Famous Freemasons

Oscar Wilde – A University Freemason – by W.Bro. Yasha Beresiner

Oscar Wilde – A University Freemason

Today no one will deny the genius of Oscar Wilde. Yet during his own lifetime he was spurned and humiliated in spite of the success of much of his work. He was a victim of the society into which he was born. The Victorian middle-class, whose sacred institutions of morality Wilde was to infringe, simply had no patience or tolerance for him. The saddest of the tragedies that Wilde was to write could not match the events that were to unfold and Freemasonry, which did play a significant part during his time at Oxford

The philanthropy and tea empire of Freemason Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton

Photo of Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton

A self-made man who brought tea to the British masses, Freemason Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton also campaigned for the sick and the poor, as Philippa Faulks discovers

Many masonic lodges around the world can boast of a famous member among their ranks, but Glasgow’s Lodge Scotia, No. 178, has one rather remarkable brother – Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton. As with many other masons quietly carrying out acts of philanthropy, Lipton remains an unsung hero.

MOZART AND THE AUSTRIAN FREEMASONS by W.Bro. Martin I.McGregor

Mozart and Freemasonry

Born in Salzburg on 27th January 1756, he was baptized the following day at St. Ruperts Cathedral as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Theophilus means ‘beloved of God’ and Mozart later used the Latin form Amadeus, -stylized sometimes as Amade or Amadeo- or the German form Gottlieb. His father, Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was born in Augsburg in Bavaria, where the Mozart family can be traced back to the 14thCentury

Harold Lloyd – Freemason, Actor & “The King of Daredevil Comedy”

Harold Lloyd Freemason, Actor & “The King of Daredevil Comedy”

“The King of Daredevil Comedy,” Harold Lloyd is best remembered today as the young man dangling desperately from a clock tower in the 1923 classic Safety Last. At the height of his career, Lloyd was one of the most popular and highest-paid stars of his time. While his achievements have been overshadowed by the work of contemporaries Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, he made more films than the two of them combined. With hits like his 1922 film Grandma’s Boy, Lloyd became a strong force in bringing about the advent of the “feature-length” film.

Jean-Ovide Decroly – Freemason, Belgian doctor and educator

Jean Ovide Decroly Freemason, Belgian doctor and educator

Jean-Ovide Decroly was born on July 23rd, 1871 in Ronse, Belgium. He studied medicine at the University of Ghent and spent half a year studying at the University of Berlin. At the University of Berlin he studied the action of toxins and antitoxins on general nutrition. After starting his medical practice he became involved in a school for mentally and physically disabled children. It was through his work at the school that Decroly became interested in education.

Freemason and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Freemason and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Considered by many to be one of the quintessential American leaders of the 20th century, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who quickly became known as FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States of America. His leadership, guidance, and solutions to national issues made him a central figure in world politics for some of the most defining moments, both nationally and internationally, in recent memory

Freemason William Austin Burt, American inventor, legislator, surveyor, and millwright

William Austin Burt

American inventor, legislator, surveyor, and millwright. He was the inventor, maker and patentee of the first typewriter constructed in America. He is referred to as the “father of the typewriter”. Burt also invented the first workable solar compass, a solar use surveying instrument, and the equatorial sextant, a precision navigational aid to determine with one observation the location of a ship at sea.


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