# Famous initiates: who really belonged, and who was only claimed

A roster separating the documented from the rumored: real Freemasons from Washington and Franklin to Churchill and Nkrumah, and the Skull and Bones men from Taft to the Bushes; against the unverified claims, Mandela as a Mason, the misidentified 'Moi initiation' video, and celebrity Illuminati rumors.

*This story part of: Religion and ideology*

## 1731 — Benjamin Franklin joins the Freemasons

Benjamin Franklin was initiated into St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia in 1731, one of the first lodges in the American colonies. He rose to serve as Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania in 1734 and printed the first Masonic book in America, a reprint of Anderson's Constitutions. His Masonic ties are documented in lodge records and his own printing history.

## 4 November 1752 — George Washington is initiated a Freemason

George Washington was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at the Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 in Virginia on November 4, 1752. He was passed to Fellow Craft on March 3, 1753, and raised to Master Mason on August 4, 1753. This progression is documented in the lodge's own minute book, which survives.

## 1760 — Paul Revere is initiated a Freemason

Paul Revere was initiated into St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston in 1760. He later served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1797. His Masonic career is well documented in Massachusetts lodge records alongside his revolutionary activities.

## 1778 — Voltaire is initiated into the Lodge of the Nine Sisters

Voltaire was initiated into the Lodge of the Nine Sisters in Paris in 1778, only weeks before his death, with Benjamin Franklin reportedly present at the ceremony. The event is recorded in French Masonic archives and widely covered in Enlightenment-era biographies.

## 14 December 1784 — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is admitted to a Vienna Masonic lodge

Mozart was admitted as an apprentice to the Viennese lodge "Zur Wohltatigkeit" (Beneficence) on December 14, 1784, and advanced to Fellow Craft the following month. His Masonic membership shaped several of his compositions, including the Maurerische Trauermusik, and is thoroughly documented in Austrian Masonic and musicological scholarship.

## c. 1798 — Andrew Jackson is made a Freemason in Tennessee

Andrew Jackson was a member of a Tennessee lodge before he became president, and later served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee. The exact initiation date is not as precisely recorded as Washington's, so the year given here is approximate, but his lodge membership and Grand Mastership are well documented in Tennessee Masonic records.

## c. 1805 — Simon Bolivar is initiated a Freemason

Simon Bolivar was initiated into Freemasonry in the mid-1800s, with historical accounts differing on whether this occurred at the Lodge Lautaro in Cadiz or in a Scottish Rite lodge in Paris; his degree progression is generally placed between 1804 and 1807. The exact year is disputed among Masonic historians, so it is marked approximate here, but his membership itself is well documented and cited by multiple national Grand Lodges in Latin America.

## 1861 — Mark Twain is initiated a Freemason

Samuel Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was initiated into Polar Star Lodge No. 79 in St. Louis in 1861 and was raised to Master Mason within a few months. This is documented in the lodge's own records.

## 1878 — William Howard Taft is tapped for Skull and Bones

William Howard Taft, later US president and chief justice, was tapped into Skull and Bones at Yale in 1878, the society his father Alphonso Taft had co-founded in 1832. This is documented in Yale and Skull and Bones membership histories.

## 15 November 1890 — Jose Rizal is raised a Master Mason in Lodge Solidaridad

Jose Rizal joined Logia Solidaridad in Madrid in 1889 and was raised to Master Mason on November 15, 1890. His Masonic career, alongside fellow Filipino reformists Marcelo del Pilar and Antonio Luna, is documented in Philippine Masonic archives and his own correspondence.

## 1901 — Theodore Roosevelt is initiated a Freemason

Theodore Roosevelt was initiated into Matinecock Lodge No. 806 in Oyster Bay, New York, in January 1901, shortly before becoming vice president. His membership is documented in the lodge's own records and Masonic biographical archives.

## 24 May 1901 — Winston Churchill is initiated a Freemason

Winston Churchill was initiated into Studholme Lodge No. 1591 in London on May 24, 1901. He was raised to Master Mason on March 5, 1902. His attendance book, apron, and case are preserved at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, and the United Grand Lodge of England lists him among its documented famous members.

## 1909 — Harry Truman is initiated a Freemason

Harry Truman was initiated into a Masonic lodge in Belton, Missouri, in 1909. He became an active and enthusiastic Mason, serving as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri in 1940, a decade before his presidency. This is documented in Missouri Grand Lodge records.

## 1911 — Franklin D. Roosevelt is initiated a Freemason

Franklin D. Roosevelt was initiated into Holland Lodge No. 8 in New York City in 1911. He remained a Mason throughout his political career, and his membership is documented in lodge and Masonic biographical records.

## 1913 — Averell Harriman is tapped for Skull and Bones

Averell Harriman, later a US ambassador and Governor of New York, was tapped into Skull and Bones in 1913. This is documented in Yale and Skull and Bones membership records.

## c. 1917 — Prescott Bush is tapped for Skull and Bones

Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of two US presidents, was a member of Skull and Bones at Yale, documented in the society's membership rolls; the exact tap year is given here as approximate since public sourcing is less precise than for his son and grandson.

## c. 1940 — Kwame Nkrumah is initiated into Prince Hall Freemasonry

Kwame Nkrumah, later the first president of Ghana, was initiated into Prince Hall Freemasonry while a student in the United States between 1935 and 1945. The precise date is not well pinned down in available sources, so it is marked approximate, but the initiation itself is recorded in histories of Freemasonry in Ghana and Prince Hall Masonic scholarship, distinguishing it from the unverified claims made about other African leaders below.

