MASONIC CALENDAR
May
MAY
1
MAY
2
MAY
3
MAY
4
MAY
5
In 1904 Bro.
Denton "Cy" Young pitched baseball's first perfect game, not allowing a single
opposition player to reach first base. Bro..Young's outstanding performance led
the Boston Americans in a 3-0- victory over Philadelphia in the American League.
The Cy Young Award for Pitching was named in his honor He was a member of Mystic
Tie Lodge 194, Urichsville, OH, He died November 4, 1955, and was buried with
his Masonic apron on.
In every year
the city of Independence, MO. honors native son Bro. Harry S Truman by
presenting the Harry S Truman Award for Public Service to an individual who best
typifies and possesses the qualities of dedication , ability, honesty and
integrity that distinguished the former US President, Bro. Harry S Truman.
Ceremonies are held at the Harry S Truman Library at Independence.
MAY
6
In 1851,
Inventor John Gorrie was granted a U.S. patent for an ice-making machine. Bro.
Gorrie's invention was the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration. His
machine was initially designed for treating yellow fever. Bro. Gorrie is
considered the father of refrigeration and air-conditioning: His statue appears
in Statuary hall of the US Capitol. A bridge, a high school, a chapter of Order
of Eastern Start, and a Liberty Ship were named in his honor. He was a physician
by profession. He was a charter member of Franklin Lodge No. 6, Appalachia, Fl,
and was later its secretary/treasurer.
In1856, born at
Cresson, PA, was Bro. Robert E. Peary, who organized and led eight Arctic
expeditions and is credited with discovering the North Pole on April 6, 1909. He
was a member of the explorers lodge, Kane No. 454, New York City, to which he
gave the Masonic flag which was displayed at Independence Bay, Greenland, May
20, 1895. On March 30, 1920, Kane Lodge presented his widow with a special medal
in honor of her distinguished husband. Bro. Peary also presented two specimens
of the great meteorite he found during his explorations to the New York Grand
Lodge of Masons . Bro. Peary died February 20, 1920.
MAY
7
In 1789 the
first Inaugural Ball for America's first President, Bro. George Washington, and
his wife, Martha, was held in New York City.
In 1824, (Bro.)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor was performed for the first
time in Vienna, Austria. Known as the "Choral" for its use of voices in
symphonic form, Symphony No. 9 was Beethoven's musical interpretation of Bro.
Freidrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy." The German composer was completely deaf when
he wrote the symphony. We put (Bro.) in parenthesis to indicate some doubt
exists as to whether the composer was really a Mason.
In 1975, US
President and Bro. Gerald R. Ford declared an end to the Vietnam Era. In Ho Chi
Minh City, formerly Saigon, the VietCong celebrated its takeover.
In after the
opening of the 2001 New York Grand Lodge Convention the Grand Lodge
Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Charles Antzelevitch,
Execute director of the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory. The Masonic Medical
Research Laboratory (MMRL) is a not-for-profit corporation founded by the Grand
Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York.S upported by
bequests from the general public and volunteer contributions, the Laboratory
also obtains funding through foundation, corporate and Federal grants. The MMRL
is a state-of-the-art basic medical research facility that is engaged in studies
involving major health issues facing society today. Its mission is to provide
the building blocks of knowledge needed for the medical cures and treatments of
tomorrow and to educate and train future scientists. The MMRL is internationally
prominent, especially in the area of experimental cardiology. It has
consistently rated in the top 10% in competition for Federal grants from
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Other studies include Molecular Biology.
The Laboratory's research findings appear in the most prestigious scientific
medical journals. Members of the scientific staff are frequently invited to
speak at regional, national and international symposia.
MAY
8
In 1792, Bro.
and President George Washington signed an act that authorized the mint of the
first U.S. copper coins. Individuals involved in using coins other than the
legal cents and half-cents would be penalized with a $10 fine. These coins were
the predecessors of today's pennies.
In 1828 was
born at Geneva, Switzerland, Bro.; Jean Henri Dunant, author, philanthropist,
and founder in 1863 of the Red Cross Society, for which he won the Nobel Prize
in 1901. A Mason who devoted his entire fortune to charity and good works, World
Red Cross Day was created to commemorate the birth of the Mason who founded the
Red Cross Society, and of the society's humanitarian work worldwide.
In 1884 at
Lamar, MO was born Bro. Harry S Truman who was to become the 33rd President of
the US. succeeding to that office on the death of Bro. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, April 12, 1945. He served until January 20 , 1953. Bro. Truman was
the last of nine uS Presidents who did not attend college His birthday is a
holiday in Missouri. He was raised March 18, 1909 in Belton Lodge No. 450,
Grandview, MO. The following year he became Junior Warden but when Belton Lodge
separated to form a new Lodge, Grandview 618, Bro. Truman was made the first
Master. After World War I he returned to become District Deputy Grand Lecturer
and District Deputy Grand Master of the 59th Masonic District. In 1930 he became
Grand Pursuant. In September, 1940, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri,
and a few weeks later, US Senator from Missouri. Bro. Truman died at Kansas
City, MO. December 26, 1972.
MAY
9
In 1800, in
Torrington, CT, was born abolitionist leader to be, Bro. John Brown. He was
leader of an attack on Harper's Ferry, October 16, 1859, intended to give
impetus to the movement for the escape and freedom for slaves. His aim was
frustrated and he was hanged December 2, 1859, at Charles Town WV. Bro. Brown
was raised in Hudson Lodge No. 68, Hudson, OH, on May 11, 1859, serving as
Junior Deacon, 1825-26. Shortly after 1826, he moved to Pennsylvania and with
the Anti-Masonic movement, renounced Freemasonry, though his son, Bro. John
Brown, Jr. became a Freemason and at his death, was buried with Masonic honors.
In 1926,
Americans Bro. Richard Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett became the first men to fly
over the North Pole. Their privately financed expedition circled the Pole
several times in brilliant sunlight in a flight that lasted 15 hours and 51
minutes. Their observations verified America's claim to the Pole that was
announced 17 years earlier by Admiral and Bro. Richard A. Peary and his
co-explorer, Bro. Matthew Henson.
MAY
10
In 1850 at
Glascow, Scotland, was born Bro. Thomas Johnstone Lipton, Scottish Merchant who
founded Lipton, Ltd. In 1898, a company known for its tea, coffee and soups,. A
famous merchant, he was equally famous as a yachtsman, having raced his yacht,
Shamrock in the America's Cup five times between 1899 and 1930. He was knighted
in 1898 and made a baronet in 1902. Bro. Lipton was initiated in Scotia Lodge
178, Glascow, Scotland, in 1870. He died October 2, 1931 in London.
MAY
11
In 1888, born
at Tyumen, Russia was Israel Isidore Baline who became Irving Berlin when he
moved to New York City with his family at age 4. After the death of his father
he began singing in saloons and street corners to help the family finances and
as a teenager, worked as a singing waiter. He became one of America's most
prolific songwriters with such songs as: Alexander's Rag Time Band; White
Christmas; God Bless America; There's No Business Like Show Business; Puttin' on
the Ritz; Blue Skies, Oh, How I Hate to Get Up In The Morning and many others.
He could neither read nor write music. Bro. Berlin died September 22, 1989 at
New York City at age 101. He was made a Mason at Munn Lodge No. 190, New York
City and was active in both the Scottish Rite and as a Shrine Mason. The entire
royalties for God Bless America he gave to the Boy Scouts, and those from
several other songs to a charity for deprived youth.
MAY
12
In 1926:(Bro.)
Roald Amundsen of Norway crossed the North Pole in an Airship with, Italian
Umberto Nobile, and American Lincoln Ellsworth. When crossing the North Pole
they dropped flags from Norway, Italy, and the United States. Some believe that
they were actually the first ones to reach the North Pole, despite the claims by
Bros. Robert Peary and Richard Byrd that they had been the first to arrive
there. While (Bro.) Amundsen was reputed to have been a Mason the name of his
Lodge is unknown.
In 1932 the
body of Bro. Charles Lindbergh's son was found. Charles Jr. was 20 months old
when he was kidnapped from the Lindbergh's home in New Jersey more than two
months earlier. Lindbergh and his wife Anne had paid $50,000 in ransom. The
child was found d in the woods near the house. A two year hunt for the murderer
ensued. Arrested and charged was 35-year-old Bronx carpenter Bruno Richard
Hauptmann. The trial that followed created a world-wide sensation ending with
Hauptman's execution in the electric chair.
In 1937, Bro.
George VI (Bro. Albert Windsor) was crowned King of England, following the
abdication of his brother Bro. Edward VIII. His coronation was the first
ceremony of this magnitude to be televised. The actions of Bro. and King George
VI and the royal family during World War II were perceived as courageous by
their English subjects, George VI remained king until his death in 1952: He was
initiated in Naval Lodge No. 2612 in December, 1919. In 1922 he was appointed
Senior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England, and in 1924,
Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex. In 1936, he became Grand Master Mason of
Scotland and affiliated with the lodge of Glamis, Scotland. He was a very active
Mason in his life. Said he of Masonry: " The world today does require spiritual
and moral regeneration. I have no doubt, after many years as a member of our
Order, that Freemasonry can play a most important part in this vital need."
MAY
13
In 1842 in
London, England, was the English composer best known for his light operas, Bro.
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan. He is remembered for his collaboration with Bro.
Sir .W.S. Gilbert in the Savoy Operas. But he also composed overtures,
oratorios, a Te Deum, and the music for such songs and hymns as The Lost Chord,
and Onward Christian Soldiers. He was Grand Organist for the United Grand Lodge
of England. in the Jubilee Year, 1887. He died in London, November 22, 1900.
In 1846, US
President and Bro. James Polk asked Congress to Declare War on Mexico. By a
joint resolution of Congress the United States formally declared war on Mexico.
According to Bro. Polk, Mexico initiated the war with an attack on US troops on
territory south of the Nueces river in Texas.
By 1938 Bro.
Louis Armstrong was already a nationally famous jazz cornet and trumpet player,
singer, and bandleader. Having brought New Orleans-style jazz to an
unprecedentedly wide audience, he had almost single-handedly transformed the
music from a group form into an art for the individual soloist. On May 13 of
that year, in a studio session in New York, Bro. Louis Armstrong and his
ten-piece orchestra recorded a jazz arrangement of the religious song, "When the
Saints Go Marching In." Enormously popular, the tune became a jazz standard, as
well as one of Bro. Armstrong's signature songs. The recording captured the
exuberance and technical virtuosity of Bro. Armstrong's unique trumpet style.
Bro. Louis Armstrong's Masonic affiliation was Prince Hall.
MAY
14
In 1796, Bro.
Edward Jenner, a physician in rural England, successfully found a cure for
smallpox. Bro. Jenner had spent two decades studying reports of dairy farmers
who seemed to become immune to smallpox because of exposure to cowpox, a related
but milder disease. Bro. Jenner injected cowpox in a healthy 8-year-old boy who
subsequently developed cowpox. Six weeks later, Bro. Jenner injected the boy
with Smallpox. He remained healthy. Bro. Jenner called this new procedure
vaccination, from vaccine, another term for cowpox. Within 18 months, 12,000
people in England had been vaccinated and the number of smallpox deaths dropped
by two-thirds. Jenner's development of a vaccine eventually led to the complete
eradication of smallpox worldwide. Bro. Jenner was a member of Royal Faith and
Friendship Lodge No. 2780, Berkeley, England, in which he served a term as
Master (1811-13). He died in 1822.
In 1804 Bro.
Meriwether Lewis and Captain and Bro. William Clark left St. Louis, MO to begin
their search for a route to the Pacific Ocean as charged by President Thomas
Jefferson. They arrived at the Pacific coast of Oregon in November, 1805, and
returned to St. Louis, September 23, 1806. Bro. Lewis was a member of Door to
Virtue Lodge No. 44. Albemarle County, VA.. That Lodge went out of existence in
1801 and is believed that Bro. Lewis, along with many others, transferred to
Widow's Son Lodge No. 60, Charlottesville, VA. He died of gunshot wounds,
October 8, 1809. It is not known whether he was robbed, killed or had committed
suicide. He had long been subject to attacks of depression and hypochondria.
Bro. William Clark was a member of St. Louis Lodge No. 111 (under Pennsylvania
Charter).; He died September 1, 1838, in St. Louis, and was buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery there with Masonic honors. A large monument with the
square and compasses stands over his grave.
In 1897, Bro.
John Philip Sousa's march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was performed for the
first time at Philadelphia, PA. The occasion was the unveiling of a statue of
Bro. George Washington and US President and Bro. William McKinley was present.
In 1997, the US Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating the 100th
anniversary of the premiere of the stirring march. Bro. Sousa probably had a
greater influence on martial music than any other composer or band leader. In
1985, a bill was introduced in Congress to make "The Stars and Stripes Forever"
the official national march of the United States. He was a member of Hiram Lodge
No. 10, Washington, DC, a member of Eureka Chapter No. 4, (RAM), Columbia
Commandery No. 2 (K/T), and a member of the Almas Shrine Temple, all of
Washington, DC. At the time of his death he had been a Mason more than 50 years.
Masonic services were conducted by his lodge at the Congressional Cemetery after
he died March 6, 1932.
MAY
15
MAY
16
In 1862 General
and Bro. Benjamin Butler, military governor of New Orleans, issued what became
known as the "Women's" Order." The text of General Order No. 28 read in part:
"As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subjected to
repeated insults from women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans...when
any female shall...show contempt for the United States, she shall be regarded as
as woman of the town plying her avocation." The order set the stage for his
dismissal by General U .S. Grant as military governor in December, 1862. He was
a member of Pentucket Lodge, Lowell, MA, Mt. Horeb Chapter, and Pilgrim
Commandery. He was made a 33 degree Honorary of the AASR (NJ) on March 16, 1864.
In 1868, the US
Senate failed by one vote to convict Bro. Andrew Johnson, then President of the
US, as it took its first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment against
him. His close association with Freemasonry was one of the factors that led to
his impeachment trial. Thaddeus Stevens, the anti-Mason, was a ringleader in the
impeachment proceedings against Bro. Johnson. Bro. Johnson died July 31, 1875.
He was a member of Greeneville Lodge No. 119, Greenveille, TN. He was also a
Knight Templar and belonged to the Scottish Rite.
MAY
17
In 1749 was
born at Berkeley, England, the English physician who was to establish a
scientific basis for his work on smallpox, Bro. Edward Jenner.. Bro. Jenner had
spent two decades studying reports of dairy farmers who seemed to become immune
to smallpox because of exposure to cowpox, a related but milder disease. Bro.
Jenner injected cowpox in a healthy 8-year-old boy who subsequently developed
cowpox. Six weeks later, Bro. Jenner injected the boy with Smallpox. He remained
healthy. Bro. Jenner called this new procedure vaccination, from vaccine,
another term for cowpox. Within 18 months, 12,000 people in England had been
vaccinated and the number of smallpox deaths dropped by two-thirds. Bro. Jenner
was a member of Royal Faith and Friendship Lodge No. 2780, Berkeley, England, in
which he served a term as Master (1811-13). He died in 1822.
In 1954 the US
Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregation of public schools "solely on
the basis of race" denied black children "equal educational opportunity," even
if physical facilities and 'tangible factors' may have been equal. Separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal." The U.S. Supreme Court
unanimously voted to end racial segregation in public schools. The Court's
decision came as a result of Brown v. the Board of Education case, in which the
lead plaintiff's daughter, Linda Brown, was denied entrance into an all-white
elementary school because she was African American. The case was argued before
the court by Prince Hall Mason Bro. Thurgood Marshall, who would go on to become
the first Black to be appointed to the US Supreme Court.
MAY
18
In 1291 Acre,
the last major Christian stronghold in what is today Israel, was captured by
Muslim troops. Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil, son of Qalawun, led troops from Egypt
and Syria to isolate Acre. After several weeks of siege, the city was finally
occupied by the sultan's troops and the leaders of the Templars beheaded, ending
their base in the Holy Land since the Order was founded during the First
Crusade. For them life could not be darker, but that was because these
forerunners of modern Masonry could not foresee the tragedies and tortures that
would be heaped upon them just a few years later by King Philip IV of France and
Pope Clement V.
MAY
19
In 1895, Cuban
writer and poet Bro. Jose Julian Marti was killed by Spanish troops during a pro
independence battle. Bro. Marti, one of Cuba's best-known intellectuals, wrote
about the injustices of colonialism and the importance of "Panamericanism," a
movement that sought Latin American social and political unity. Bro. Marti was
born January 28, 1853, ion Havana. A lawyer b profession earl in his lie he
became interested in Cuban independence from Spain, which resulted in his
deportation. When the revolution broke to in 1895, he returned to Cuba with a
small op[ of companions to command the rebel troops. His small force was
ambushed by a Spanish force and his en ire c contingent met death on his day. He
ranks today as one of Cuba's greatest heroes. His birthday is commemorated every
year by Cuban Freemasons. A status in his honor stands in Central Park of
Havana, and in 1950 the Masons of Cuba organized a parade of 6,000 in tribute to
him as a Mason and national hero. On October 24, 1953, Mahi Shrine Temple held
its ceremonial in Havana, naming it after Bo. Joseph Marti International
Ceremonial.
In 1943, in an
address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister and Bro. Winston Churchill
pledged to US and President, Bro. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his country's full
support in the war against Japan.
MAY
20
In
1902 Bro.
Tomas Estrada
Palma became the first President of the Republic of Cuba, when the country was
turned back to its people by the Bro. Theodore Roosevelt administration,. . He
was a Cuban patriot who joined other Cuban Masons such as Bro. Carlos Manuel de
Cespedes, and Bro. Ignacio Agramonte y Loinez, in the war which followed the
declaration of independence on October 10, 1868. Bro. Palma was reelected in
1906 but petty politics cased internal strife and he appealed to the US for
help. The US again took over in 1908. Bro. Palma was initiated in a Lodge in
Bayamo, Cuba, in 1868.
In 1927, Bro.
Charles Lindbergh, barely 25 years old, took off from Roosevelt Field in Long
Island, NY, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis to begin his historic solo flight to
France. 3,600 miles and 33 and a half hours later he descended quietly onto a
runway at Le Bourget Field in Paris. :Well, I made it," said the quiet
Midwesterner before he was mobbed and carried off by an ecstatic crowd gathered
to greet him. The lanky flier won a hotly contested $25,000-prize for his
non-stop effort but seemed surprised by the worldwide adulation his flight
generated. His main goal, he said, was to further aviation. Bro. Lindbergh was
raised at Keystone Lodge No. 243, St. Louis, MO. He was also a member of St.
Louis Chapter No. 33, National Sojourners, and of the Scios of San Diego, CA. On
the flight to Paris he wore the square and compasses on his jacket as a good
luck charm, and his plane also bore a Masonic tag from his Lodge. He died in
1974.
MAY
21
In 1471, born
at Nuremberg, Germany, was Bro. Albrecht Durer, German painter and engraver, one
of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. He is regarded as the inventor of
etching. One of his copper plate engravings entitled "Melancholy" has been
suggested as Masonic in origin, and indicates that Durer was familiar with the
fraternity at the time, and believed a member of the Nuremberg Lodge. It was at
this time that Emperor Maximilian was patron and honorary member of the Lodge.
Durer as court painter would likely have been associated with that pre United
Grand Lodge of England lodge. Bro. Lee Miller reports that one of his copper
plate engravings entitled "Melancholy" has been suggested as Masonic in origin,
and indicates that Durer was familiar with the fraternity at the time. Bro.
Durer died at Nuremberg April 6, 1528.
MAY
22
In 1859 at
Edinburgh. Scotland, the English physician who was to become Bro. Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, novelist and detective story writer, best remembered as the creator
of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Bro. Doyle was deeply interested in, and
lectured, on the subject of spiritualism. He was raised in Phoenix Lodge No.
257, Portsmouth in 1893. He died at Crowborough, Sussex, England, July 7, 1930.
In 1947, the US
furnished aid to Greece and Turkey and the US Congress approved the Truman
Doctrine, named after its originator, Bro. Harry S Truman, then US President. A
corollary of this plan was the Marshall Plan, developed by Secretary of State
Bro.. George C. Marshall, which began sending aid to war-torn European countries
in 1948.
MAY
23
In 1734, at
Iznang, Swabia, Germany, was born the German physician who would invent
Mesmerism, a form of magnetism and hypnotism he would use to cure disease. It
was while in France that he became a member of Philadelphia Lodge at Nobonne. He
established a Society there which he called the "Order of Universal Harmony,"
based on the principles of animal magnetism. He died in obscurity March 15,
1815, at Meersburgh, Swabia, Germany.
In 1785, in a
letter to a friend, Benjamin Franklin revealed his most recent invention:
spectacles of two thicknesses. Franklin needed special glasses that allowed him
to see near and far. To solve the problem, he had two pairs of spectacles cut in
half; he put half of each lens in a single frame, and the first bifocals were
born.
