the same number of votes to be the Governor of New Jersey on the first ballot.…
Solomon’s Lodge No. 1, in Savannah GA
Signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state.
He became an advocate of the patriot cause and was elected Secretary of the Georgia Provincial Congress and became president of the Council of Safety.…
St. John’s Lodge, Portsmouth NH 1752
Signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire. Whipple was a member of the Continental congress from 1776 through 1779. Before becoming a politician, Whipple worked as both a ship’s captain and a merchant. He became a prominent and wealthy member of society until he became a member of the new Hampshire Provincial congress.…