Weishaupt founded the Illuminati in 1776, which recruited through Masonic lodges
Documented · occurred What these labels mean →Adam Weishaupt, professor at Ingolstadt, founded the Bavarian Illuminati on 1 May 1776. The order took control of Munich's Masonic Lodge of Theodore of Good Counsel and, with Baron Knigge from 1780, grew into a substantial Masonic body; after the 1782 Wilhelmsbad Masonic Convent it recruited the prominent Mason Johann Joachim Christoph Bode. One popular account says Knigge recruited 'most of the delegates' at Wilhelmsbad; the scholarly account does not support that scale.
Evidence
| Relation | Record | Note |
|---|---|---|
| documents | thomaspaine.org | Liddle (1986): founded 1 May 1776 by Weishaupt; control of the Lodge of Theodore of Good Counsel. His line that Knigge "recruited most of the delegates" at Wilhelmsbad (1782) is not adopted; see Introvigne |
| corroborates | bitterwinter.org | Introvigne (2021): the Illuminati "grew into a substantial Masonic body"; after the 1782 Wilhelmsbad Convent they used it "to recruit into their ranks an important Masonic personality, Johann Joachim Christoph Bode" |
Sources
| Source | Relation | At |
|---|---|---|
| Freemasons - dark side (Timeline doc) | asserts |
Claim
Adam Weishaupt, professor at Ingolstadt, founded the Bavarian Illuminati on 1 May 1776. The order took control of Munich's Masonic Lodge of Theodore of Good Counsel and, with Baron Knigge from 1780, grew into a substantial Masonic body; after the 1782 Wilhelmsbad Masonic Convent it recruited the prominent Mason Johann Joachim Christoph Bode. One popular account says Knigge recruited 'most of the delegates' at Wilhelmsbad; the scholarly account does not support that scale.