Until 1996

 As soon as two men associated together there was a need for mutual assistance. Shortly thereafter some form of elementary fraternity appeared. 

1000 BC - Hiram Abif born about this time. Date unknown.

 967 BC - Solomon's Temple begun.

 960 BC - Solomon's Temple finished.

 715 BC - Numa Pompilius organized Roman workers into various Collegia; he attached one to each legion of the army so that the Roman arms and arts went hand in hand into the outlying parts of the empire. The stone workers or masons were the most numerous and became very powerful. There were some similarities between these groups and a modern lodge. Each Collegia was required to have at least three members; the head was called the Magister or Master; they used their tools as symbols; and they looked after the widows and orphans of the members.

 587 BC - King Solomon's Temple destroyed.

 582 BC - Pythagoras, character in Master Mason degree born.

 1 AD - At the time of Christ there existed in Palestine three religious sects: The Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The Essenes were the strictest group with a high moral code, a secret ceremony. It is sometimes suggested that Jesus Christ was a member because he was not on the scene from childhood until manhood. He spoke against the other two sects but never against the Essenes, he was celibate (as they were), and he lived a pure and spotless life (as they urged).

 290 AD - On November 8, the Emperor Diocletian executed Claudius Castorius, Sempronianus, and Nicostratus, Sempronianus, for refusing to carve a statue to the god Aesculapius. Their names were forgotten for a time. Several years later, Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus, and Victorinus, (Christians), were executed for refusing to pay homage to the same pagan god. They were later honored as the Four Crowned Martyrs.  

926. In a number of ancient manuscripts is the legend that in this year Prince Edwin, son of King Athelstan, presided over a meeting of Masons at York. 

1080. There existed in Germany about this time a group of stone masons known as the Steinmetzen. They were well organized operative workmen with rules, ceremonies, and titles that have caused some to claim that they are the ancestors of our Craft.

 1136. Melrose Abbey being built. Traveling Masons placed their marks on some of the stones. 

1147. Companies of Norman Masons emigrated to Chartres, France to help build the Cathedral there.

 1187. Jerusalem falls to the Saracens. A formal separation came between the Order of Sion and the Knights Templar. This separation was marked by a ceremony at Gisors, France, referred to as the "cutting of the elm." Henceforth the Knights Templar operated autonomously.

1189. Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey in London on September 3. He spent the vast majority of his ten-year reign abroad, devoting himself to the Crusades. Richard's constant companions were knights from the Order of Knights Templar who participated in his Crusade to recover Jerusalem. The Knights Templar were formally under the control of the Order of Sion created a half century earlier by Godfroi de Bouillon.

 1278. Earliest knows use of the word "lodge" is in the records of Vale Royal Abbey.

 1307. On October 13, every Templar found in France was arrested and put in chains on King Philip's orders. They were tortured until they confessed heresy. The Knights who managed to escape were men without a country or religion, and forced to develop secret recognition signals and grips which supposedly became the traditional underpinnings of Freemasonry. 

1314. Jacques De Molay, Grand Master of the outlawed Knights Templar, was burned at the stake on March 18. He had been imprisoned since 1307 as a result of the treachery of the King of France and Pole Clement V. 

June 24, in what became known as the "Battle of Bannockburn," Scottish troops, assisted by Knights Templar fugitives from France, under the command of Robert the Bruce, defeated English troops under the command of Edward II. This battle, in which the Scots were outnumbered four to one, was decisive in securing Scotland's independence from England 13 years later.

 1350. In England the Statute of Laborers passed.  It regulated the wages of workmen.  In this law the word "mason" and the word "freestone" appears.

 1360. Thirteen sheriffs were ordered by the Crown to send 568 Masons to Windsor.

 1370. York Minster masons' Ordinance passed. It was written in English and used the word "Mason," or "Masoun."

 1375. The Mason's Company of London was represented at the Court of Common Council. It had no doubt been in existence for many years in order to be entitled to this representation.  It was probably a craft guild.

 First known use of the word "Freemason" in the City of London Letter Book H of August 9. The word was then stricken off and replaced with the word "Masons."

 1390. The Regius Poem, sometimes called the Halliwell Manuscript, was written or copied from an older, unknown manuscript. This is the oldest existing copy of any ancient Masonic manuscript. 

1400. Inventory of the masons' lodge at York Minster contained two tracing boards.

1425. The Cooke Manuscript was written. This is the second oldest of the extant ancient manuscripts of Masonry.

 1429. "Masons of the Lodge" mentioned at Canterbury Cathedral.

 1460. Reference made to a tracing house at Westminster Abbey. 

1463. The Worshipful Company of Masons of the City of London erected its first hall.

 1479. The term "Master Mason" appeared after the name of William Orchard at Magdalen College.

 1487. The word "Freemason" appeared for the first time in the Statutes of England. 

1491. Municipal law passed at St. Giles, Edinburgh, establishing the condition of employment of Master Masons and co-workers.

 1531. Reference made to a tracing house at Westminster Palace.

 1581. The Mason's Company was incorporated at Newcastle and given certain powers and duties.

 1583. St. Mary's Lodge of Dundee is mentioned in an Indenture bearing this date. 

1598-1599. William Schaw,  Master of the Works in Scotland, promulgated two sets of rules. The first regulated the Masons of Scotland; the second gave the Lodge of Kilwinning supervisory powers over the lodges of West Scotland. It used the term "fellow of the craft."

 1599. The oldest known written records of a Masonic Lodge; January 9, Aitchison's Havenhas Lodge in Musselburgh, Scotland. It ceased to exist in 1856.

 Oldest known existing lodge, Edinburgh Lodge No. 1, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 3.

 1600. First record of the admission of a non-operative mason in a Lodge of Scotland.  John Boswell, laird of Auchinlech, became a member of the lodge of Edinburgh.

 The word "Freemason" appeared in the York Roll.

 1619-1620. Account Book of the London Mason's Company used the term "Accepted" as a description of some members.

 1621. Records of the Worshipful Company of Freemasons of London indicate that there were "accepted" and "operative" members.

 1633. John Stow's Survey of London was published mentioning the "Company of Masons being otherwise termed Free Masons."

 1634. Lord Alexander, Sir Anthony Alexander, and Sir Alenander Strachan, members of the nobility, were made Masons at the Lodge of Edinburgh.

1641. Sir Robert Moray initiated by a group of Masons in a Scotch regiment at Newcastle- on-Tyne, May 20. This is the earliest recorded initiation. 

1642. Minutes of Mother Kilwinning Lodge # 0 go back to this year.

 1646. Elias Ashmole wrote in his diary that he was made a "Free Mason," October 16 proving that there were speculative lodges long before 1717.

 1650. The Harleian Manuscript was written about this time.

 1655. The Company of Freemasons of the City of London changed its name to "The Company of Masons."

 1656. John Aubrey began A Natural History of Wiltshire, in which he stated that the Fraternity of Free Masons "are known to one another by certain signes and Watch words," and other significant words.

1668. Hall of the Worshipful Company of Masons of London rebuilt. It is believed that a speculative lodge met in the building.

 1670. The records of the Lodge of Aberdeen began. They showed that some members were operative and others were speculative. 

1677. Stanley Manuscript written about this time.

 1682. Elias Ashmole wrote in his diary that he had attended a lodge meeting at Masons' Hall, London.

 John Aubrey, an antiquary, wrote his "National History of Wiltshire" (published in 1847) and spoke of "Fraternity of Free-Masons" and also described them as "adopted masons" and "accepted masons."

 1688. A lodge of accepted Masons met at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

 Randle Holm III, a Chester genealogists and antiquary, described an association with members of the "Society called Free-Masons." 

The Society of Freemasons is mentioned in a satirical speech at the commencement exercises of the University of Dublin in July. 

Records of the Lodge of Melrose (between this year and 1695) used the term "fellowcraft."

 1696. The Edinburgh Register House Manuscript suggests that Masons had words, a grip, signs and "five points."

 1697. Mention on a letter from Scotland of the "mason's word," used for purpose of recognition.

 1698. An Anti-Masonic leaflet was published warning people against the "Free Masons."

 1702. The Hughfoot Lodge Minute Book starts with December 2.

 1704. Jonathan Belcher, a native born American, became a Mason in London. 

1716. Meeting held at the Apple Tree Tavern in Charles Street, Covent Gardens, to discuss a revival of the Quarterly Communications and the Annual Assembly. 

1717. The first Grand Lodge was formed on June 24, in London, by four lodges of the city. It was not the Grand Lodge of England at that time but of "London and Westminster."

 1719. Reverend John T. Desaguliers elected Grand Master of the Mother Grand Lodge of England.

 1721. The Grand Lodge of England, on June 24, adopted the regulation requiring all regular lodges to secure a charter.

Masonry introduced into Turkey.

 John, Duke of Montagu, became The Grand Master.  Attendant publicity brought the Craft much prestige.

 1722. Reads Weekly Journal published the Enter'd ‘Prentice Song, December 1.

 The Old Constitution belonging to the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons was published. 

1723. The Flying Post, on April 11-13, printed "A Masons' Examination," the earliest known printed catechism of the Craft.

 Dr. James Anderson publishes first edition of "The Constitution of the Free-Masons." 

1725. Grand Lodge of Ireland formed. 

A lodge was known to exist in Paris. 

Masonic activity in India first began in Calcutta. 

The Pennsylvania Gazette published by Benjamin Franklin, on December 3 and 8, mentioned several lodges meeting in Philadelphia. 

The Grand Lodge of England, on June 5, issued a deputation to Daniel Coxe to act as "Provincial Grand Master of the Provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in America.

 First Lodge constituted in India.

 1732. A lodge in Paris was formed under the English constitution.

 First traveling Military Lodge formed by Grand Lodge of Ireland.

 1733. Freemasonry appeared in Italy and persecution followed in Florence.

 On April 13, Henry Price received a Deputation as "Provincial Grand master of New England and Dominions and Territories thereunder belonging."

 On July 30, Henry Price organized the Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

 First Masonic Temple in America erected in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

First lodge in Georgia formed in Savannah by James Oglethorpe. The charter from England was received the following year.

 Benjamin Franklin reprinted Anderson's Book of Constitutions. This was the first Masonic book published in America.

 On November 28, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter as Grand master for the Province of Pennsylvania.

 1735. A lodge was formed in North Carolina.

 Masonry established in Portugal under an English charter.

 Grand Lodge of England issued a warrant to Solomon's Lodge at Charleston, South Carolina. 

Hammerton received deputation as Provincial Grand Master of South Carolina, April 15.

 The South Carolina Gazette of Charles reported a Masonic meeting on that city.

 The Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts established a lodge at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

 Grand Lodge of Scotland formed.

 Warrant issued by Lord Derwentwater for the formation of a lodge in Sweden.

 First lodge met in Germany on September 6.

 The New York Gazette of March 28 indicated that a lodge existed in New York at the time.

 1738. Dr. James Anderson published the Second edition of The Constitution of the Freemasons.

 Edward Oakley, on December 31, delivered a speech in which he commended the giving of lectures in lodges on the subjects of architecture and geometry.

 Pope Clement XII issued his Papal Bull in Eminent, April 28, the first official edict of the Roman Catholic Church against the Craft.

 New York Gazette announced a lodge meeting in the city.

 Committee met in London to discuss Freemasonry. It eventually developed into the Ancient Grand Lodge.

 1740. During the Seven Years War and the Napoleonic Wars (1740 to 1814), approximately 200,000 members of the French Army were taken prisoner and held in captivity in England. In the eight land prisons they established five Lodges; in the 50 parole towns, 32 Lodges; and, in the 51 prison hulks, where anything like a normal life was virtually if not completely impossible, there were six Lodges established.

 Members of a lodge in Madrid were imprisoned.

 1741. Masonry introduced in Austria.

 1742. June 17, in Boston, Massachusetts, was born Brother William Hooper, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He was a member of Masonboro Lodge in Masonboro, North Carolina, which ceased to exist in 1787. He died in October, 1790. (Source: Chase's; 10,000 Famous Freemasons)

 1743. John Coustos questioned and tortured by the Inquisition in Portugal because he was a Mason.

 Masonry introduced in Denmark. A duly constituted lodge, however, was not started until October 25, 1745, when a warrant was issued by the Grand Lodge of England.

 1744. Fifield Dassigny published A serious and Impartial Inquiry into the Caus of the Present Decay of Freemasonry in the Kingdom of Ireland. It contains the oldest printed reference to Royal Arch Masonry.

 1746. John Coustos published The Sufferings of John Coustos for Freemasonry. It was a first hand report on the methods of the Inquisition.

 1749. First lodge formed in Canada.

 Thomas Oxnard, Provincial Grand Master, issued charter to St. John's Lodge. Newport, Rhode Island, the first lodge in that State.

 Benjamin Franklin appointed Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania.

 1750. Freemasonry introduced in Poland.

 Thomas Oxnard, Provincial Grand Master, issued charter to the first lodge in Maryland.

On January 17, Joseph Torrubia secured permission of the Pope to become a mason. He was a Roman Catholic priest living in Spain and wanted to find out who were the Masons. As a result of his joining the Craft he learned who belonged to the order and he caused their arrest and punishment by the Inquisition.

 1751. In March, Torrubia gave the list of ninety-seven lodges to the Grand Inquisitors.

 On July 2, King Ferdinand VI suppressed the Order in Spain.

 The Ancient Grand Lodge was formed on July 17. This was formerly called a schism from the 1717 Grand Lodge. Sadler established that it was founded by Irish Masons in protest against the attitude of the 1717 Grand Lodge.

 Pope Benedict XIV issued the Bull Providas against the Craft on May 18. He had supposedly been made a Mason in his native Bologna before becoming Pope.

 1753. George Washington, a 21 year-old Virginia planter, became a Master Mason, August 4, in The Lodge at Fredericksburg," Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was initiated November 4, 1752, and passed March 3, 1753.

 Second charter issued on May 14 for a lodge in Rhode Island. The one issued in 1749 had been unused.

 George Harrison appointed Provincial Grand Master of New York on January 9. He served for eighteen years and warranted some seventeen or eighteen lodges.

 1754. First known use of the term "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," in a certificate drawn by the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

 James Otis made a Mason in St. John's Lodge of Massachusetts. Famous for the words "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

 Amos Doolittle born in Cheshire, Connecticut, made many engravings for the True Masonic Chart of Jeremy Cross. These engravings were made into slides that are still being used.

 Jeremy Gridley become Provincial Grand Master over the remaining parts of North America.

1756. Henry (Light Horse Harry) Lee born. Famous Revolutionary War soldier was the father of Robert E. Lee. He was a Mason.

 Laurence Dermott published Ahiman Rezon, the Constitution of the Ancients.  This book was the source for the ritual of many American Grand Lodges still being used.

 1759. A Lodge at Exeter made a reference to the Royal Arch Degree in a manner to indicate that a lodge was conferring that degree.

 1761. A number of lodges in Pennsylvania, on July 15, organized a Grand Lodge and soon thereafter received a charter from the Ancient Grand Lodge. It was called the York Grand Lodge.

 The Provincial Grand Master of New York issued a warrant to St. John's Lodge of Newark, New Jersey, and it was constituted on May 13, the first lodge in New Jersey.

 The Grand Consistory of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, of Paris, granted a Patent to Stephen Morin, on August 27, to carry the Rite of Perfection to America. 

1765. Benedict Arnold was made a Mason on Connecticut.

 1766. Jeremy Gridley, Provincial Grand master, warranted a lodge at Crown Point, North Carolina. It was called First Lodge.

 1767. First lodge established in China by the Grand Lodge of England.

 On December 30, Henry Price sent a deputation to Thomas Cooper of North Carolina in which he declared himself as "Grand Master of the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of all such places in North America where no other Grand Master is appointed."

 Earliest known record of the conferring of the Masonic Order of Knights Templar, on August 28, in St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter, Boston, Massachusetts.

 Welling Callcott published Candid Disquisition of the Principles and Practices of Free and Accepted Masons, the first book to explain the symbols of the Craft.

 The Grand Lodge of Scotland appointed Joseph Warren as Provincial Grand Master. He set up St. Andrew's Grand Lodge with three member lodges; one had an Irish chapter.

 First Lodge, Portland No.1, established in Maine on May 8.

 John Paul Jones, famous naval commander, made a Mason in St. Bernard's Lodge, Scotland.

 The Grand Master of England, on January 14, appointed Col. Joseph Montfort of Halifax, North Carolina, "Provincial Grand master of and for America." (Surprising because Henry Price was still active.)

 1772. First lodge formed in South Africa.

 William Preston published "Illustration of Free Masonry" which went through seventeen editions by 1861.

 1773. The minutes of St Andrew's Lodge of Boston, for December, disclose that there were few members present and it was necessary to adjourn. There is also evidence that men dressed as Indians left the building where the lodge was meeting the night of the "Tea Party," but it was a Masonic party as sometimes claimed.

 Grand Lodge formed in France called the Grand Lodge National. 

Unity Lodge organized in Savannah, Georgia.

 1775. Ferdinand IV, King of the Two Sicilies, issued an edict against Freemasonry.

Masonic Hall dedicated on Great Queen Street, London, England.

 June 7, 1776, Brother Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence. His resolution read ( in part ): These United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." This was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. Brother Lee was a member of Hiram Lodge No. 59, Westmoreland County , Virginia

 June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence from Britain. Named to the committee were Virginian Thomas Jefferson, John Adams of Massachusetts; Brother Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Brother Robert Livingston of New York, and Brother Roger Sherman of Massachusetts. Jefferson is credited with the writing.

 1777. June 13, the French soldier Brother Marquis de Lafayette (whose given name was Gilbert du Mothier) landed in the United States to aid the former colonies against Great Britain. His military career spanned five decades, during which he was a French Musketeer, a commander of American troops, and an anti-Bourbon revolutionary leader. He was commissioned a Major General in the continental Army on July 31. He became an intimate of General and Brother George Washington. He claimed to have been initiated in the Loge Contrat Social of Paris before he even came to America. He received the chapter degrees in Jerusalem Chapter No. 8 (RAM) September 12, 1824. His son, Brother George Washington Lafayette received them in the same chapter four days earlier. He was knighted in Morton Commandery No. 4, K. T. and received the Scottish rite degrees in the Cerneau Supreme Council of New York and was made a 33rd degree and Honorary Grand Commander of that body. More than 75 Masonic Bodies in the United States have been named after him, including 39 Lodges, 18 Chapters, 4 Councils, 4 Commanderies, and 87 Scottish Rite bodies. He died May 20, 1834.

 The friends of Joseph Warren organized the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. From that day to 1792, there were two Grand Lodges in the State of Massachusetts.

 1778. Voltaire made a Mason in the Lodge of the Nine Muses, Paris, April 7. Benjamin Franklin was present.

 Grand Lodge of Virginia formed, October 13.

 Prince Hall and 14 black men in Boston take part in a ceremony conducted by a John Batt, on March 6.

 1779. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania met outside its borders and organized a lodge in Burlington, New Jersey.

 On Saint Johns Day, December 27th, in Arnolds Tavern, Morristown, New Jersey, the American Union Lodge No. 1 of Marietta, Ohio met with representatives of all the Lodges then encamped at Jockey Hollow. The Masons had big problems, not only were they fighting for their actual lives, but also their Masonic life. As rebels they had cut the tie with the Grand Lodge of England. They were now irregular!

 At this meeting was General Washington and most of his staff who were Masons. General Mordecai Gist was in the East and presented a petition calling for the formation of a General Grand Lodge for all the United States. It was agreed and was copied and dispatched to all the other known lodges in the Colonies.

 However due to transit time, before it could be fully circulated thru the colonies several of them decided to form their own Grand Lodge within their respective states, and the General Grand Lodge died.

 Of note, Pennsylvania not only formed its own Grand Lodge but elected Brother George Washington as Grand Master, but the matter died. Brother Washington’s thoughts are unknown.

 1781. Charter issued by Massachusetts Grand Lodge, November 10, for first lodge in territory which later became Vermont, Paul Revere signed charter as Senior Grand Warden.

 Grand Lodge of New York formed.

 Robert Burns became a Mason at St. David's Lodge Tarbolton, Scotland.  installed as Poet Laureate of Freemasonry in Lodge Canontgate-Kilwinning, Scotland.

 1783. Brother Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams were the three American signatories who signed the Treaty (known as the Treaty of Paris) between the United States and Britain, ending the Revolutionary War, September 3.

 1784. Second Grand Lodge of New York formed, February 4.

 Charter issued to African Lodge No. 459 by the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns), September 29.

 Masonic apron made by Madame Lafayette presented to George Washington.

 1785. Jean Antoine Houdon made statue of Washington. He was member of Lodge of the Nine Muses, Paris.

Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania formed September, 25.

 Grand Lodge of New Jersey formed, December 18.

 1787. Grand Lodge of North Carolina formed, April 17.

 Grand Lodge of Georgia formed December, 16.

 African Lodge No. 459, under the leadership of Prince Hall, met under a charter issued in 1784.

 1788. New York dropped the word "Provincial" from its Grand Lodge name.

George Washington elected Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge (now Alexandria- Washington Lodge No. 22.

 1789. Grand Lodge of Connecticut formed July 8.

 William Cushing appointed the first justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was a member of St. Andrew's Lodge Boston.

 Oath of office administered to Washington by Robert R. Livingston, Grand Master, using the Holy Bible of St. John's Lodge No. 1, New York.

 Grand Lodge of New Hampshire formed July 8.

 Stephen Fuller Austin, born at Austinville, Virginia, helped his father form Texas into a State.  He was a member of Louisiana Lodge No. 109, Missouri.

 Cornerstone of the District of Columbia (the first of forty stones) laid April 15 by Alexandria Lodge No. 22 Alexandria, Virginia.

 1794. Paul Revere elected Grand Master of Massachusetts.

 William J. William painted the famous Masonic picture of George Washington.

 Grand Lodge of Vermont formed October 4.

 1795. James Knox Polk, eleventh President of the United States, born in North Carolina.

 1796. Oliver Ellsworth became the third Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was a carter member of St. John's Lodge, Princeton, New Jersey.

 1797. George Washington wrote a letter to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in which he said: "My attachment to the Society of which we re members will dispose me always, to contribute my best endeavors to contribute the honor and interest of the Craft."

 Royal Arch masons established the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the Northern States of America, at Hartford, Connecticut.

 1800. Grand Lodge of Kentucky formed October 16.

 1801. Sir Walter Scott, famous novelist, made a mason in Lodge St. David, No. 36, Edinburgh, Scotland.

 Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite was established at Charleston, South Carolina.

 1803. Brothers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began their 4,000-mile exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, known to history as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Brother Lewis was raised at Door to Virtue Lodge No. 44, Albemarle County, Virginia on January 29, 1799.

 1806. Grand Lodge of Delaware formed on June 6 with Gunning Bedford as Grand Master. He had been a good friend of Washington.

 Masonry introduced in Finland.

 The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania issued a charter to Western Star Lodge, the first in Illinois, on June 2.

 Final stages of organization of General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch masons for the United States of America on January 9 at Middleton, Connecticut.

 1807. Earliest authentic evidence of conferring of Royal Master's degree in Columbia Council No. 1 of New York.

 Brother David Rice Atchison born at Frogtown, Kentucky was a member of Platte Lodge No. 56, Missouri. He was ex-officio president of the United States for one day because President Taylor refused to take the oath of office on a Sunday, but took it the next day, March 5, 1849.

 Albert Gallatin Mackey born in Charleston, South Carolina.

 First Masonic Hall purchased in Scotland.

 Albert Pike born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 1810. Masonry introduced in Portugal and persecuted shortly thereafter.

1811. Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia formed January 8.

 1812. Grand Lodge of Louisiana formed, January 12.

 First lodge chartered in Alabama.

 1813. Grand Lodge of Tennessee formed December 27.

 The Moderns and the Ancients became reconciled and formed the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons, December 27.

Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite established.

 1814. On September 1, Brother Francis Scott Key, prisoner aboard a British man-of-war shelling Fort McHenry, wrote the words to our National Anthem on the back of an envelope: These words which were to become our National Anthem, also became over the years a part of most lodge communications.

 The nation's Capitol was burned by British forces during the War of 1812. On Lake Erie, Commodore and Brother O. H. Perry flew a flag that read: "Don't Give Up The Ship," and after the battle reported, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

 The Grand Lodges of Ireland, England and Scotland signed the "International Compact" in which they agree on the basic points of Masonry.

 1815. New book of Constitutions issued by the United Grand Lodge of England.

 The Grand Lodge of Maryland laid the cornerstone of the Washington Monument in Baltimore. The Governor of the State acted as Grand Master.

 1816. Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland formed.

 Grand Lodge of South Carolina formed.

 1818. Robert Morris, a famous Masonic author, supposedly born near Boston (Aug. 31) , has recently been proven to have been born Robert Williams Peckham in New York City.

In 1825, at the death of his father, he was placed in a home in Western NY  where he took the name of his Foster Father, John Morris. 

 Grand Lodge of Indiana formed January 12.

 Grand Lodge of Mississippi formed July 27.

 The Grand Lodge South Carolina issued a warrant to Cuba, and became the Mother of Masonry in that island.

 1819. Grand Lodge of Missouri formed April 24.

 Grand Lodge of Maine formed June 1.

 Grand Lodge of Alabama formed June 11.

 Pope Pius VII issued his Bull Ecclesiam, September 13.

 James K. Polk, eleventh President of the United States ( A native North Carolinian), made a Mason in Columbus Lodge No. 1, Tennessee.

 1822. Andrew Jackson (A North Carolina native) became Grand Master of Tennessee, October 7. He became the seventh President of the United States.

 First Grand Lodge of Illinois formed December 11.

 1824. Ferdinand VII of Spain ordered the death of all Masons without trial, August 1.

 1825. Pope Leo XII issued his Bull Quiograviora. March 13, directed against the Craft. 

1826. William Morgan of Batavia, New York, signed a contract on March 13 to write a book exposing the secrets of Freemasonry. He disappeared. The book was published. The combination of unfortunate circumstances brought about the formation of the Anti-Masonic political party.

 On February 23, the Spanish government executed a person accused of being a Mason.

 1827. The first evidence of Freemasonry in North America appeared in Nova Scotia.  A stone engraved on the top with a square and compasses, was found on the shore of Goat Island in the Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia.  In the center of the flat slab was the date 1606.  Dr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston wrote about it in 1829, calling it the "Annapolis Stone."  The stone is said to have become a part of a wall for a building; it was covered with cement and never found again.

 1828. The Grand Lodge of Maryland laid the first stone of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.

 Formal organization if the Anti-Masonic political party in February at New York.

 Ely S. Parker born in New York. He was a grandson of Red Jacket, who gave a medal to Washington. Both full-blooded Indians were Masons.

 1829. Pope Pius VII issued his Bull Traditi, on May 21, directed against the Craft.

 1830. Grand Lodge of Florida formed July 6.

 1831. William Florence born in Albany, New York. He conceived the idea for the Shrine while on a trip in Northern Africa. 

Captain and Brother Thomas Driver of the SS Charles Daggett received a delegation of ladies aboard ship who presented him with a new flag which they had just made. Touched by the unexpected gift he immediately ordered the new colors run up the mast and as he saluted declared, "l name thee Old Glory." The name stuck. Brother Driver was to carry "Old Glory'' twice around the world.

 1832. Pope Gregory XVI issued his Bull Mirari on August 15, directed against the Craft.

 John James Joseph Gourgas named the first Sovereign Grand Commander upon the formation of the Northern Masonic jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite.

 1834. Brother Frederick Auguste Bartholdi born in France. He was the moving spirit and designer of the Statue of Liberty.

 1835. "Mark Twain" (Brother Samuel L. Clemens) born in Missouri.

 1836. Brother David (Davy) Crocket in his 1834 autobiography wrote: "I leave this rule for others when I'm dead. Always be sure you're right - then go ahead." During the heroic defense of The Alamo in Texas on March 6, he was killed.

 General and Brother Sam Houston elected first President of the Republic of Texas, September 5.

 First Book of Constitutions issued by Scotland.

 1837. Grand Lodge Liberty started in England.

 Grand lodge of Texas formed December 20.

 1838. Grand Lodge of Arkansas formed November 21.

 1839. James Halliwell discovered the Regius Manuscript in the British Museum.

 1840. Second Grand Lodge of Illinois formed April 6.

 Stephen A. Douglas, famous political leader, made a Mason in Springfield Lodge No. 4, Illinois.

 1841. Franz Liszt, famous composer and pianist, made a Mason in Union Lodge, Frankfurt, Germany.

 Albert Gallatin Mackey made a Mason in St. Andrew's Lodge No. 10, South Carolina.

 The Grand Master of Illinois issued a dispensation to a lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, October 15.

 The Grand Lodge of Maine issued a charter, dated October 20, 1841, for a lodge in Iowa.

 1842. First lodge formed in New Zealand.

 Lodge constituted at Nauvoo, Illinois, March 15.

 Joseph Smith, Mormon prophet, was made a Mason at sight in Nauvoo Lodge.  Their charter was suspended, August 11.

 Orphan's Friends Lodge #17, Texas established a school which, apparently, was the first fathered by a Masonic lodge.

 1843. Grand Lodge of Iowa formed January 8.

 On May 8th, the Baltimore Convention met with fifteen Grand Lodges in attendance.

 Charters of the Nauvoo lodges arrested for irregularities in October.

 Grand Lodge of Wisconsin formed December 18.

 Grand Lodge of Missouri established a Masonic College.

 1844. June 27, Brother Joseph Smith, Jr., and his brother Hyrum, were shot to death by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. At the time, Brother Joseph Smith was a presidential candidate of the National Reform Party. Both Joseph and Hyrum were members of Nauvoo Lodge, Nauvoo, Illinois

 Grand Lodge of Michigan formed September 17.

 1846. Pope Pius IX issued has Bull Qui Fluribus, November 9, directed against the Craft.

 Robert (Peckham) Morris the second Poet Laureate of Masonry, became a Master Mason in Oxford Miss. on March 5.

 1847. President Polk, a Mason, helped lay the cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, DC, May 1.

 1848. Robert Macoy made a Mason in Lebanon Lodge No. 313 (now No. 191), New York.

 Cornerstone of Washington Monument, Washington, DC laid by Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, July 4, by Grand Master Benjamin B. French.

 First charter for lodge West of the Rockies arrived in Oregon, City.

 1849. Pope Pius IX issued his Bull Quibus quantisque Malis, April 20, directed against the Craft.

 Grand Lodge of Virginia laid the cornerstone of the George Washington monument in Richmond, Virginia.

 1850. Lodge constituted in Arabia, August 5, by Grand Lodge of Scotland.

 Degrees of the Eastern Star prepared by Robert Morris, of Kentucky, and first conferred on his wife.

Grand Lodge of California formed April 19.

 1851. Andrew Jackson became a mason in Greenville Lodge No. 119 (now No. 3), Tennessee. He became President of the United States at Lincoln's death.

 Second cornerstone beginning House and Senate wings of United States Capitol was laid by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia with Grand Master Benjamin B. French.

 Lew Wallace, famous General and author of Ben Hur, made a Mason in Fountain Lodge No. 60, Covington, Indiana, January 15.

 Grand Lodge of Oregon formed September 15.

 Louis Kossuth made a Mason in Cincinnati Lodge No. 133, Ohio.

 1853. Congress of American Lodges held at Lexington, Kentucky.

 Grand Lodge of Minnesota formed February 24.

 1854. Kit Carson made a Mason in Montezuma Lodge No. 109 (Missouri Register), Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory.

 1856. Grand Lodge of Kansas formed March 17.

 Admiral Robert Peary born. He was the first to reach the North Pole. He was a member of Kane Lodge, New York.

 1857. Brother William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States was born September 15.

 Grand Lodge of Nebraska formed September 23.

 John Cabell Breckenridge became Vice President of the United States. He was raised in Des Moines Lodge No. 41 (now No. 1), Burlington, Iowa, and affiliated with Good Samaritan Lodge No. 174 Lexington, Kentucky.

 1858. Theodore Roosevelt born.

 Grand Lodge of Washington formed December 8.

 1859. Retired railroad conductor Brother Edwin L. Drake became the first person to successfully drill oil from the earth, August 27, at Titusville, Pennsylvania.

 First lodge chartered in British Columbia.

 1860. First publication of the ritual of the Eastern Star.

 Brother William Jennings Bryan born in Salem, Illinois.

 Brother Robert Morris, of LaGrange, Kentucky, on June 24, wrote to leaders of the Craft proposing a uniform ritual for all Grand Lodges in America. It became the source of much internal strife within the Craft and brought much abuse to one who had labored long and hard in the quarries.

 1861. Mark Twain made a Mason in Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St Louis, Missouri.

 James Abram Garfield made a Mason in Magnolia Lodge No. 20, Columbus, Ohio. He became the twentieth President of the United States.

 Grand Lodge of Colorado formed August 2.

 1862. First Masonic meeting in Wyoming. July 4, on top of Independence Rock.

 Charles Sherwood Stratton, known as Tom Thumb, the famous midget, made a Mason in St. John's Lodge No. 3 Bridgeport, Connecticut.

 1863. Following the first day of battle at Gettysburg, the Blue and the Gray met, July 1, at the local lodge and mingled peacefully.

 July 26, Confederate Major General and Brother John Hunt Morgan ( Morgan's Raiders) was captured at New Lisbon, Ohio by Union forces. He was imprisoned in the Ohio Penitentiary from which he soon escaped. He then undertook a raid in Greenville, Tennessee wherein he was surrounded and killed on September 4, 1864. He was a member of Davies Lodge No. 22 Lexington, Kentucky. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery with Masonic honors in 1846.

 First meeting of the Vigilantes in Montana, December 22. Eleven of the twelve were Masons.

 Stephen Johnson Field appointed justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was Lincoln's last appointment. He was a member of Corinthian Lodge No. 9, Marysville, California. 

1864. Garibaldi united all the Masonic groups in Italy, May 21-24.

 Pope Pius IX issued his Bull Quanta Cura, December 8, directed against the Craft.

 Idaho's first lodge chartered on August 9.

 1865. Ely S. Parker, a Mason, wrote the terms of surrender for the end of the War Between the States, April 9. He was Grant's Secretary.

 Grand Lodge of West Virginia formed April 12.

 Pope Pius IX issued his Bull Multiplices Intern, September 25, directed against the Craft.

Freemason's Hall opened in Dublin.

 St. Cecile Lodge (Daylight), New York City, received dispensation.

 1866. Second Freemasons' Hall opened in London.

 Lodge formed in Japan by the Grand Lodge of England.

 The Grand Lodge of Kentucky erected the Masonic Widows and Orphans home in Louisville, the first of its kind.

 Grand Lodge of Montana formed July 24.

 1867. Josiah Hayden Drummond unanimously selected as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction.

 Grand Lodge of Idaho formed December 17.

 1869. Pope Pius IX issued his Bull Apostolicae Sedis, October 12, directed against the Craft.

 1871. William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was made a Mason in Platte Valley Lodge No. 32, Nebraska.

 Sir Williams S. Gilbert (Gilbert and Sullivan) made a Mason in Lodge St. Michar No. 54, Scotland.

 Albert Pike wrote Morals and Dogma.

 U. S. Grant, at his home in Galena, Illinois, received the Knights Templar and entertained them. (Grant was not a Mason, but his father was.) After his world tour, Grant gave the local lodge a drum he had received from a dignitary in India.

 1872. First official meeting of Mecca Temple, September 26, in New York. This was the beginning of the Shrine. The guiding spirits were William J. Florence and Dr. Walter M. Fleming.

 Grand Lodge of Utah formed January 16.

 1873. Pope Pius IX issued his Bull Etsi Multa, November 21, directed against the Craft.

 Grand Lodge of Indian Territory formed October 6.

 1874. Grand Lodge of Wyoming formed December 15.

 1875. Oscar Wilde was raised May 25, in Appolo University Lodge No. 357, Oxford, England.

 Grand Lodge of Dakota Territory formed July 21.

 1877. Cecil J. Rhodes made a Mason in University Lodge No. 357, Oxford, England. He established the Rhodes scholarships.

 Brother John M. Harlan appointed a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

The Grand Orient of France eliminated from its Constitution the reference to God. Most of the world's  Grand Lodges withdrew recognition. 

Grand Lodge of New Mexico formed August 6.

 1879. Carl H. Claudy born in Washington, DC Author of many Masonic books, articles and Masonic plays. For many years, was Executive Secretary of The Masonic Service Association.

 1880. Joseph Fort Newton born in Decatur, Texas He became active as a Masonic author and noted orator.

 Gould's History of Freemasonry published. This was a milestone on Masonic historical research. 

1881. John Phillip Sousa made a Mason in Hiram Lodge No. 10, Washington, DC.

 1882. First Alberta, Canada. lodge chartered.

 Grand Lodge of Arizona formed March 25.

 1883. June 17, The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship "Isere" in 350 individual pieces. Sculpted by Brother Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was a gift to America from the people of France.  He named the statue "Liberty Enlightening the world."

 Brother Edwin T. Booth, famous Shakespearean actor, born in Bel Air, Maryland. Member of New York Lodge No. 330, New York.

 1884. Pope Leo XIII issued his Bull Humanum Genus, April 20, directed against the Craft.

 Robert Morris designated poet laureate of Freemasonry.

 1885. Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada held first convention and elected officers.

 1886. On May 26, at St. Petersburg, Russia,  was born Asa Yoelson, the Mason, actor and singer who became internationally known as Al Jolson.

 June 25, was born at Gladwyne, Pennsylvania the man and Mason who was to become Unite States General and Commander of the Army Air Force in all theaters throughout World War II. As early as 1938, Brother Henry H. "Hap" Arnold was persuading the United States aviation industry to step up its production of airplanes, though no funds were available for the purpose. Under his goading production rose from 6,000 planes to 262,999 a year during 1940-55. He was made a full General in 1944 - and became the United States Air Force's first Five Star general when the Air Force was made a separate military unit equal to the Army and Navy. Brother Arnold was raised in Union Lodge No. l7, Junction City, Kansas, November 3, 1927. He received the 32º AASR on April 11, 1929 at Fort Leavenworth Kansas, and the 33º on October 10, 1950. He died in Sonoma, California January 15, 1951. (Chase's; Livingston Masonic Library)

 Rudyard Kipling made a Mason in Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782, Lahore, India.

 Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, the first Masonic research lodge, was established in London.

 H. L. Haywood born in Mulberry, Ohio. He is the author of many Masonic books. 

1887. Sir Arthur S. Sullivan (Gilbert) and Sullivan) served as Grand Organist of the Grand Lodge of England.

 1888. June 2, the famous comic ballad "Casey at the Bat" appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. Though attributed to "anonymous" the author was serious poet Ernest L. Thayer who was paid $5 for the effort that led to most of his other works being forgotten. But it triggered a happy career for Brother DeWolff Hopper who recited "Casey at the Bat" for the first time at Wallack's Theater in New York City. And no fewer than 10,000 times after that as part of his comic repertoire. The recitation, which made both the poem and himself famous, took five minutes and 40 seconds, and never failed to "bring down the house." Brother Hopper was raised in Pacific Lodge No. 233, New York city, in 1890, and was 32 deg. AASR (New Jersey), and a member of Mecca Shrine Temple in New York City. He died September 23, 1935.

 Publication of the first transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 of London. They have been published yearly to the present time. 

John Joseph Pershing made a mason in Lincoln Lodge No. 19, Nebraska. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Army in France in World War I.

 Irving Berlin, famous song writer, born in Russia. Member of Munn Lodge No. 190, New York.

 1889. Grand Lodges of North Dakota and South Dakota formed June 12.

 George Franklin Fort published his Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry.

 1890. Nathaniel Pitt Langford published Vigilante Days and Ways in which he explained how the Craft organized law and order in Montana. He was Grand Master in 1869. 

Frank S. Land born in Kansas City, Missouri. He organized the Order of DeMolay. 

James Cunningham Batchelor succeeded Albert Pike as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.

 1892. Brother James P. Upham, publisher of Youths Companion Magazine, advanced the idea of a flag raising ceremony in all schools in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. Patriotic fervor swept the country over the idea for an appropriate prayer filled with reverence, patriotism and love of country, for occasions such as these, the Reverend and Brother Francis J. Bellamy created America's Pledge of Allegiance. Brother Bellamy's pledge was first used on Columbus Day, October 12, 1892 and was officially adopted on June 22, 1942, "under God" was added June 14, 1954.

 Grand Lodge of Oklahoma Territory formed November 10.

 1893. Masonic Congress held in Chicago, Illinois.

 Lawrence Nichols Greenleaf started the publication of The Square and Compass of Denver and continued to do so until 1917.

 Clarence M. Boutelle wrote The man of Mount Moriah; famous Masonic novel.

 Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, became a Mason on Phoenix Lodge No. 257, Portsmouth, England. 

1894. Anti-Masonic Bureau established by Pope Leo XIII.

 Edward Conder Jr., of London, Published Records of the Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masons.

1895. June 24 at Manassas, Colorado was born William Harrison Dempsey who was to become known as "Jack Dempsey, The Manassas Mauler" and who was Heavyweight Champion of the Boxing world from 1919 to 1926. He won the Heavyweight Championship from Jess Willard at Toledo, Ohio on July 4, 1919. And he lost the title to Gene Tunney at Philadelphia on September 23, 1926. Following his boxing career he became a successful restaurateur. Bro. Dempsey was a member of Kenwood Lodge No. 800, Chicago, Illinois. He died May 31, 1983, at New York City. (Chase's; Livingston Masonic Library)

 1896. Robert Edwin Peary, discoverer of the North Pole, made a Mason in Kane Lodge No. 454, New York.

 Anti-Masonic Congress held in Trent. Looked into the matter of Diana Vaughn.

The Tract Association of Friends (Quakers) of Philadelphia, issued an anti-Masonic tract called, Secret Societies.

 1897. June 2, Brother Mark Twain, 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London, "The report of my death was an exaggeration." The line was afterwards frequently quoted. Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorn Clemens, was a member of Polar Star Lodge No. 79 in St., Louis, Missouri. At one point he was suspended but reinstated on April 24, 1867. However, he demitted October 8, 1868 and never again affiliated with any Lodge.

 Leo Taxil admitted that Diana Vaughn was a myth. He had to flee for his life.

 1898. Sam Henry Goodwin became a Mason in Fraternal Lodge No. 71, New Hampshire. He later moved to Utah. Wrote extensively on the relations of Masonry and Mormonism. He was Grand Master and then Grand Secretary of Utah.

 John Wanamaker made a Mason at Sight by the Grand Master of Pennsylvania, March 30.

 1899. Leader Scott (Mrs. Lucy Baxter) published the Cathedral buildings in which she sought to show the missing link between the Masons of ancient times and the Masons of today.

 Hamilton Lodge No. 120, New York founded the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, called the Grotto.

 Henry L. Stillson and the W. J. Hughan, as editors, published The History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, and Concordant Orders.

 Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, "Hero of Santiago," made a Mason at Sight, October 21, at Washington, DC.

 1901. Brother Jean Henri Dunant, of Switzerland, for having founded The International Committee of the Red Cross, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, December 10.

 United States Vice President and Brother Theodore Roosevelt In a speech given, September 2 at St. Paul, Minnesota Theodore Roosevelt voiced his famous phrase "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

 Brother William McKinley, then President of the United States, was shot at Buffalo, New York by Leon Czolgosz, September 6. He died eight days later. 

Oliver Day Street, famous lawyer and politician of Alabama, made a Mason in Marshall Lodge No. 209, Guntersville, Alabama. He became a Grand Master of Alabama and authored Symbolism of the Three Degrees.

 Roscoe Pound made a Mason in Lancaster Lodge No. 54, Nebraska.

 Theodore Roosevelt made a Mason in Martinecock Lodge No. 806, New York.

 1902. Charles McCarthy's The Anti-Masonic Political Party printed in the Proceedings of the American Historical Association.

 1904. David A. Smalley received first section of the Third Degree in Chicago. The lodge was not permitted to reassemble because of strict regulation resulting from the fire in the Iroquois Theater. Two weeks later the second section was conferred on him. During the intervening period, he was a two and a half degree Mason.

 1906. For helping to mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War, Brother Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, December 10. 

Will Rogers made a Mason in Claremont Lodge No. 53, Oklahoma.

 Julius F. Sachse wrote Benjamin Franklin as a Freemason in a celebration volume of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

 1907. Brother Rudyard Kipling received the Nobel prize for literature.

On May 26, Marion Michael Morrison was born at Winterset, Iowa, the man and Mason who was to become John (Duke) Wayne, American motion picture actor. He was the archetypal Western hero and starred in more films than any other actor. But he did not receive an Oscar until 1969 for "True Grit." He was also a DeMolay. He died at Los Angeles, California June 11, 1979.

 June 22, at Englewood, New Jersey was born the talented author and aviator Ann Morrow Lindbergh (Gift from the Sea), who became the wife of Brother Charles A. Lindbergh who made history with his nonstop trans-Atlantic flight from Long Island to Paris on May 20, 1927. Brother Lindbergh was a member of Keystone Lodge No. 243, St. Louis, Missouri. (Chase's)

 1908. Grand Lodge of Oklahoma formed February 10.

 Fay Hempstead crowned Poet Laureate of Freemasonry.

 1909. Grand Lodge of Oklahoma formed February 10.

 William Howard Taft made a Mason at sight. He was President-elect at the time. 

June 14, born at Hunt, Illinois was American singer and actor Brother Burl Ives who reintroduced Anglo-American folk music in the 40s and 50s. Brother Ives won an Academy Award for his supporting role in The Big Country (1958), and became well-known for his role as Big Daddy in both the film and the Broadway production of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. He died April 14, 1995, at Anacortes, Washington. (Chase's)

 Grand Lodge of Turkey formed, July 13.

 Harry S. Truman made a Mason in Belton Lodge #450, Missouri. He later became the thirty-third President of the United States.

 Tyrus Raymond Cobb, famous baseball player, made a Mason in Royston Lodge No. 426, Georgia.

 1910. Meeting held at Alexandria, Virginia, February 22, resulted in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association being formed and the adoption of a resolution to erect a memorial to George Washington.

 1911. Roscoe Pound's famous lectures The Philosophy of Freemasonry and Masonic Jurisprudence were published.

 Franklin D. Roosevelt made a Mason in Holland Lodge No. 8, New York.

Cornerstone of new home of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, was laid in Washington, DC. 

1913. The Catholic Encyclopedia was published. It has an article on Freemasonry by the Abbe Gruber, a Jesuit who made anti-masonry his life work.

 1914. Organization of the National Masonic Research Society. It issued the first copy of The Builder, January 1915.

 Reverend Joseph Newton wrote The Builders for the Grand Lodge of Iowa which was given to each new Mason. The book has been popular ever since. 

1915. June 8, Brother William Jennings Bryan resigned as United States Secretary of State over United States handling of the German sinking of the Lusitania. He ran three times for the United States Presidency. The first two times he was defeated by Brother William McKinley, and the third time by Brother William H. Taft. Brother Bryan was raised in Lincoln Lodge No. 19, Lincoln, Nebraska, and later affiliated with Temple Lodge No. 247, Miami, Florida. He died in Miami, July 26, 1925. (Newsday; Livingston Masonic Library)

 Julius F. Sachse published Washington's Masonic Correspondence.

 During the dedication of the House of the Temple (home of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction), a dove flew into the building, circled the atrium and flew out. It was generally regarded as an omen of Masonic peace.

 1917. June 19, During World War I, King George V ordered the British Royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames. The family took the name of "Windsor." Although not himself a Mason, he became Grand Patron of three Masonic Charities of the Grand Lodge of England when he ascended the throne. (Newsday: This Day in History; Livingston Masonic Library)

 June 26, General and Brother John J. "Black Jack" Pershing sent the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force into France during World War I. When the first American troops landed in France Colonel Charles E. Stanton stood at the tomb of the Frenchman who had given so much to America and said: "Lafayette, we are here." On October 20, the First division entered the front lines at Luneville, a town that quickly got renamed "Looneyville" by the new troops, much to the dismay of the locals. (The Learning Kingdom; Chronicle of America)

 President Woodrow Wilson boosted our flag with these words: "The flag which we honor and under which we serve, symbol of our unity, our purpose as a nation, has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The honor is ours." At home and at war Americans sang Brother George M. Cohan's wartime hit: "You're a Grand Old Flag."

 1918. Conference held at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, November 26-28, which resulted in the formation of The Masonic Service Association of the United States.

 1919. The Builder reprinted the article on Freemasonry published in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

 The Grand Master of Rhode Island gave a dispensation for Overseas Lodge, April 24, with petitions only of men in the armed services accepted while it operated in Europe.

 1920. The Shrine adopted a resolution to establish hospitals for crippled children.

 Bainbridge Colby, member of Kane Lodge No. 454, New York, appointed Secretary of State in Woodrow Wilson's cabinet.

 1921. Born July 19, Brother John Glenn, United States Senator (D-Ohio), first American astronaut to orbit earth, in Cambridge, Ohio. Brother John Glenn is an ardent Scottish Rite Mason, too. He received the 33° with Brothers Joel Berg, Arnold Palmer and Carl J. Smith, Grand Master of Masons in New York, in 1998. (Source: American Mason Research)

 John Henry Cowles became Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. He served until 1952.

 Warren G. Harding became President of the Untied States. He was a Mason.

 1922. May 29, Chief Justice and Brother William Howard Taft dedicated the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC Brother Taft went on to become the 27th President of the United States. He was made a Mason "at sight" on June 18, 1909, by Grand Master Charles S. Hoskinson. He became affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge No. 356 on April 14, at Cincinnati, Ohio, then made Honorary member of Crescent Lodge No. 25, Cedar Rapids, Idaho.

 Eddie Rickenbacker made a Mason in Kilwinning Lodge #297, Detroit, Michigan.

 June 14, Brother Warren G. Harding became the first United States President to broadcast a message over radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore, Maryland. The first official government message was broadcast December 6, 1923. (Chase's)

 Matthew McBlain Thomson and his associates found guilty of using the mails to defraud. They had conducted a clandestine Masonic organization.

 1923. Grand Fascist Council issued first resolution against Freemasonry, February 13.

 June 12, the magician and Mason Brother Harry Houdini amazed a large and disbelieving audience as he freed himself from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down 40 feet (12 m) above the ground in New York City. The Hungarian entertainer was famous worldwide for staging the most dazzling and difficult escapes. Brother Houdini was raised August 21, 1923 in St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 in New York City. He later became a member of Mecca Shrine Temple. He died October 31, 1926. (The Learning Kingdom; Livingston Masonic Library)

 Born, July 23 Brother and Sir Knight Robert J. Dole, United States Senator (R-Arkansas) at Russell, Kansas. World War II broke out during Brother Dole's second year at college. He left to enlist in the United States Army becoming member of the 10th Mountain Division where he saw extensive duty in Italy. While leading an attack on the a German machine gun unit in the Po Valley on April 14, 1945, he was hit by part of an exploding shell. His right shoulder was virtually gone, some neck and spinal vertebrae were fractured and several slithers of metal penetrated his body. Three years of hospitalization and three operations followed. Slowly the wounded soldier recovered the ability to stand, walk and use his left arm and hand. In 1975 he married Elizabeth Hanford of Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1950 a 27-year-old Dole became a candidate for the Kansas Legislature. The rest is history. Brother Dole was initiated into Russell Lodge 177 on April 19, 1955, passed to Fellowcraft on June 7, and was raised on September 20, 1955. Brother Dole completed his Scottish Rite degrees in the Valley of Salina on December 10, 1966, and the York Rite in Aleppo Commandery No. 31 in Hays, Kansas. (Source: Knight Templar magazine, May 1997) (Source: AMERICAN MASON Files)

 Cornerstone of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial laid November 1.

 Melvin M. Johnson's The Beginnings of Freemasonry in America was published.

 The Masonic Service Association raised $15,777.25 for Japanese earthquake relief.

 First Short Talk Bulletin issued by the Masonic Service Association, entitled "Paul Revere," written by Jacob Hugo Tatsch.

 1924. June 20, at Kingston, Texas, was born Brother Audie Murphy , the Mason who was to become the most decorated soldier in World War II, and later an actor in western and war movies. Brother Murphy was raised April 4, 1955 at North Hollywood Lodge No. 542 and on May 24, 1956 became a plural member of heritage Lodge No. 764, also of North Hollywood, California. He completed his Scottish Rite degrees in Dallas, Texas on November 14, 1957, and less than two months before his death in a plane crash, had his Scottish Rite membership moved to the Valley of Long Beach, California Brother, Murphy died in a fiery plane crash near Galax, Virginia on May 28, 1971. Some days elapsed before his body was recovered. He was buried on June 7, 1971 at Arlington National Cemetery. (Chase's; Knight Templar Magazine)

 The Master Mason magazine born.

 First edition of the Little Masonic Library published in twenty small volumes.

 1925. Imperial Council of the Shrine was incorporated in Colorado to administer the affairs of the national organization.

Ray V. Denslow's Territorial Freemasonry was published.

 First Grand Masters' Conference of the present series held November 17 in Chicago. Meetings have been held every year since. Proceedings have been printed since 1929.

 1926. The Salvation Army issued "Confidential" communication to its officers expressing opposition to secret societies.

 The Fascists confiscated property of the Craft in Italy, January 9.

 New Masonic Temple of Detroit dedicated November 25. It cost seven million dollars.

 The Masonic Service Association reported the publication of the national Masonic Library.

 The Masonic Services Association raised $114,236.97 for Florida hurricane relief.

 1927. June 13, 1927 aviation hero, BROTHER CHARLES LINDBERGH was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

The Lodge of Friendship Village, a collection of Masonic short stories by P. W. George, was published. 

The Masonic Services Association raised $608,291.91 for Mississippi Valley flood relief. 

1928. The Masonic Services Association raised $86,316.58 for Puerto Rico hurricane relief.

 First Conference of Grand Secretaries' held in Washington, DC, February 21.

 1929. June 12, 1929 the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated at Cooperstown, New York. More than 200 individuals have been honored for their contributions to the game of baseball by induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Of the first five players to be so honored, four were Freemasons: Brother Tyrus R. "Ty" Cobb of Royston Lodge No.52, Detroit, Michigan; Brother John "Honus" Wagner of Centennial Lodge No. 544, Carnegie, Pennsylvania; Brother Christopher "Christie:" Mathewson of New York City's Architect Lodge No. 519. The non Masons were Walter Johnson and Babe Ruth. (Chase's; Livingston Masonic Library)

 J Hugo Tatsch's Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies published.

 The Supreme Court held that the white Shriners of Texas could not stop the Negroes from having their Shrine organization.

 Eugen Lennhoff's The Freemasons published. This book was translated into English in 1934.

 The Masonic Services Association reorganized with George R. Sturgis of Connecticut the Chairman of the Executive Commission and Carl H. Claudy, Executive Secretary.

 1930. The Builder died.

 1931. The Master Mason magazine died.

 Masonic meetings prohibited in Portugal by order if the police.

First volume of the Transactions of the American Lodge of Research, New York, published. 

J. Hugo Tatsch's The Facts about George Washington as a Freemason published.

 Andrew L. Randell, Past Grand Master of Texas, died.

 1932. Dedication of the George Washington Masonic national Memorial, Shooter's Hill, Alexandria, Virginia.

Third cornerstone of the United States Capital laid, September 18, by Grand Master Reuben A. Bogley of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. 

United States government Washington Bi-Centennial Commission, Honorable Sol Bloom, Chairman, published Washington's Home and Fraternal Life, and sent reproduction of Burdette painting of Washington to every lodge in United States. 

1933. Melvin M. Johnson became Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction serving until 1953.

 1934. June 26, Unite States President and Brother Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Credit Union Act, thus enabling the formation of credit unions anywhere in the United States. Credit Unions, unlike banks, are non-profit cooperatives owned and controlled by their members. The Act was part of Roosevelt's New Deal program to assist people of small means. Courtesy AMERICAN MASON magazine.

 The Masonic Services Association published first of series of twelve lodge room plays, August 1.

 First presentation of the first of the Masonic Services Association's twelve Masonic plays, The Greatest of These, played by Fellowcraft Club of Lafayette Lodge No. 19, District of Columbia, October 4, before the author's lodge. Harmony No. 17, District of Columbia.

 1935. Earl Warren became Grand Master of California. He became Chief, Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

 1936. General Douglas MacArthur made a Mason at Sight, at Manila, Philippine Islands.

 June 18, the United States Virgin Islands celebrates Organic Act Day annually on the third Monday in June. This public holiday honors United States President and Brother Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1936 signing of the Organic Act bringing self government to the United States Virgin Islands. This act was the culmination of an effort led by Rothschild Frances, D. Hamilton Jackson, and Lionel Roberts. (Chase's)

R. F. Gould's The History of Freemasonry throughout the World republished: many contributors wrote histories of United States Grand Lodges for this six volume edition.

 1937. June 3, The Duke of Windsor, who as King Edward VIII, had abdicated the British throne on December 11, 1936, was married to Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson of Baltimore, MD at Monts, France. The couple made their home in France after their marriage and had little contact with the royal family. The Duke died at Paris on May 28, 1972, and was buried near Windsor Castle in England. The Duchess died April 25, 1986. Brother Edward was a member of Household Brigade Lodge No. 2614. He became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England in 1936.

 King George VI of England invested as Past Grand Master.

 Knoop and Jones published An Introduction to Freemasonry.

 1938. Samuel Harrison Baynard, Jr. published History of the Supreme Council, Northern Jurisdiction.

 Knoop and Jones and Hamer published The Two Earliest Masonic Manuscripts. 

The Masonic Services Association raised $5,202.36 for Austrian relief fund. 

1939. The Masonic Services Association raised $7,387.27 for Chilean earthquake relief. 

1940. Harold V. B. Voorhis published Negro Masonry in the United States. It was later withdrawn by the author because further research disclosed that many of the facts stated were in error.

 Knoop and Jones published A Short History of Freemasonry on 1730.

 1941. First Masonic Service Center opened at Columbia. South Carolina by the Masonic Services Association, February 1.

 We were again called upon to defend our freedom and that of weaker nations subjugated by power hungry dictators. We marched to Brother John Philip Sousa's Semper Fidelis March, The National Emblem March and, of course, Stars and Stripes Forever. And, with the poetic genius of Brother Irving Berlin, we asked "God to Bless America "

 George C. Marshall and Jesse Jones made Masons at Sight, Washington, DC.

 Harry S. Truman became Grand Master in Missouri.

 1942. June 13, 1942 BROTHER FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT created the Office of War Information, and appointed Radio News commentator Elmer Davis to be its head.

 James Harold Doolittle led bombing raid on Tokyo. He was member of Hollenbeck Lodge No. 319, Los Angeles, California.

 1943. Charles C. Hunt published Landmarks.

 Masonic Service Center opened in London, England, October 11, by Masonic Service Association.

1944. June 22, President and Brother Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights. One of the most important governmental measures of the post-World-War-II era, the bill provided for the training of nearly eight million veterans. The Serviceman's Readjustment Act (its official name) provided housing and educational assistance for returning war veterans - men and women. Money for a years schooling was offered all veterans, and of those with special skills, funds were available fore three years. (Chase's; Chronicle America)

 Carl H. Claudy published The Lion's Paw.

 Hospital Visitation Service by Masonic Services Association made full time and continuing relief project. 

1945. All Washington Masonic Conferences called of on account of war. 

The Masonic Services Association sent a Committee of four to Europe to report on Masonry there.

 Masonic Service Center opened in Paris France, April 8, by The Masonic Services Association.

 June 26, United States President and Brother Harry S. Truman at San Francisco, California joined 50 nations in signing the United Nations Charter. "We had sponsored and helped establish the United Nations Organization," wrote Brother Truman, "hoping to prevent again the too often recurring plague of humanity...war." The United Nations is pledged to attain world peace and security and to let the residents of colonial areas "gradually develop their free political institutions." Courtesy AMERICAN MASON magazine

 The Masonic Services Association raised $46,798.46 for Philippine relief.

 1946. First issues of The Philalethes, official magazine of the Philalethes Society published.

 Third volume (Supplement) of Mackey's Encyclopedia published; monumental work of H. L. Haywood.

 Masonic Service Center (final one) at Columbus, Georgia, closed December. More than 8,000,000 service people were served in the United States.

 1947. June 5, United States Secretary of State Bro. George C. Marshall (under Bro. Harry S Truman, United States President) urged a massive American aid program to rebuild Europe. Brother Marshall was speaking at Harvard University which had just conferred an honorary doctorate's degree on him. "We need to restore the confidence of the European people." he said, "in the economical future of Europe as a whole." Brother Marshall had been distressed by the sorry state of Europe which Brother Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England, had called "a rubble heap, a charnel house, a breeding ground of pestilence and hate." Three Masonic world leaders showing the compassionate Masonic way after a great war.

 Knoop and Jones published The Genesis of Freemasonry.

 Committee of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts reported that Prince Hall Freemasonry was regular in origin. This caused some difficulty and in 1949 the report was rescinded.

 1949. The Spanish Government included an item in its budget to spend almost $100,000 for maintenance of a special tribunal to suppress Masonry.

 The Masonic Services Association sent a second Committee to Europe.

 On August 3, a Master Mason and Knight Templar 80 years old and in failing health, came to Washington from Yeadon. Pennsylvania, to witness United States President and Brother Harry S Truman sign The Flag Day Act into law. Brother William T. Kerr had, with other Masons, for more than a half century, appealed to every United States President from McKinley to Truman. He lead rallies and continually promoted the idea of a special day to honor "Old Glory." Kerr died in 1953 but left his brethren this legacy, now the law of the land:

 "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the 14th of June of each year is hereby designated as "Flag Day, "and the President of the United States is authorized and requested to issue annual a proclamation causing upon officials of the government buildings on such a day, and urging the people to observe the day as the anniversary' of the adoption, on June Fourteenth, 1777, by the Continental Congress of the Stars and Stripes as the officiating of the United States of America" Harry S. Truman

 Lodge in Hungary dissolved.

 First Midwest Conference on Masonic Education held December at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

 1950. June 27, President and Brother Harry S Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict after a call from the UN Security Council for members to help South Korea repel an invasion from North Korea. The President then ordered Brother Douglas MacArthur, commanding general of American Far east forces to Tokyo, to provide the Republic of Korea troops with American and naval air power. Bro. Truman later gave Brother MacArthur authority to also commit ground troops to the conflict Brother Truman explained America's position this way: "To return to the rule of force in international affairs would have far-reaching effects. The United States will continue to uphold the law." (Newsday: This Day in History; Chronicle of America; Masonic Leadership Center)

1951. The January issue of Theology, an English magazine, published an article "Should a Christian be a Freemason?" by the Reverend Walton Hannah. It was the beginning of a storm within the Anglican Church and resulted in the publication of an expose by Hannah.

 June 25. Columbia Broadcast System (CBS) aired the first color TV program. The transmission was an hour long show starring Ed Sullivan and Brother Arthur Godfrey. Few people, however, were able to see the show in color because most homes at the time only had black and white sets. Brother Godfrey was best known for his television show, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He became a mason in Acacia lodge No. 18 in Washington, DC in 1937. A member of Albert Pike Consistory, AASR, he joined Almas Shrine Temple May 19, 1937. Brother Godfrey was born in New York City August 31, 1903. (The Learning Kingdom)

 July 23, CBS Television premiered the Gene Autry show. A popular western that ran for six years starring Brother Gene Autry, movie star, along with side-kick Pat Buttram. Brother Autry was raised in Catoosa Lodge No. 185, Catoosa, Oklahoma, in 1927. He became a Life Member of Long Beach, California AASR (32º) as well as a Life Member of Malaika Shrine Temple at Los Angeles, California. (Source: American Mason; 10,000 Famous Freemasons; Chase's)

 The Masonic Services Association raised $202,224.46 between 1946 and 1951 for European relief.

 1952. On November 4, the Grand Lodge of Virginia celebrated the 200th Anniversary of George Washington's initiation.

 In remodeling the White House, many stones were found which bore carvings of Masonic symbols. These were delivered to the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia for presentation, one to each Grand Lodge in the United States.

 Thomas J. Harkins elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.

 1953. Eisenhower took oath of office on Bible of St. John's Lodge, New York; the same Bible used when George Washington took his oath of office.

 Grand Lodge of California intervened in a tax case and successfully defeated and attempted to exempt sectarian schools from taxation.

 Cornerstone laid for new building to house the Iowa Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, October 10.

 Inauguration of the Indiana Mentor Plan to make qualified members supply candidates with information relating to the Craft.

 First stone from the White House, with Masonic symbol, delivered to Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, September 29, by Renah F. Camalier.

 Grand Lodge of the State of Israel consecrated October 20 by Grand Lodge of Scotland.

 1954. John Henry Cowles, retired Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, died June 18.

Fred L. Pick and G. Norman Knight, of England, published The Pocket History of Freemasonry.

 Freemasonry re-established in Finland.

 George E. Bushnell elected Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, N. M. J.

 Hatoyama, of Japan, became a Mason.

 Masons imprisoned in Spain.

 Comprehensive View of Freemasonry, by H. W. Coil, was published.

 History of the Eastern Star, by H. V. B. Voorhis, was published. 

The Landmarks, by Elbert Bebe, published.

 Freemasonry in the Eastern Hemisphere, by R. V. Denslow, was published.

 A committee of the Church of the Brethren recommended that its members not join lodges. 

Masonry in the Light of the Bible, by John C. Palmer, was published by the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church. (Anti-Masonic)

 1955. Luther A Smith elected Grand Commander of Scottish Rite, S. J.

 Masons of the armed forces of United States formed Masonic Club with a hospital to aid children in Pusan, Korea.

 Dr. Mauro Baradi, PGM of the Philippines, was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church to serve in a public office on the grounds that he was a Mason.

 M. S. A. Relief to Tamaulipas in the sum of $19,024.42.

 1956. The February 23 issue of the Christian Science Monitor had a long, favorable article about the Craft.

 Northeast Conference on Masonic Education formed.

The High Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church petitioned the Ministry of the Interior to withdraw government recognition of the Craft.

 The Church of the Nazarene stated it was opposed to the Craft.

 Freemasonry and the American Indian, by William R. Denslow, was published.

 Two Cuban Masonic stamps issued, June 5.

 The issue of October 8, of Life magazine, was devoted to Freemasonry.

 Grand Lodge Recognition by Thomas S. Roy, was published.

 Philippine Masonry, by Teodero M. Kalaw, was published.

History of the Royal Arch, by Denslow and Turnbull, was published.

 1957. Grand Lodge of Japan formed.

 Melvin M. Johnson died, February 19.

 Carl H. Claudy died May 27. He was Executive Secretary of Masonic Service Association. Succeeded by John D. Cunningham.

 Brother Jan Sibelius died, Sept. 20. 

Brother Louis B. Mayer died, October 29.

 A court ruled in England that Freemasonry is not a religion.

 Meeting of Lutheran Churches failed to achieve unity because of opposition by one group to membership in Lodges by its members.

 Cornerstone of Truman Memorial Library laid by Grand Lodge of Missouri. Earl Warren was main speaker. Truman and Hoover were present July 6.

 First volume of 10,000 Famous Freemasons, by W. R. Denslow, was published.

 Freemasons' Book of the Royal Arch, by B. E. Jones, was published.

 The York Rite Sovereign College of North America was formed.

 Mozart and Masonry, by Paul Nettl, was published.

 1958. New Grand Lodge Building dedicated in San Francisco, September 29.

 Conrad Hahn, P. G. M., Connecticut joined The Masonic Services Association as editor of publications.

 Jurisdictional dispute between Japan, and the Philippines settled on July 8. 

Medinah Shrine Temple, of Chicago, gave $5,000 to help victims of a fire in a Roman Catholic school.

