1732 - April 7, 1814As author of The Spirit of Masonry (1775), William James Hutchinson gained for himself the title of "father of masonic symbolism". The text received the sanction of Grand Lodge and went through nine editions during his lifetime. A prominent member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, and a lawyer by occupation, he also penned several published poems and prose works: The Hermitage (1772) and A Week in a Cottage (1775).Initiated: 4 June 1770Worshipful Master: three times in 1770s _Lodge No. 406, County Durham_Founding Master Lodge No. 461, Raby Source : "Education of an Eighteenth Century Masonic Author", Trevor Stewart. AQC, vol cv (1992) pp. 69-80.
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Engraving by Joseph Collyer (1748-1827) 1812.