Many publications over the years have credited many men as being Freemasons who were not members. The following men are Freemasons and are provided for your reference. Our files contain in excess of 12,000 famous masons – too numerous to list in this limited space. The Freemasons provided here are some of the most recognizable names.

Canadian Freemasons

Noted Canadians

• Chief Joseph Brant
• Chief Tecumseh
• General James Wolfe
• Sam Steele, N.W.M.P
• Henry Larsen, R.C.M.P
• W. R. “Wop” May, Bush Pilot
• Lord Thompson of Fleet, Publisher
• Samuel Bronfman, Businessman
• John d. Eaton, Eaton’s Stores
• Oscar Peterson, Musician
• John Molson, Founder of Molson Breweries
• Sir Sanford Fleming, Creator of first Canadian Stamp and Standard Time
• Lord Stanley, Governor General
• Earl de Gray, Governor General
• Charles Mair, Poet
• Robert Service, Poet
• Glenn Ford, Actor
• Tim Horton, Hockey Star
• Gordon Sinclair, Broadcaster
• James A. Naismith, Inventor of Basketball
• Wipper Billy Watson, Canadian Wresting Legend
• John B. MacLean, Founder MacLeans magazine
• Hart Massey, Massey-Ferguson Farm Equipment
• E. B. Eddy, Founder of the E. B. Eddy Match Company

Prime Ministers

• John A. MacDonald
• John Abbott
• MacKenzie Bowell
• Robert Borden
• Richard B. Bennett
• John G. Diefenbaker

Provincial Premiers

• Joseph Smallwood
• Duff Roblin
• Tommy Douglas
• William Davis
• Peter Lougheed
• John Buchanan
• W. Ross Thatcher

Noted British Columbia Freemasons

Lieutenant-Governors

• Thomas McInnes
• Sir Francis S. Barnard
• Edward Prior
• Walter C. Nichol
• Robert R. Bruce
• W. C. Woodward
• Clarance Wallace
• John Nicholson
• Walter S. Owen

Premiers

• John F. McCreight, First Premier of B.C.
• Amor de Cosmos
• George A. Walken
• Robert Bevan
• Alexander Davie
• John H. Turner
• Edward Prior
• Sir Richard McBride
• William J. Bowser
• Harland C. Brewster
• John D. MacLean
• Byron “Boss” Johnson
• W. A. C. Bennett

Victoria Cross Holders

• Alexander Dunn
• Sir Richard Turner
• Cyrus W. Peck
• Robert Shankland
• Robert MacBeath
• Robert Hanna

Business & Politics, Etc

• Robert Butchart, Owner of Butchart Gardens, Victoria
• Sir Arthur Currie, Commander Canadian Forces, W. W. 1
• Robert Cromie, Founder Vancouver Sun newspaper
• Hewitt Bostock, Founder Vancouver Province newspaper
• Gordon Gibson St., Lumberman
• J. H. Bloedell, Partner in British Columbia Forestry Giant Mac-Blo
• Alfred Wallace, Founder Burrard Shipyards
• Major James S. Matthews, City of Vancouver Archivist
• Bishop A. W. Sillitoe, First Bishop of New Westminster
• Charles Woodward, Founder of Woodward stores
• Ernie Winch, Politician, Labour Activist
• Austin C. Taylor, Sportsman, Businessman
• Gerald G. McGeer, Senator, Mayor of Vancouver
• Fred “Cyclone” Taylor, Hockey Hall of Fame
• Arthur Delamont, Musician
• Thomas G. Norris, Supreme Court Judge
• Victor Dryer, Supreme Court Judge

Internationally Known Freemasons

Historical

• Ben Franklin
• Buffalo Bill Cody
• Davey Crockett
• Kit Carson
• Sam Houston
• Charles Lindbergh
• Paul Revere

Explorers

• Roald Amundsen
• Richard E. Byrd
• Lewis and Clark
• Cpt. James Cook
• Matthew Henson
• Robert F. Scott
• Sir Ernest Shackelton

Military

• Pierre Beauregard
• Omar Bradley
• Sir Guy Carleton
• Mark Clark
• Lord Cornwallis
• Jimmy Doolittle
• Viscount Jellicoe
• Ernest King
• Lord Kitchener
• Curtis Lemay
• George C. Marshall
• Douglas MacArthur
• Lord Mountbatten
• Audie Murphy
• Lord Nelson
• John Paul Jones
• John Pershing
• Field Marshal Suvorov
• Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
• Duke of Wellington

Composers

• Irving Berlin
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• George M. Cohen
• Gilbert & Sullivan
• W. C. Handy
• Franz Haydn
• Jerome Kern
• Franz Listz
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Wolfgang Mozart
• Giacomo Puccini
• Hans Schuler
• Jean Julius Sibelius
• John Phillip Sousa

