Since the office was established in 1789, 45 persons have served as
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Of these, 15 (including Lyndon Johnson) are known to have been
Freemasons, beginning with the nation's first president,
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, and most recently the 38th president,
Gerald R. Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
.
List
The following U.S. presidents were Freemasons:
In addition to the individuals listed above,
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
was initiated into the first degree of Freemasonry"Entered Apprentice", October 30, 1937, in Johnson City Lodge No. 561, at Johnson City, Texas, but did not advance any further and did not become a full member of his lodge,
Ronald Reagan was made an honorary Freemason, and as a youth,
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
was a member of the Order of DeMolay. Also, there is speculation suggesting that
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
was a Freemason; however, there is no record of him being initiated into any lodge, nor are there any references to Masonic membership in his personal papers.
Gallery
Washington Masonic print.jpg,
Grand Master Andrew Jackson.jpg,
Andrew Johnson Knights Templar.jpg,
Freemason Theodore Roosevelt.jpg,
Warren G. Harding wearing mason's hat.jpg,
Photograph of President Truman wearing his Masonic regalia (he was a thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason), with... - NARA - 200176.jpg, , alt=Paragraph of Harry S. Truman wearing Masonic regalia, with other dignitaries at the Masonic National Memorial
See also
*
List of monarchs who were Freemasons
This is a list of monarchs who were Freemasons, and lists individual monarchs chronologically under the countries they ruled, monarchs who ruled more than one country are listed under the one they are most known for, or the dominant nation in a ...
Notes
References
External links
The Role of Freemasons in Presidential Funerals YouTube, 2018 presentation by author Louis Picone at the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York
{{Freemasonry footer, state=collapsed
*
Freemasons
United States presidents
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...