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.
William Whipple
Masonic Signers of Declaration of IndependenceBiography
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. Whipple died of heart complications in 1785, aged 55.
Whipple was an active member of the Freemasons. Whipple was a member of the St. John’s Masonic Lodge while he was an active mason. He was one of nine signatories of the Declaration of Independence who were masons.