Masonic Manuscripts
This clergyman compiled The Constitutions of the Free-Masons, published in 1723.
Rev. James Anderson
Four London lodges formed the first Grand Lodge at this St. Paul’s Churchyard tavern on June 24, 1717.
The Goose and Gridiron
This Boston-born lawyer, poet, soldier and scholar became Sovereign Grand Commander in 1859 and profoundly revised the Rite’s rituals.
Albert Pike
Knight Rose Croix
18th Degree
He was Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 and presided at the Masonic cornerstone ceremony for the U.S. Capitol in 1793.
George Washington
In 1734, this Philadelphia printer produced the first American edition of Anderson’s Constitutions.
Benjamin Franklin
Elected at that 1717 gathering, he became the first Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge.
Anthony Sayer
The Mother Supreme Council was opened in this South Carolina city on May 31, 1801
Charleston
Knight Kadosh, or Knight of the Black and White Eagle
30th Degree
In 1940, this future president was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri.
Harry S. Truman
Beginning in 1756, the Antients Grand Lodge used this distinctive title for its Book of Constitutions.
Ahiman Rezon
His diary records a 1646 initiation at Warrington—the earliest surviving record of an English speculative Mason’s initiation
Elias Ashmole
These two men opened that first Supreme Council meeting in 1801.
John Mitchell and Frederick Dalcho?
Royal Arch of Solomon
13th Degree
He discovered penicillin.
Alexander Fleming
Traditionally dated to about 1390 and also called the Halliwell Manuscript, this Middle English poem is the earliest surviving Masonic Old Charge.
Regius Manuscript or Regius Poem?
Founded in 1751 largely by London’s Irish Masons, this rival Grand Lodge called the original body the “Moderns."
His 1761 patent and 25-degree Order of the Royal Secret helped carry high-degree Masonry from France into the New World
Étienne Morin
Knight of the Royal Ax, Prince of Libanus
22nd Degree
This English journalist, novelist, and poet was immediately made Secretary because he owned a typewriter.
Rudyard Kipling
Named for the man who edited it for publication in 1861, this second-oldest Old Charge is the earliest surviving prose version.
The Cooke Manuscript
These two royal brothers—Grand Masters of the Antients and Moderns—brought the rival bodies together in 1813
The Dukes of Kent and Sussex
Morin’s Dutch deputy established the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection at Albany in 1767 and left several important manuscripts bearing his name.
Henry Andrew Francken
Prince of Mercy
26th Degree
A Mason by 1725, this satirical painter served as Grand Steward in 1735 and designed a jewel for his fellow Grand Stewards.
William Hogarth