Business & Politics

• John Jacob Astor, Financier
• Thomas Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles
• Robert Dole, Senator
• Medgar W. Evers, Civil Rights Leader
• Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company
• Charles Hilton, Founder Hilton Hotel Chain
• Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader
• John H. Johnson, Publisher Ebony and Jet Magazines
• J. C. Penny, Department Store Founder
• Andre Citroen, Founder Citroen Motor Car Co.
• Col. Harland Sanders, Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Morris Sachs, Sachs 5th Ave.
• Carl B. Stokes, Mayor of Cleveland
• Dave Thomas, Owner of Wendy’s Restaurants
• Andrew Young, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
• Whitney M. Young, Director of National Urban League

Literature

• Robert Burns
• Sir Winston Churchill
• Sir Arthur Conon Doyle
• Alex Haley
• Rudyard Kipling
• Alexander Pope
• Robert Service
• Sir Walter Scott
• Jonathan Swift
• Mark Twain
• Lew Wallace
• Oscar Wilde

Monument Creators

• Alexander Eiffel, Designer of the Eiffel Tower
• Christopher Wren, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
• James Smithson, Founder Smithsonian Institute
• Sir Joseph Banks, Kew Gardens, London
• Gutzon Gorglum, Mount Rushmore
• Frederick Bartholdi, Statue of Liberty

In Music

Country Western

• Eddy Arnold
• Roy Acuff
• Rex Allen
• Gene Autry
• Roy Clark
• Jim Davis
• Ferlin Husky
• Burl Ives
• Eddy Peabody
• Tex Ritter
• Jimmy Rodgers
• Roy Rogers
• Mel Tillis
• Hank Thompson

Jazz

• Louis Armstrong
• Count Basie
• Eubie Blake
• Nat King Cole
• Duke Ellington
• Lionel Hampton
• Al Jolson
• Tony Martin
• Oscar Peterson
• Paul Whiteman

Sports Personalities

• Arnold “Red” Auerbach
• George Brent
• Avery Bundage
• Ty Cobb
• Jack Dempsey
• Jake Gaudaur
• Tim Horton
• Jack Johnston
• Willie Mays
• Arnold Palmer
• Branch Rickey
• Sugar Ray Robinson
• Cy Young

U.S. Presidents

• George Washington
• James Monroe
• Andrew Jackson
• James Polk
• James Garfield
• James Buchanan
• Andrew Johnson
• William McKinley
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Howard Taft
• Warren Harding
• Franklin Roosevelt
• Harry Truman
• Gerald Ford

Film, TV, Etc

• Bud Abbott
• Eddie Albertson
• Ernest Borgnine
• Wallace Beery
• Mel Blanc
• Eddie Cantor
• Glenn Ford
• Douglas Fairbanks
• Hoot Gibson
• Clark Gable
• Oliver Hardy
• Jean Hersholt
• Harry Houdini
• Buck Jones
• Emmott Kelly
• Harold Lloyd
• Harpo Marx
• Torn Mix
• Conrad Nagel
• Carroll O’Connor
• Tyrone Power
• Dick Powell
• Will Rogers
• Red Skelton
• Peter Sellers
• Danny Thomas
• Hal Wallis
• John Wayne
• Biller Wilder
• Chill Wils
• Jonathan Winters
• Ed Wynn
• Allan Young, Mr. Ed
• Darryl F. Zanuck

U.S. Presidents

Abraham Lincoln was not a Freemason. He did apply for membership in Tyrian Lodge, Springfield, Ill., shortly after his nomination for the presidency in 1860 but withdrew the application because he felt that his applying for membership at that time might be construed as a political ruse to obtain votes. He advised the lodge that he would resubmit his application again when he returned from the presidency.

Lincoln never returned. On the death of the president, Tyrian Lodge adopted, on April 17, 1865, a resolution to say “that the decision of President Lincoln to postpone his application for honours of Freemasonry, let his motives be misconstrued, is the highest degree honourable to his memory.”

Lyndon John received his first degree on October 30, 1937. After receiving the degree he found that his congressional duties – he was elected in 1937 – took so much time he was unable to pursue the Masonic degrees.

Ronald Reagan has often been referred to as a Freemason. President Reagan is not a Freemason although he is an honourary member of the Imperial Council of the Shrine. President Reagan has on numerous occasions been involved in Shrine and Masonic functions throughout his career.

The confusion as to his membership arises from a ceremony held in the Oval Office of the White House on February 11th, 1988, when a group of Freemasons presented President Reagan with a certificate of honour from the Grand Lodge of Washington, D. C., then he was made and Honourary Scottish Rite mason. The title of Freemason can only be conferred by a Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. In Reagan’s case this was not done, probably because the ceremonies would have taken a full day to confer and the president’s time was limited; therefore, President Reagan should only be referred to as a Shriner or Scottish Rite mason. The Shrine and Scottish Rite are concordant bodies and cannot confer the title Freemason on any person.

George Bush has also on numerous occasions been referred to as a Freemason. The confusion as to President Bush being a member arises from the swearing in ceremonies at his inauguration. President Bush took his oath of office on the George Washington Bible which belongs to St. Johns Lodge in New York City. Because the Bible belonged to a Masonic Lodge many writers assumed he was a Freemason. The Bible was used at the request of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

The Bible was first used on April 30, 1789, by the Grand Master of the Masons in New York, to administer the oath of office to George Washington, the first president. Other presidents who took their oath of office with this Bible are Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter.