Honorary Citizen of the United States

Sir Winston Churchill, Rosemary Lodge 2581, London, British Prime Minister and one of the great leaders of the 20th century, on April 9, 1963 became the first person ever to receive the designation "Honorary Citizen of the United States." 

Only 7 people hold this rare distinction.  Among them are Marquis de Lafayette, A Freemason who is also an Honorary member of the Grand Lodge of Missouri and Casimir Pulaski, reported to be a member of Gould Lodge of Georgia.  Congress granted 5 of the honorary citizenships posthumously, with Brother Churchill and Mother Theresa being the only designees to receive the honor while living.

Nobel Prize Winners

There are almost certainly more, but a minimum of 22 Freemasons have won a Nobel Prize. The list of these distinguished Brothers includes:

Ivo Andric (1892–1975), Serbian novelist and short story writer. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1961.

Sir Edward Victor Appleton (1892–1965), English physicist who studied the ionosphere and contributed to the development of radar. Nobel Prize for Physics, 1947.

Leon Bourgeois (1851–1925), French statesman, Prime Minister, President of the Council of the League of Nations. Nobel Peace Prize, 1920.

Giosue Carducci (1835-1907), considered the national poet of modern Italy. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1906.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British Prime Minister and author. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1953.

Elie Ducommun (1833-1906), Swiss founder of the International Bureau of Peace. Nobel Peace Prize, 1902.

Jean Henri Dunant (1828-1910), Swiss philanthropist and founder of the Red Cross. Nobel Peace Prize, 1901.

Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), British discoverer of penicillin. Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1945.

Alfred H. Fried (1864-1921), Austrian pacifist. Nobel Peace Prize, 1941.

Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861–1947), English biochemist who discovered essential amino acids and researched vitamins. Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1929.

Frank B. Kellogg (1856-1937), US Secretary of State, Senator, Ambassador to England. Nobel Peace Prize, 1929.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), English writer. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1907.

Henri Lafontaine (1854-1943), Belgian Senator. Nobel Peace Prize, 1913.

George Marshall (1880-1959), General of the Army, Secretary of State, author of the post WWII "Marshall Plan." Nobel Peace Prize, 1953.

Albert A. Michelson (1852-1931), American scientist who first measured the speed of light. Nobel Prize for Physics, 1907.

Carl von Ossietzky (1889-1938), German writer, pacifist and Nazi opponent. Nobel Peace Prize, 1935.

Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), Latvian chemist who studied catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities. Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 1909.

Salvatore Quasimodo (1901–1968), Italian author and poet. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1959.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934), Spanish physician recognized for his work on the structure of the nervous system. Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1906.

Charles Robert Richet (1850-1935) French physiologist who discovered the phenomenon of anaphylaxis. Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1913.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) Twenty-Sixth President of the United States. Nobel Peace Prize, 1906.

Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929) Chancellor of Germany. Nobel Peace Prize, 1926.

In addition, John Steinbeck (1902-1968), who was a DeMolay, but not a Freemason, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

Butterfield's Lullaby

Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Adams Butterfield was a Union General in the Civil war and a member of Metropolitan Lodge 373 in New York.  Stationed at Harrison's Landing in July, 1862, Brother Butterfield composed a few new bugle calls for his troops.  One in particular was a haunting tune which became known as "Butterfield's Lullaby." General Butterfield, used it to replace the customary firing of three rifle volleys at the end of burials during battle. He also had the tune played to signal the end of the day's activities.  The tune caught on and within months both Union and Confederate troops were using it as the bugle call at day's end.  The military continues that tradition to this day, now simply calling "Butterfield's Lullaby" by its more common name, "Taps."

The bugle call's contemporary title, "Taps," derives from the Dutch word "Taptoe," which was also a bugle call for lights out.  It is from the phrase "Doe den tap toe," which literally means, "turn the tap off," signaling the time to turn off beer taps at the end of the day.  The French used the same derivation for the word "Tattoo."  It has no derivative relationship to the same word which refers to marking the skin with indelible ink.

Catalina Lodge 524

California's Catalina Lodge 524 (now Temecula-Catalina Freemason Lodge 524) at one time had an official "Clock Winder."

Independence Hall

Independence Hall in Philadelphia stands on ground purchased by William Allen, Grand Master of Pennsylvania.  The building position was staked out by Brother Edmund Woolley.  Brother Benjamin Franklin laid the cornerstone in 1734, when he was Grand Master and was assisted by St. John's Lodge.  Brother Andrew McNair rang the bell to summon citizens on July 8, 1776 to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the Liberty Bell cracked while tolling the Death of Chief Justice John Marshall, Past Grand Master of Virginia.

The Dissenting Vote

George Washington, Alexandria Lodge 22, and James Monroe, Williamsburgh Lodge 6, both in Virginia, were the only two United States Presidents elected essentially without opposition. In 1820, all members of the Electoral College were obligated to cast a vote for Monroe but New Hampshire representative William Plumer instead voted for John Quincy Adams. A popular story is that Plumer cast the renegade vote against Monroe because he felt no president except Washington should garner a unanimous vote in the Electoral College. While this is a nice sentiment, it's probably not true. Plumer was not a supporter of Monroe. More than that, however, Plumer was also charged to vote for Brother Monroe's Vice Presidential candidate. Monroe's pick for Vice President was Daniel Tompkins, a member of Hiram Lodge 72, Mt. Pleasant, NY who later served as that state's Grand Master. Plumer detested Tompkins, describing him as as "grossly intemperate" and having "not that weight of character which his office requires." It is more likely it was Monroe's association with Brother Tompkins, rather than Plumer's admiration of Washington, that cost Monroe a unanimous election.

Many Happy Returns

Return Jonathan Meigs, Sr. (1740-1823), American Revolution Colonel, was a founding settler of Ohio and Indian Agent in Tennessee.  His son, Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. (1764-1824) served as Governor of Ohio and US Postmaster General.  Both were members of American Union Lodge 1 in Ohio.  The elder served as Master in 1801.  He was the son of Return Meigs and grandson of Jana Meigs, both with an unknown Masonic status.  Their unusual names came from Grandpa Jana's frustrations in pursuing the woman who ultimately became his wife, Hannah Willard.  Hanna was a Puritan who refused to marry Jana on many occasions.  Jana gave it one final try and upon being refused again, gave up and mounted his horse to ride off.  At that, Hannah, realizing she was losing him forever, called out, "Return, Jana, return!" Jana did return and the couple was married May 16, 1698.  Jana said when she cried out to him, "Return" was the sweetest word he had ever heard, and named his son Return in honor of it, the name being passed down afterward.

Note: There are a few variations of this story, all of which claim Jana's name was Johnathan with Hanna (sometimes referred to as a Quaker), calling "Return, Johnathan, return!"  The former story, however, comes directly from the Meigs family, which has records verifying its accuracy.