The Seven Order of the IlluminatiThe Seven Order Apply

1752–1796

Adolph Freiherr Knigge

Writer and Freemason who reorganised the order's degrees.

Life
1752–1796
Connection
Leading member (code name "Philo")

Adolph Franz Friedrich Ludwig Freiherr Knigge was born on 16 October 1752 near Hanover. An experienced Freemason, he joined the Illuminati in 1780 and, as Philo, reworked its system of degrees and recruited widely among Masonic lodges.

Disagreements with Weishaupt over the order's direction led him to leave in 1784. He is best remembered today for his book on social conduct, Über den Umgang mit Menschen (1788). He died in Bremen on 6 May 1796.

References

  • René Le Forestier, Les Illuminés de Bavière et la franc-maçonnerie allemande (Paris, 1914).
  • Richard van Dülmen, Der Geheimbund der Illuminaten (Stuttgart, 1975).