MAY
24
MAY
25
MAY
26
In 1886 was
born at St. Petersburg, Russia, Asa Yoelson, the Mason, actor and singer who
became internationally known as Al Jolson. Bro. Jolson was known for his
blackface minstrel songs and became famous as the star of the first talking
motion picture, " The Jazz Singer (1927)." He was a member of St. Cecile Lodge
No. 568, New York City where he was raised July 1, 1913. Bro. Jolson died
October 23, 1950, in San Francisco after retrying from, entertaining American
troops in Japan and Korea.
MAY
27
In 1941, amid
rising world tensions, President and Bro. Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed an
"unlimited national emergency." The move followed the deliberate sinking by
German U -boat U-69 of the unarmed American freighter Robert Moore. In a message
to Congress Bro. Roosevelt proclaimed an unlimited national emergency while
accusing Germany of having become "an international outlaw.
MAY
28
In 1738 at
Saines, France, was born Bro. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, the French physician and
member of the Constituent Assembly, who urged the use of a machine - sometimes
called "the Maiden" - for the execution of death sentences. He believed this a
less painful, more certain way of dispatching those sentenced to death The
guillotine was first used in April 25, 1792, for the execution of a highwayman,
Nicholas Jacques Pelletier. Though the machine was named after him It is neither
true that he invented it or met his death by it, as often stated. Bro. Guillotin
was one of the founders of the Grand Orient of France, and was first the orator
of the Chamber of the provinces, becoming president on October 27, 1775. He was
Master of Concorde Fraternelle Lodge of Paris, as well as a member of the famous
Lodge of the Nine Sisters. In 1784, he was on the same committee with Bro.
Benjamin Franklin and Bro. Sylvain Bailey, a French astronomer, to report on the
animal magnetism clams of Bro. Anton Mesmer. He died March 26, 1814 in Paris.
In 1972, the
Duke of Windsor, and Freemason, who had abdicated the English throne as Edward
VIII to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson, died in Paris at age
77. His full name was Bro. Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David.
Before ascending the throne he was Prince of Wales, and after abdication, Duke
of Windsor. Bro. Edward was initiated by HRH Bro. Arthur, Duke of Connault and
Strathearn, on May 2, 1909, in the Household Brigade Lodge No. 2614- one of the
Lodges wherein the Grand Master is permanent Master. He was appointed Senior
Warden in 1920 and elected Deputy Grand Master in 1921. On October 25, he was
installed as Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England in Royal Albert
Hall in the presence of nearly 9,000 Brethren. He was named Provincial Grand
Master for Surrey on July 22, 1924, and Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge
of England in 1936. He also served as Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masonry
for Surrey and held an Honorary 33 degree in the Supreme Council, Scottish Rite
of England.
MAY
29
In 1736, born
at Studley, VA, was American Revolutionary leader and orator Bro. Patrick Henry
. History remembers Bro. Henry for his speech on march 23, 1775, at St. John's
Church in Richmond ,VA calling for the arming of the Virginia militia. That's
when he said: "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death." Records are lost but he was believed to have been a
member of Tappahannock Lodge of Virginia.
In 1866, US
President and Bro. Andrew Johnson, issued a proclamation giving a general
amnesty to all who participated in the rebellion against the United States. High
ranking members of the Confederate government and military and those who owned
more than $20,000 in property were excepted and had to apply individually to the
President for a pardon. Once an oath of allegiance was taken, all former
property rights, except those in slaves, were returned to their former owners.
MAY
30
In 1922 Chief
Justice and Bro. William Howard Taft. dedicated the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C. Bro. Taft had been the 27th President of the US. 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, OH,
then made Honorary member of Crescent Lodge No. 25, Cedar Rapids, IA.
MAY
31
In 1790 Bro.
George Washington, first President of the United States of America, signed the
new nation's first copyright law. It gave protection for 14 years to books
written by US citizens. In 1891, the law was extended to cover books by foreign
authors as well.
In 1801 – Ordo ab Chao, Founding of the The Supreme Council,
Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA.
In 1898, at
Bowerville, OH, was born American religious leader Bro. Norman Vincent Peale was
best known for his 1952 book, "The Power of Positive Thinking," which combined
religion with psychiatry. He served for many. many years as a Grand Chaplain of
the Grand Lodge of New York and he was an outstanding spokesperson on behalf of
Free Masonry. He was a minister at the Marble Collegiate Church at New York, NY,
and served as President of the Council of Churches. He was a member of Milbourne
Lodge No. 1062, Brooklyn, NY. In 1972 he received New York Grand lodge's
Distinguished Achievement Award.
back to top |