 Christianity and Freemasonry, by William J, Whalen, was published. (Anti-Masonic)

 Southwest Conference on Masonic Education formed.

 Information for Recognition, by Thomas S. Roy, was published.

 Freemasonry on the American Courts, by W. Irvine Wiest, was published.

 The Scottish Rite for Scotland, by R. S. Lindsay, was published.

 From Operative to Speculative, by W. M. Brown, was published.

 Volume 2 of 10,000 Famous Freemasons, by W. R. Denslow, was published.

 1959. Cornerstone laid for extension of United States Capitol, in Washington, with vocal opposition by the Knights of Columbus.

 Twenty-one Masons were Imprisoned in Spain under a March 1, 1940 law.

 On January 19 the St. Louis Globe Democrat had a ten-page article (color) about Freemasonry.

 Emmett J. McLoughlin, former Roman Catholic Priest, received the Masonic degrees in Sahuaro Lodge No. 45 of Phoenix, Arizona.

 1960. Statue of Washington with Masonic regalia, dedicated on New Orleans on February 8.

 Southeastern Conference on Masonic Education was formed.

 Volume 4 of 10.000 Famous Freemasons, by W. R. Denslow, was published.

 The Royal Order of Scotland, by H. V. B. Voorhis, was published.

 Grand Lodge of Belgium formed.

 The Masonic Services Association Relief to Chile $11,436.75.

 Richard Scott Mower, in a news item, reported that fourteen Masons were still imprisoned in Spain.

 1961. Brother Virgil (Gus) Grissom, 35, July 21, became the second American to rocket into a suborbital pattern around Earth. Bro. Grissom's capsule sank after splashdown and the astronaut nearly drowned. Brother Grissom, was tragically killed in a launch pad explosion in 1967. (Source: Newsday: This Day ion Space; Chronicle of America)

 New Grand Lodge formed in India, on November 24.

 The Masonic Services Association collected and distributed $4,107.25 for the relief of Cuban Masons in Florida.

 Grand Lodge of Cuba in exile approved in Florida.

 Masonic Encyclopedia, by H. W. Coil, was published.

 House Undivided, by Allen E. Roberts, was published. (Covers the Craft during U.S. Civil War.)

 Mother Kilwinning Lodge, edited by Harry Carr, was published.

 Reluctant General, by Robert L. Duncan, was published. (Biography of Albert Pike).

 The Masonic Services Association Relief to Cuba, $54,718.90.

 1962. On October 11, the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church was convened by Pope John XXIII. It met in four annual sessions, concluded December 8, 1965. It dealt with the renewal of the Church and introduced sweeping changes, such as the use of the vernacular rather than Latin in the Mass. Of interest to Freemasons of the world, the Council reversed the encyclical Humanum Genus, the strong and comprehensive papal condemnation of Freemasonry promulgated in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII.

 Masonic Unity meeting with all Masonic group leaders held in Maine, December 7.

 Liberty Lodge No. 70 formed in Biaritz, France, as a traveling lodge to serve Spanish Masons.

 Masonic Blood Bank formed in Oregon and in Vermont.

 Grand Lodge of Illinois had a Masonic Week; on last day the Washington-Morris-Salomon monument was dedicated for Grand Lodge, and during the ceremony President Kennedy pressed a button while in Michigan, which turned on the lights on the monument.

 On December 7, Bishop Mendez Arceo, of Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the Vatican Council raised the question of the relations between the Church and the Craft.

 Minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel), edited by Harry Carr, was published.

 Anti-masonry, by A. Cerza, was published.

 History of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia by R. B. Harris, was published.

 The Sword of Solomon, by Robert E. Easter, was published. (Novel)

 1963. Ohio adopted Masonic road map program.

 The Early Masonic Catechisms, 2nd Edition, by Knoop, Jones, and Hamer, was published.

 Masonic Essays, by H. L. Haywood, was published.

 Whither Are We Traveling? by Dwight L Smith, was published.

 A Short History of the Conference of Grand Masters, by Conrad Hahn, was published.

 The Order of the Red Cross of Constantine, by H. V. B. Voorhis, was published.

 Two Masonic Stamp books, by Gregory Lucy, were published. Freemasonry in the Making of a National and Freemasons of many Nations.

Revision of A bibliography of Anti-Masonry, by Dr. William L. Cummings, was published.

 1964. June 19, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after surviving an 83-day United States Senate filibuster. Passage of the Bill required the Senate to impose cloture for the first time on a civil rights bill, to end a filibuster by the southern Senators. The Bill contained the most sweeping civil rights legislation in America history and, as Brother and President Lyndon B. Johnson said on television, "may help to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in America." Brother Johnson was to sign the Bill into law on July 3 of that year. (Newsday: This Day in History; Chronicle of America)

 Roscoe Pound passed away.

 Grand Master William H. Quasha, of the Philippines, made two trips to Rome to explain the nature of Freemasonry to the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

 On September 29, Bishop Mendez Arceo, Cuernavaca, Mexico, expressed view at Vatican II, that Christians should make peace with the Freemasons.

 Sword and Trowel, by John B. Vrooman and Allen E. Roberts, was published.

 Collected Prestonian Lectures, edited by Harry Carr, was published.

 Our Separated Brethren: The Freemasons by Alec Mellor, a Roman Catholic, was published. He later became a member of the Craft. 

A Comprehensive Dictionary of Freemasonry, by E. Beha, was published.

A History of the Supreme Council, 1801-1861, by R. B. Harris and James D. Carter, was published.

 Discussion held in England on whether to modify the penalties in the degrees.

 The Greek Origin of Freemasonry, by J. N. Casavis, was published.

 1965. George A. Newbury elected Grand Commander of Scottish Rite, N. M. J. 

Masonic Pavilion was maintained by Grand Lodge of New York at the New York Worlds' Fair.

 The Masonic Membership of the Founding Fathers, by Ronald E. Heaton, was published.

 The Masonic Services Association Louisiana Hurricane Relief Fund in sum of $59,395.54.

 President Kennedy issued an Executive Order prohibiting use of facilities on military bases by groups not integrated. The result was to bar Masonic lodge from using the bases.

 New York adopted ten points program to increase lodge attendance. West Virginia held it to be bad taste to place Masonic emblem on auto license plates.

 Opposition to chain letters noted by Mass., Michigan, New York, Ohio and Tennessee.

 The British Broadcasting Co. presented a movie, "Freemasonry, the Open Secret," purporting to be an excerpt of the Masonic Ritual.

 The Grand Lodge of Virginia registered its emblem to prevent its use by others.

 Twelve Knights of Columbus and forty Roman Catholic students from Indiana traveled to the Shriner's Hospital in Chicago to donate blood. This was promoted by a seminarian who had been a patient at the hospital.

 During the final weeks of Vatican II, there was read a Papal document, a Special Jubilee from January 6 to January 29, 1966; among other things it granted confessors power to absolve penitents from censure incurred for belonging to the Masonic Order or other forbidden societies.

 Thomas Smith Webb: Freemason-Musician-Entrepreneur, by H. T. Leyland was published.

 The Rise of the Ecossaise Degrees, by J. Fairgairn Smith, was published.

 The Story if the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, by H. V. B. Voorhis, was published.

 1966. The Masons of St. Louis, Missouri arranged to have a French girl admitted to the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children for treatment.

 The Unlocked Secret, by James Dewar, was published. (Expose)

 Masonry in Japan, The First Hundred Years, by Nohea O. E. Peck, was published.

 Dare We Be Masons. By Thomas S. Roy, was published.

 Grand Lodge of Michigan dedicated a monument of Washington with Masonic Regalia, in Detroit, May 21.

 The Grand Master of Cuba in exile relinquished the office and gave the seal of the Grand Lodge to the Grand Lodge of Florida for safekeeping.

 A thirty-minute television program in Louisiana presented a panel discussing the history, principles and charitable work of the Craft.

 Distribution of stones from the White House was completed. Each had Craftsmen marks and were sent to Grand Lodges all over the country.

 1967. The United Grand Lodge of England celebrated it 250th anniversary; present were leaders of the Craft from all over the world.

 Secret Societies, by Norman MacKenzie, was published.

 Indiana called its 1963 Medal of Honor "The Caleb B. Smith Medal of honor."

 Meetings held with Knights of Columbus in Montana, Rhode Island, New York, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming.

 Connecticut held a meeting with other fraternal groups to discuss ways and means of making our communities healthier, better, and safer. 

Grand Lodge, 1717-1967 was published by the Grand Lodge of England. 

Volume #1 of Freemasonry through Six Centuries, by H. W. Coil, was published.

Order of Knight Masons formed in the United States; its origin was in England in 1923.

 The Masonic Services Association Italy Flood Relief, $20,000.00

 California decided to discontinue two club houses at universities to use the money for scholarships for needy students.

 Masonic Lodge of Research formed in Connecticut.

 Having given the University of Minnesota a million dollars for a cancer hospital years before, on April 19 the Grand Lodge gave the university a check for $1,100.00 for an addition to the same hospital.

 June 13, 1967 BROTHER LYNDON B. JOHNSON nominated Solicitor-General BROTHER THURGOOD MARSHALL to become the first Black justice on the United States Supreme Court. (Newsday: this Day in History)

 The Supreme Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch celebrated its 159th Anniversary, June 15th.

 June 23, In 1967, President and Brother Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin held the first of two meetings in Glassboro, New Jersey After conferring for 10 hours over a three -day period, the two world leaders went their separate ways. The talks covered the Vietnam War, disarmament and the Middle East. Though cordial, the talks were described as inconclusive. (Newsday: This Day in History; Chronicle of America)

 The Grand Master of Alberta, Canada ruled it was improper to send lodge notices in unsealed envelopes.

 The Grand Master of Arizona recommended that a committee be appointed to explore the possibility of holding a state-wide celebration with the Knights of Columbus.

 Arkansas adopted a resolution permitting the Master of a lodge to appoint a committee to examine a brother for advancement to the next degree. 

Texas prepared plans for Masonic building.

 North Dakota gave its Masonic library to the University of North Dakota.

 Indiana adopted minimum standards for Masonic publications.

 1968. Harry Carr met with Cardinal Heenan, in London, and discussed the relationship of the Craft and the Roman Catholic Church on March 18. As a result, the anti-Masonic tracts sold in Roman Catholic Churches on London were removed from the stacks.

 Montana ruled that Lodge members could take part in community parades on holidays.

 Goodly Heritage, by Dwight L. Smith, was published. (Excellent Indiana Masonic history.)

 La Masoneria Despue Del Concilio, by Father J. A. Ferrer Benimeli, was published.

 1969. The Masonic Book Club was formed in Bloomington, Illinois It published its first book the next year: a facsimile of the Regius Poem.

 The Masonic Services Association Mississippi Relief $87,367.39

 Freemasonry's Servant, by Allen E. Roberts, was published. (History of Masonic Service Association.)

 Pocket History of Freemasonry, by Pick, Knight and Smyth, was published.

 Tied to Masonic Apron Strings, by Stewart M. L. Pollard, was published. (Masonic humor)

 Key to Freemasonry's Growth by Allen E. Roberts, was published.

 The Word, by Myron K. Lingle, was published. (York Rite ritual in chronological order.)

 Henry C. Clausen was elected Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.

 1970. The first issue of The Northern Light, official magazine of the Scottish Rite, N. M. J. was published on January.

 Harry F. Byrd, of Virginia, was made a Mason at Sight, May 9. 

