Home > Shaping of America 1783-1815 > Prince Hall Biography

Born 1735 (Unknown)

Died December 4, 1807 (Boston, Massachusetts)

Black social activist

Prince Hall founded the African Lodge of the Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of Boston toward the end of the eighteenth century. The charter for the organization was issued by the Grand Lodge of England after the American Revolution (1775–83). More commonly known as African Lodge #459, it was the world's first black Masonic lodge, and Hall was its first grand master (leader). The group was a vital part of a movement to promote political and economic improvements for free blacks in America. Its organization was a model for all future black social institutions that were established to provide economic and educational assistance to their members. With Boston as the headquarters of African Masonry, Hall also chartered lodges in Philadelphia, Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut.