Famous Freemasons

There are many famous freemasons from throughout history including politicians, artists and other famous people.

Famous Freemasons

Actors

Actors that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Peter Sellers (1925 – 1980) Famous For – Often refered to as the greatest comedians of all time. Peter Sellers was nominated for 3 Oscars amongst many other awards credited to him. Peter Sellers Had Roles In The Following Films.

  • Dr. Strangelove
  • Being There
  • The Pink Panther
  • The Pink Panther Strikes Again

David Garrick (1717 – 1779), David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer. David Garrick’s Major Works include.

  • The Lying Valet (1941)
  • Harlequin’s Invasion (1759)
  • Lilliput (1756)
  • A Peep Behind the Curtain (1767)

Other actors include;

  • Sir Donald Wolfit (1902 – 1968)
  • Edmund Kean (1787 – 1833)
  • Sir Henry Irving (1838 – 1905)

Artists

Artists that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

John Zoffany (1733 – 1810). Johan Zoffany was born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij in Frankfurt on 13 March 1733. He undertook an initial period of study in a sculptor’s workshop in Ellwangen in the 1740s (possibly at the workshop of sculptor Melchior Paulus) and later at Regensburg with the artist Martin Speer. In 1750, he travelled to Rome, entering the studio of Agostino Masucci. In Autumn 1760 he arrived in England, initially finding work with the clockmaker Stephen Rimbault (Zoffany’s fine portrait of whom is now in the Tate Gallery), painting vignettes for his clocks.

By 1764 he was enjoying the patronage of the royal family, King George III and Queen Charlotte, for his charmingly informal scenes — such as Queen Charlotte and Her Two Eldest Children (1765), in which the queen is shown at her toilette, with her eldest children, inside Buckingham House, and another, outdoors, with her children and her brothers. He also was popular with the Austrian royal family, and in 1776 was created ‘Baron’ by the archduchess Maria Theresia.

Johann Zoffany was also a Freemason and was initiated into the Craft on December 19, 1763 at The Old King’s Lodge No 28

Sir James Thornhill (1676 – 1734). A major example of Thornhill’s work are the eight scenes executed in grisaille from the Life of St. Paul in the cupola of St Paul’s Cathedral (1716–19). In Dorset, his birthplace, Thornhill decorated the reredos at St. Mary’s Church, Weymouth, with a picture of the Last Supper.

William Hogarth (1697 – 1764). By April 1720 Hogarth was an engraver in his own right, at first engraving coats of arms, shop bills, and designing plates for booksellers.

In 1727, he was hired by Joshua Morris, a tapestry worker, to prepare a design for the Element of Earth. Morris heard that he was “an engraver, and no painter”, and consequently declined the work when completed. Hogarth accordingly sued him for the money in the Westminster Court, where the case was decided in his favour on 28 May 1728. In 1757 he was appointed Serjeant Painter to the King.

Sir John Soane (1753 – 1837). Sir John Soane, was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources. The influence of his work, coming at the end of the Georgian era, was swamped by the revival styles of the 19th century. It was not until the late 19th century that the influence of Sir John’s architecture was widely felt. His best-known work was the Bank of England, a building which had widespread effect on commercial architecture.

British Armed Forces (Army, RAF & Navy)

Members of the British Armed Forces that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Marshal of the RAF, Lord Newall (1886 – 1963)
  • Admiral Earl Jellicoe (1859 – 1935)
  • Admiral Sir Sidney Smith (1764 – 1840)
  • Admiral Lord Charles Beresford (1841 – 1919)
  • Field Marshal Earl Haig (1861 – 1928)
  • Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (1884 – 1981)
  • General Sir John Moore (1761 – 1809)
  • Field Marshal 1st Duke of Wellington (1769 – 1852)
  • Field Marshal Sir John French, Earl of Ypres (1852 – 1925)
  • General Sir Francis Wingate (1861 – 1953)
  • Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (1850 – 1916)
  • Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar (1832 – 1914)
  • Field Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891 – 1969)
  • Field Marshal Garnett, 1st Viscount Wolseley (1883 – 1913)

British Monarchs

British Monarchs that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Famous Charity Workers

Charity Workers that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Sir William “Billy” Butlin (1899 – 1980)
  • Name – Dr T. J. Barnardo (1845 – 1905)
  • 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851 – 1925)

Entertainers

Entertainers that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Sir Harry Lauder
  • Nat Jackley
  • Jim Davidson
  • Geraldo
  • David Nixon
  • Tommy Trinder
  • Roger de Courcey
  • Edmundo Ross
  • Alfred Marks
  • Cyril Stapleton
  • Cyril Fletcher
  • Jimmy Wheeler

Famous Explorers

Explorers that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Capt Robert Falcon Scott, RN (1868 – 1912). Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO (6 June 1868 – c29 March 1912) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13. During this second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that they had been preceded by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott and his four comrades all perished from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold.

Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874 – 1922). Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish explorer who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned to Antarctica in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909 he and three companions made a southern march which established a record Farthest South latitude at 88°23’S, 97 geographical miles (114 statute miles, 190 km) from the South Pole, by far the closest convergence in exploration history up to that time. For this achievement, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII on his return home.

Sir Richard Burton (1821 – 1890). Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian and African languages.

Burton’s best-known achievements include travelling in disguise to Mecca, an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (also commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after Andrew Lang’s abridgement), bringing the Kama Sutra to publication in English, and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans led by Africa’s greatest explorer guide, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, utilizing route information by Indian and Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Burton extensively criticized colonial policies (to the detriment of his career) in his works and letters. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including human behaviour, travel, falconry, fencing, sexual practices and ethnography. A unique feature of his books is the copious footnotes and appendices containing remarkable observations and unexpurgated information.

Musicians

Musicians that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Thomas Arne (1710 – 1778)
  • Samuel Wesley (1766 – 1837)
  • Sir Henry Bishop (1786 – 1855)
  • Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842 – 1900)

Religious Leaders

Religious Leaders that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Sir Israel Brodie (1895 – 1979). Sir Israel Brodie was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain & the Commonwealth. Brodie contributed signioficantly in rebuild the religious life of European Jewry after the Holocaust.

Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury (1887 – 1972). Famous For – Fisher put an effort into the task of revising the Church of England’s canon law. The canons of 1604 were at that time still in force, despite being largely out of date. He presided at the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and later at her coronation in 1953 as Queen Elizabeth II.

Scientists

Scientists that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Sir Bernard Spilsbury (1877 – 1947). Sir Bernard Spilsbury was a famous English pathologist. Educated at Magdalen College Oxford in Natural Science, thenm studied forensic pathology at St Marys Hospital London.

Dr Edward Jenner (1749 – 1823). English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Jenner is widely credited as the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Immunology”

Sir Joseph Banks (1744 – 1820). Sir Joseph Banks was an English Botanist and parton of the natural sciences. He was a member of Captain James Cooks first great voyage aboard HMS Endeavour. Sir Joseph Banks introduced the western world to new plants such as eucalyptus and approx 80 species of plant bear Sir Josephs name.

Sir Alexander Flemming (1881-1955). Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish Pharmacologist and Biologist. Most famous for the discovery of penicillin, thus leading to the new pharmaceutical industry. Penicillin was a cure for many of mankind’s horrible diseases including TB, Gangrene and Syphilis.

Sportsmen

Sportsmen that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Joe Wade
  • Arnold Palmer
  • Sir Arthur Gold
  • Peter Ebdon
  • Sir Clive Lloyd
  • Jim Peters
  • Trevor Simpson
  • Len Shackleton
  • Jock Stein
  • Tony Allcock
  • Malcolm Campbell
  • Leslie Compton
  • Sir Alec Rose
  • Sir Thomas Lipton
  • Herbert Sutcliffe
  • William ‘Jack’ Dempsey
  • Sir Leonard Hutton
  • Bill Bowes
  • Mark Wildman
  • Jackie Milburn
  • Harold Abrahams
  • Sir Donald Campbell

British Statesmen/Politicians

British Statesmen/Politicians that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

  • Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
  • Lord Randolph Churchill (1849 – 1895)
  • Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
  • Cecil Rhodes (1852 – 1903)
  • George Canning (1770 – 1827)
  • Leopold S. Amery (1873 – 1955)

Writers/Authors

Writers/Autors that are historically significant that are known to have been active members of the freemasons.

Sir William S. Gilbert (1836 – 1911)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930)
Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882)
Robbie Burns (1759 – 1796)
Edward Gibbon (1734 – 1794)
Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744)
Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)
Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 – 1816)

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