On May 27, Duke of Windsor, a Freemason, who had abdicated the English throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson, died in Paris at age 77. His full name was Brother Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. Before ascending the throne he was Prince of Wales, and after abdication, Duke of Windsor.

 The Clergy and the Craft, by Forrest D. Haggard, was published.

 The Masonic Services Association Peru Relief $19,229.82.

 Hi, Dad! Frank S. Land a Biography, by Herbert F. Duncan, Was published.

 Jews and Freemasons in Europe, 1923-1939, by Jacob Katz, was published. 

California ruled that it was improper for a lodge to rent its premises to a clandestine group. 

Georgia ruled that use of a lodge name on the uniform of a Little League Team was proper. 

1971. Harry Carr had several more conferences with Cardinal Heenan; this led to a friendly relationship developing between the Craft and the Roman Catholic Church. On April 26 there was a rumor that the Church was about to change its rules about barring Masonic membership to its members.

 Ceremony held at Independence Rock in Wyoming.

 New Jersey had its first open Grand Lodge installation.

 King Solomon's Temple in the Masonic Tradition, by Alex Horne, was published.

 The Early French Exposures, edited by Harry Carr, was published.

 Fifty Years of National Sojourners, by LaVon P. Linn, was published.

 The Magic Flute, Masonic Opera, by Jacques Chailley, was published.

 1972. New York presented its Grand Lodge Medal to Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

 Alabama adopted a rule that a black person is not barred from filing a petition for the degrees.

The State Deputy of the Knights of Columbus was guest at New York Grand Lodge banquet. 

The Grand Lodge of New York presented its Distinguished Achievement Award to Norman Vincent Peale.

 Rhode Island adopted rule that no appendant body admit anyone at its meetings unless he has a Blue Lodge dues card showing current dues paid. 

Three Centuries of Freemasonry in New Hampshire, by Gerald Foss, was published.

 The Masonic Service Association Philippine relief, $5,980.00.

How to Kick a Sacred Cow, by Jerry Marsengill, was published.

 A Register of Grand Lodges Active and Extinct, by George Draffen, was published.

 Short Talks for Lodges and Trestleboard Gems, by John Nocas, was published.

 1973. Ohio sent its list of suspended members to all appendant bodies.

 Masonic blood bank formed in District of Columbia.

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts laid cornerstone of new building of the Knights of Columbus in South Boston.

Publication of the second edition of A commentary on the Freemasonic Ritual, by E. B. Cartwright, with comments by Harry Carr, was published.

The Masonic Service Association Nicaragua Relief, $13,696.60.

 Emulation. A Ritual to Remember, 1823-1973, by Colin F. W. Colin, was published.

 Freemasons and Freemasonry, topic in national Union Catalogue, pre-1965, reproduced in separate volume.

 Facsimile of Preston's Illustrations of Masonry, published by the Masonic Book Club.

 The Grand Lodge of Michigan laid the cornerstone of Bentley Library, at the University of Michigan, November 17.

 1974. The Grand Lodge of Michigan dedicated the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan.

 The Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, of the Roman Catholic Church, sent a letter to various Episcopal Conferences, on June 19, informing them that Canon 2335 prohibiting its members from joining the masons is to be interpreted to apply to such groups as are opposed to the Church.

 The Masonic Service Association Honduras Relief, $7,320.00.

 Grand Lodge of Washington authorized use of Masonic buildings for lotteries to extent that it is permitted by state law.

 Kentucky decided to put its records on microfilm.

 The Craft and Its Symbols, by Allen E. Roberts, was published.

 Clausen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogma was published.

 The First 100 years of the Grand Lodge of South Dakota, 1875-1975, by Harold L. Tisher, was published.

 History of Kansas Masonry, by Ben W. Graybill, was published.

 The Works of Dassigny were published by the Masonic Book Club.

 1975. Dedication of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, at Lexington, Mass. on April 20, the anniversary of the Battle of Concord and Lexington.

 First Day of Issuance ceremony for the Haym Salomon Stamp took place at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on Chicago, March 25.

 Stanley F. Maxwell elected Grand Commander of Scottish Rite, N. M. J.

 The True Original Minutes of Nauvoo Lodge, edited by Mervin B. Hogan, was published.

 Tennessee adopted data processing for its records.

 Connecticut held seminars with other fraternal bodies of the state.

 Berlin Lodge No. 46 returned its charter to Rhode Island and secured a charter from United Grand Lodge of Germany.

 Grand Lodge of California approved public relations program.

 A Documentary Notebook on the Latin Craft, by Norman D. Peterson, was published. (Explanation of the first three Scottish Rite degrees)

 A Register of Supreme Councils Active and Extinct, by George Draffen, was published.

 Masonic Bibliography, by Father J. A. Ferrer Benimeli was published. (In Spanish, Later a large edition was published.)

 The Lodge at Fredericksburg, edited by James R. Case and Ronald E. Heaton, was published.

 1976. Most states had Bicentennial programs.

 Kansas had a Church-Lodge Committee to develop a better relationship between the Craft and the churches.

 North Dakota proposed erecting a Masonic auditorium at the International Peace Garden.

 The statue of Washington at Prayer, located at Valley Forge, was dedicated by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on October 9.

 Large statue of Washington with Masonic regalia was dedicated in Buffalo, New York.

 The Masonic Service Association Guatemala Relief, $66,180.16.

 Illinois Lodge of Research formed.

 A Mormon Bibliography, by Mervin B. Hogan, was prepared and place on file in the Library of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City.

 Audie Murphy, American Soldier, by Harold B. Simpson, was published.

 The Freemason at work, by Harry Carr, was published.

 Symbolism in Craft masonry, by Colin F. W. Colin, was published.

 1977. Quatuor Coronati Lodge published the 1723 and 1738 editions of Anderson's Constitutions in one book. 

Facsimile of Prichard's Masonry Dissected, with commentary by Harry Carr, published by the Masonic Book Club.

 Conrad Hahn passed away on December 15.

 Several Prince Hall lodges in South Africa gave up their charters and joined the regular Craft there. 

Masons Who Helped Shape America, Harry C. Clausen, was published.

 Aspects of Freemasonry in Modern Mexico, by Thomas B. Davis, was published.

 Colonial Freemasonry, was published by the Missouri Lodge of Research as a Bicentennial project.

Woman's Liberation and Freemasonry, by Alphonse Cerza, was published.

 The Imperial Council of the Shrine amended its law that a person expelled form his lodge on request could be tried by the Shrine and if found not guilty, would not lose his Shrine membership. This caused much dissension, and the rule was abolished the following year.

 Some Royal Arch Terms Explained, by Roy A. Wells, was published.

 Stewart M. L. Pollard became the Executive Secretary of The Masonic Services Association. 

Facsimile of the 1738 edition of Anderson's Constitutions was issued by the Masonic Book Club. 

600 Years of Craft Ritual, by Harry Carr, was published.

 Military Masonic hall of Fame, First 100 by Robert Bassler, was published.

 1978. Freemasonry by Federalist-Connecticut, by Dorthy A. Lipson, was published.

 The Craft in the East, by Christopher Haffner, was published.

 Prince Hall, Life and Legacy, by Dr. Charles Wesley, was published. Reviewed in detail in 90 A. Q. C. 306.

 Messages for a Mission, by Seal Coon, was published.

 The York Legend in the Old Charges, by Alex Horne, was published.

 Questions and Answers, published by Masters' and Past Masters' Lodge No. 130, of New Zealand.

 1979. A statue of Washington in Masonic regalia, a gift of the Wayne E. Stichter family of Toledo, was dedicated at the entrance to the grounds of the Scottish Rite Library and Museum in Lexington, Mass., June 10. 

Data processing system installed in Florida by the Grand Lodge.

 Pope John Paul II was visiting in Chicago while the Grand Lodge was in session. The Grand Master and the Grand Wardens by special invitation, attended a Mass conducted by the Pope in Grant Park.

 Authentics of Fundamental Law for Scottish Rite, by Henry C. Clausen, was published.

 The Imperial Council offices of the Shrine were moved from Chicago to Tampa, Florida. 

The Masonic Services Association Mississippi Flood Relief, $80,560.69.

 Freemasonry barred in Iran.

 The Masonic Services Association Dominican Republic Relief $32,059.55.

Arab Nations assumed an anti-Masonic position under the erroneous belief that the Craft is controlled by the Jews.

Pennsylvania and Virginia considered establishing a "pay as you go" Masonic Home for the Golden Agers.

 1980. Rededication of the Obelisk on Central Park, New York City, in October 5, it had been given to the city by Egypt in 1880 and had been dedicated by the Fraternity. 

Rose Croix, a History of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for English and Wales, by A. C. F. Jackson, was published.

 A Masonic Reader's Guide, by Alphonse Cerza, was published.

 Our Craft Monitor, Its Origin and Development, by Alex Horne, was published.

 Thomas R. Dougherty, Past Grand Master, New Jersey, named Director of Hospital Visitation by The Masonic Services Association.

 Frontier Cornerstones, The Story of Freemasonry in Ohio, 1790-1980 by Allen E. Roberts, was published.

 1981. Grand Lodge of Alaska formed, February 7.

 1984. January 31, the Grand Lodge of Utah repealed its long standing anti-Mormon resolution.

 June 18, Brother Potter Stewart of Ohio retired as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court , paving the way for Sandra Day O' Conner to become the first female Associate Justice. Brother Stewart was a member of Lafayette Lodge No. 81, Cincinnati, Ohio and a member of Oola Kahn Grotto, Cincinnati. (Newsday: This Day in History)

 1989. Grand Lodge of Hawaii formed, May 20.

 June 28, Associate Justice Brother Thurgood Marshall signaled an end to the era of a liberal Supreme Court. Brother Marshall was a pioneering civil rights lawyer who helped lead the fight to end racial segregation and served as US Solicitor General prior to his appointment to the highest court by President and Brother Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black ever to sit on the Supreme Court. As an attorney for the NAACP he successfully argued the case of Brown vs Board of Education before the Supreme Court ending the doctrine of "separate but equal." Brother Marshall's 24-year tenure on the bench was marked by his strong liberal voice championing the rights of criminal defendants and defending abortion rights, his opposition to the death penalty, and his commitment to civil rights. On July 1, 1991 President George Bush selected Clarence Thomas, a conservative black jurist to succeed Brother Marshall. A Prince Hall Mason Brother Marshall had been Director and counselor of the Prince Hall Grand Master's Conference and was a 33º AASR (Prince Hall). Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Masons contributed to and supported Brother Thurgood Marshall's efforts during his legal career to end legalized segregation. In many ways, Brother Marshall was more important in changing history than any other Civil Rights leader. (Chase's; Livingston Masonic Library)

 Grand Lodge of India makes an amendment, July, against plural membership.

 1996. June 11, 1996, closing a congressional career that had lasted three-and-a-half decades, Brother Bob Dole said good-bye to the United States Senate to begin in earnest his campaign for the United States Presidency. Decorated Veteran, World War II; United States Congressman and Senator from Kansas, 1961-96; Majority and Minority Leader, United States Senate; Losing nominee for President of the United States 1996; Humanitarian and Philanthropist. Brother Dole was raised in Russell Lodge No. 177, Russell, Kansas September 20, 1955. He completed the Scottish rite degrees in the Valley of Salina on December 10, and the York Rite in Aleppo Commandery No. 31, Hays, Kansas. In recent years he has become a spokesman for the blue sex stimulant pill, Viagra. (Newsday: this Day in History; Knight Templar magazine)

 "King of the Cowboys," and a 33 degree Mason, Roy Rogers died.