Who was the first president who was a Freemason

George Washington was the first President of the United States who was a Freemason 1. He remains the only President of the United States to serve as Worshipful Master of a lodge while serving as Chief Executive 1.

In the Craft, Washington was initiated in Fredericksburg Lodge in Virginia on November 6, 1752, and raised as a Master Mason on August 4, 1753 1. His early involvement included frequent attendance at military lodges during his command in the Revolutionary War 1. In 1777, a convention of Virginia lodges recommended him to serve as Grand Master of an independent Grand Lodge of Virginia, though he declined the nomination 1.

When Lodge No. 39 at Alexandria transferred its allegiance to Virginia in 1788, it requested a charter naming Washington as its Master 1. Grand Master Edmund Randolph issued the charter for Alexandria Lodge No. 22 to Washington as Worshipful Master 1. Re-elected to the chair later that year, Washington was serving as Master of Alexandria Lodge when he assumed the US presidency 1.

Evidence also points to his reception of higher Masonic degrees during his lifetime 1. C. C. Hunt and Cyrus Field Willard note that Washington likely received the Royal Arch degree—then conferred under a Craft lodge warrant—citing early lodge precedence records and the Royal Arch emblems on the Masonic apron presented to him by General Lafayette in 1784 1.