## 1948 — George H. W. Bush is tapped for Skull and Bones

George H. W. Bush, later the 41st US president, was tapped into Skull and Bones at Yale in 1948, following his father Prescott Bush into the society. This is documented in Yale membership records and widely reported biographical accounts.

## 1949 — Gerald Ford is initiated a Freemason

Gerald Ford was initiated into Malta Lodge No. 465 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1949, well before his political career. His membership is documented in Michigan Masonic records.

## 1965 — John Kerry is tapped for Skull and Bones

John Kerry, later US secretary of state and a 2004 presidential candidate, was tapped into Skull and Bones in 1965 during his junior year at Yale, graduating with the class of 1966. This is documented in Yale and Skull and Bones membership records.

## 14 June 1967 — The Duke of Kent is installed Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who had been initiated into Freemasonry in 1963, was installed as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England on June 14, 1967, during the lodge's 250th-anniversary celebrations. He went on to become the longest-serving Grand Master in UGLE history, a role documented directly by UGLE itself.

## 1968 — George W. Bush is tapped for Skull and Bones

George W. Bush, later the 43rd US president, was tapped into Skull and Bones at Yale in 1968, becoming the third member of his family and the second future president from the society, alongside William Howard Taft and his own father. This is documented in Yale membership records.

## 1969 — Buzz Aldrin carries a Masonic flag to the Moon

Buzz Aldrin was a member of Montclair Lodge No. 144 in New Jersey and, as a 32nd-degree Scottish Rite Mason, carried a small Masonic flag with him on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. His membership is documented by the Scottish Rite and Masonic historical records, though the exact date of his initiation is less precisely documented than the flag episode itself.

## 2000 — A Lockerbie trial witness claims Muammar Gaddafi is a Freemason

During the 2000 Lockerbie bombing trial, a Libyan double agent testified that Muammar Gaddafi was a Freemason. This is a single, uncorroborated courtroom claim rather than documented lodge membership, and other accounts of Gaddafi directly dispute it, attributing his distinctive handshakes to personal style rather than Masonic recognition signs. It is presented here as an unverified claim, not a confirmed membership.

## c. 2008 — Rumors claim Barack Obama has secret-society or Illuminati ties

During and after his 2008 presidential campaign, online conspiracy theories claimed Barack Obama belonged to the Illuminati or an unnamed secret society, often tied to broader unfounded claims about his background. No lodge, society, or organizational record documents any such membership. This is presented as an unverified political conspiracy claim, not fact.

## c. 2009 — Conspiracy theorists claim Michael Jackson was targeted or controlled by the Illuminati

Following Michael Jackson's death in 2009, conspiracy theories intensified claiming he was either a secret Illuminati member or was killed for trying to expose the group, citing his hand gestures and stage imagery as coded symbols. Other researchers explain the same gestures through musical, spiritual, or performance symbolism unrelated to any secret society. No credible documentation supports either the membership or the assassination claim; both are unverified.

## c. 2009 — Rumors circulate that Jay-Z leads the Illuminati

Beginning in the late 2000s, online conspiracy theorists began claiming rapper and mogul Jay-Z is a leading member of the Illuminati, pointing to his 'Roc' hand gesture, said to mimic a triangle or pyramid, as proof. No documentation of any such membership exists; the gesture is widely explained, including by Jay-Z's own label, as a diamond shape tied to his Roc-A-Fella brand. This is an unverified pop-culture conspiracy claim, not a documented affiliation.

## c. 2011 — Rumors claim Rihanna and other pop stars are Illuminati members

A cluster of viral claims from the early 2010s named pop stars including Rihanna as Illuminati members, based on interpretations of music videos, award-show staging, and lyrics referencing eyes, pyramids, or the number 666. None of these claims are backed by documentation of any actual organizational membership. They are grouped here as a single representative example of the broader unverified 'celebrity Illuminati' genre of claim.

## c. 2013 — Rumors circulate that Beyonce is Illuminati royalty

Conspiracy theorists have long claimed Beyonce is 'queen of the Illuminati,' citing symbolism in her music videos and imagery. There is no credible documentation for this claim, and Beyonce directly mocked it in her 2016 song 'Formation,' singing that 'haters' are 'corny with that Illuminati mess.' This is treated here as an unverified pop-culture rumor, not a documented affiliation.

## c. 2013 — The claim that Nelson Mandela was a Freemason circulates and is denied

After Nelson Mandela's death, articles and social media posts claimed he had been a Freemason or even a 'Knight Templar.' This is unverified and contested: Mandela's own writings, including Long Walk to Freedom, make no mention of it, no South African lodge records list him, and his family publicly denied the claim. A separate, weaker anecdote holds he was made 'a Mason on sight' by a Prince Hall lodge in North Carolina, but this too lacks independent documentation. The claim is presented here as circulating and unverified, not as fact.

## c. 2023 — A viral video falsely claims to show Jomo Kenyatta's Masonic initiation

Social media posts and videos have claimed to show Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta being initiated into Freemasonry. Fact-checker PesaCheck found this false. Separately, an anecdote holds that a Kenyan judge once tried to recruit Kenyatta into a lodge and that he reacted badly to the approach, but there is no documentary evidence he ever joined. The initiation claim is unverified and should not be treated as fact.

## c. 2024 — A viral video falsely claims to show Daniel arap Moi's Masonic initiation

A video circulating on social media claims to show former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi being inducted into the Freemasons in 1980, captioned as a 'Knight of Grace' initiation. Fact-checkers Africa Check and PesaCheck found this false: the footage actually shows the Duke of Gloucester investing Moi as a Knight of Grace in the Order of St John in Nairobi in 1980, an entirely different organization from the Freemasons, identifiable by its Maltese cross rather than the Masonic square and compass. This claim should be treated as debunked misidentification, not documented Masonic membership.