07/28/2023
We often talk about the number of American Presidents who were Freemasons, but how about the number of Supreme Court Justices who were members of the Craft?
From Bro. Paul Bessel's famous website we find that "William R. Denslow’s book, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, identifies a total of 38 Supreme Court Justices who were Masons, often giving their lodges and the dates of their degrees. Allen E. Roberts’ book, Masonic Trivia and Facts, says that Ronald E. Heaton compiled a list of 39 Supreme Court Justices who were Freemasons, and a 1940s study in the possession of MSA lists 34. Some of these sources list as Masons those who are not listed by others. If we rely on any of these sources for our list of Supreme Court Justices who were Freemasons, we get a total of 40."
This means that roughly one quarter to one third of all Justices have been Masons.
Bessel continues "From 1949 to 1954, the highest percentage of Freemasons on the Supreme Court was reached, with 89% or 8 out of 9."
Shown here is the Court photograph from 1950, featuring Seated, left: Justices Felix Frankfurter and Hugo L. Black, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, and Justices Stanley F. Reed and William O. Douglas; standing, from left: Justices Tom C. Clark, Robert H. Jackson, Harold H. Burton, and Sherman Minton. At the time of the photo, Frankfurter was the only Justice who was not a member of the Craft.
(Photo courtesy of www.supremecourt.gov.)
