Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr.
(1930- )

Before becoming an astronaut, Aldrin flew 66 combat missions in the Korean Conflict. He later went on to become not only present for man’s first flight to the moon but he also, after Neil Armstrong, was the second human to set foot on the moon. He joined Montclair Lodge #144, in New Jersey, and later affiliated with Clear Lake Lodge #1417 in Seabrook, Tx. A member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Houston, he received the 33rd from the Southern Jurisdiction in 1969.

Everett Dirksen
(1896-1969)

Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen was a predominant member of Congress, remaining there for over 36 years. In 1957, he became the party’s “whip” and two years later, was elected Minority Leader. He served under six presidents and became known as one of the greatest orators of his day. Dirksen had a 19th-century eloquence that could pack the Senate floor when he rose to speak. He was a member of Pekin Lodge #29, Pekin, IL., and was Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Illinois in 1954. He received the 33rd^o in 1954.

Henry Ford
(1863-1947)

In 1908, Henry Ford unveiled the Model T — “A car for anybody and everybody.” By 1927, there were more model Ts on the road than all other cars combined. Ironically, this was the same year that saw the end to the Model T. Ford was raised in Palestine Lodge #357, Detroit, in 1894. When he received his 33rd in 1940, he said, “Masonry is the best balance wheel the United States has.”

Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)

No other individual was more heavily involved in the birth of our nation than Benjamin Franklin. He helped draft both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Franklin was not only one of the United States’ Founding Fathers, he was also an inventor. Among other things, he gave us bifocals, the lightning rod, the Franklin Stove, and the odometer. This early Mason was Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and also served as Master of the Lodge of Nine Sisters at Paris.

George C. Marshall
(1880-1959)

Marshall was a general of the army and US Army chief of staff during World War II and later Secretary of State and of Defense. The European Recovery Program he proposed in 1947 became known as the Marshall Plan. He received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. General Marshall was made a Mason “at sight” in 1941 by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

James Naismith
(1861-1939)

Naismith was a physical education instructor at Springfield College in Massachusetts when he decided to develop a new game that would provide an interlude between football and baseball. He nailed a peach basket to a YMCA gymnasium in 1891. Within a year official rules were drawn up and leagues began to form. Americans of all ages have enjoyed the game of basketball ever since. He joined Roswell Lee Lodge, Springfield, Ma, in 1894 and later affiliated with Lawrence Lodge #6 in Kansas. Here he served as Master in 1927. His Scottish Rite membership was also in Kansas.

Arnold Palmer
(1929 - )

Arnold Palmer is many things to many people, some of which are world famous golfer, business executive, advertising spokesman, and one of the most accessible public figures in the history of the game. Associated Press poll named him “Athlete of the Decade” for the 1960s. He amassed 92 championships, in national and international professional competitions, by the end of 1994. Sixty-one of these victories came on the US PGA Tour, starting with the 1955 Canadian Open. A member of Loyalhanna Lodge #275, Latrobe, PA, and Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh, Palmer received the 33° in 1998.

Joel Poinsett

South Carolinian Joel Poinsett was the first US Minister to Mexico under President John Quincy Adams. On his return from Mexico in 1825, he brought back a beautiful flowering shrub that was able to further develop and improve on his plantation. It had been called a “painted leaf” and the “Mexican fire plant,” but later became known as the poinsettia. Today, it is the most popular flowering plant grown and sold in the United States. Poinsett was a Past Master for both Recovery Lodge # 31, Greenville, SC, and Solomons Lodge #1, Charleston, SC. He was elected Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina but was unable to serve as Grand Master because of his appointment as Secretary of War under President Van Buren. He did serve as Grand Hugh Priest of the Grand Chapter of south Carolina.

Branch Rickey
(1881-1965)

Branch Rickey is most remembered as the president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who hired Jackie Robinson to break the color line in baseball. He started his career as a mediocre baseball player, batting .239 in just 119 games. But as a general manager, he excelled. Rickey created baseball’s farm system to develop young players, and added a number of innovative instructional techniques, all of which helped the St. Louis Cardinals win six pennants and our world championships. He then won two more pennants with the Dodgers before moving to Pittsburgh. Rickey was initiated in Tuscan Lodge #360, St. Louis, MO, and later transfered to Montauck Lodge #286 in Brooklyn, NY. Rickey was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

Roy Rogers
(1912-1998)

Roy Rogers left home for California in a pick-up truck with his father in hopes of seeking fortune and fame. His film debut was “Under Western Stars” and Rogers soon became a movie, television, and radio star, riding onto sets and into the hearts of grownups and children with his golden charger, Trigger. Rogers was a member of Hollywood (CA) Lodge #355, the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles, and Al Malaikah Shrine Temple.

Richard B. “Red” Skelton
(1913-1997)

For decades, audiences were thrilled by and applauded Skelton’s comedic genius not only on the vaudeville circuit but also on his highly rated TV show. He performed before the Queen of England, entertained eight Presidents and rendered private performances for three Popes. A member of Vincennes Lodge #1 in Indiana, and the Scottish Rite Valley of Evansville, he received the 33rd in 1969 and was honored with the prestigious Gourgas Medal in 1995.

Paul Whiteman
(1890-1967)

Whiteman, an American Band Leader, was known as the “King of Jazz” for popularizing a musical style that helped to introduce jazz to mainstream audiences during the 1920s and 1930s. American composer Ferde Grofe, who was an arranger for Whiteman, composed “Grand Canyon Suite” for him. Whiteman was a member of St. Cecile Lodge #569 in New York.

Denton True “Cy” Young
(1867-1955)

Cy Young was a major league baseball pitcher for 22 years and won 511 games. In 1937, he was the first pitcher to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Today, the Cy Young Award, named in his honor, is annually given to the best pitcher in the American and National Leagues. The “Grand Old Man of Baseball” was a member of Mystic Tie Lodge #194, Uhrichsville, Ohio, and the Scottish Rite Valley of Columbus.

Cecil B. DeMille
(1881-1959)

DeMille was an American motion-picture producer/director whose use of spectacle attracted vast audiences and made him a dominant figure in Hollywood for almost five decades.  He was the first director to use a megaphone on the set and the first to install a loudspeaker for issuing orders.   His 1956 remake of the epic film, “The Ten Commandments,” is a classic.  DeMille was a member of Prince of Orange Lodge #16 in New York City.

Fiorello LaGuardia
(1882-1947)

LaGuardia was an American political reformer, a Congressman (1916-1933), and mayor of New York City (1934-1945).  New York’s LaGuardia Airport is named in his honor.  During World War II, the colorful mayor read comics over the radio to entertain children during the 1945 newspaper strike.  He was a member of Garibaldi Lodge #542, in New York City.

Norman Vincent Peale
(1898-1993)

Peale was a well-known clergyman whose upbeat religious philosophy and skill as a speaker made him one of America’s most popular Protestant ministers.  He was also the publisher of Guideposts magazine and a writer of many books including the best seller Power of Positive Thinking.  A member of Midwood Lodge #1062, Brooklyn, he was Grand Chaplain for the Grand Lodge of New York.  He received the 33rd in 1959 and the Gourgas Medal in 1973.

John Jacob Astor
(1763-1848)

When John Jacob Astor left Germany in his late teens years, he worked his way to London and eventually to America. During his voyage across the Atlantic, he met a man who was a fur trader. That acquaintance convinced him to explore the fur trade., and with determination he amassed a fortune from his fur empire. At one time, he was considered the wealthiest man in America. Astor was Master of Holland Lodge #8, New York City in 1788 and later served as Grand Treasurer for the Grand Lodge of New York.

Daniel Carter Beard
(1850-1941)

To the scouts that knew him, he was “Uncle Dan”. But Beard first created a name for himself as an author and illustrator and was chosen to illustrate Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court. To keep alive the spirit of the pioneers, he formed “The Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone.” This group grew to become the largest boy’s club in America. It developed into “The Boy Pioneers” in 1905. By 1910, he had merged his group into the growing Boy Scout movement and became national scout commissioner. He received the only gold Eagle badge ever awarded. Bear was raised a Master Mason in Mariners’ Lodge #67 New York City and later became a member of Cornucopia Lodge #563 Flushing, NY.

Francis Bellamy
(1855-1931)

Francis Bellamy, a Baptist Minister, wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. Bellamy, then a chairman within the National Education Association, structured the public school program around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute - his “Pledge of Allegiance.” The Pledge has since come under several revisions. Bellamy was a member of Little Falls Lodge # 181, Little Falls, NY.

Irving Berlin
(1888-1989)

Irving Berlin started as a penniless immigrant when he came to America. His musical talent earned him fame and fortune. By 1911, Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” swept the country. Thus ragtime became a national craze. This piece was probably Berlin’s biggest success, along with “White Christmas” and “God Bless America.” Berlin was a member of Munn Lodge #190, New York City, the Scottish Rite Valley of New York City, and Mecca Shrine Temple.

Gutzon Borglum
(1871-1941)

John Gutzon Borglum, noted Mount Rushmore sculptor, showed an early aptitude for sketching at the age of seven. Borglum’s sculptures brought him nationwide recognition. His first attempt at mountain carving in 1916 at Stone Mountain, Georgia, ended when a misunderstanding caused the work to be terminated by the project’s sponsors. The Mount Rushmore carvings of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt, were carved between 1927 and 1941, and were completed by his son, Lincoln. Borglum was a member of Howard Lodge #35, New York City, where he served as Master in 1910-11. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of New York City.

General Omar Bradley
(1893-1981)

Bradley was a US Army officer who commanded the highly effective 12th Army Group, which helped ensure Allied victory over Germany during World War II. He later served as the first chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Graduating from West Point in 1915, Bradley served under Army greats, such as General George S. Patton. Under his leadership, the US 12th Army Group, the largest force ever placed under an American group commander, successfully carried out operations in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Bradley became a member of the West Point Lodge #877, Highland Falls, NY in 1923.

Harry Houdini
(1874-1926)

Harry Houdini began performing magic at the age of sixteen under the name of Eric the Great. He later changed his name from Eric Weiss to Houdini, hoping to become like his mentor, internationally known magician Robert Houdini. In 1916, Houdini began a film career but was best known for his great escapes. He executed the largest stage illusion of his day making an elephant disappear. Houdini was a member of St. Cecile Lodge #568 in New York City.

George M. Pullman
(1831-1897)

Pullman was a cabinet maker who saw a need for a more comfortable way to travel by train.  With his cabinet making skills he came up with the idea for a sleeper car.  In 1867, Pullman established the Pullman Palace Car Company which was contracted to make sleeper cars.  He also developed an industrial town of Pullman, now part of Chicago, to build his cars.  He was a member Renovation Lodge #97, Albion, NY.