Founding of the Illuminati
- When
- 1776–1790
- Where
- founding site of the Perfectibilists in the Electorate of Bavaria; Ingolstadt is supplied by legacy row and event scope, not named in the cited passages; Ingolstadt command (Eleusis) of the order; Electorate of Bavaria
- Episodes
- 3
On 1 May 1776 Adam Weishaupt and four students founded the Perfectibilists, the society later known as the Bavarian Illuminati, in the Electorate of Bavaria. The group adopted the Owl of Minerva as its symbol, was renamed the Order of Illuminati in 1778, and was eventually outlawed by Bavarian edict.
Episodes
- Founding of the Perfectibilists
Adam Weishaupt and four students founded the Perfectibilists on 1 May 1776, adopting the Owl of Minerva as their symbol.
- Early Expansion of the Order
By late summer 1778 the order had 27 members organized into five commands across Bavarian towns.
- Outlawing of the Illuminati
Charles Theodore, encouraged by the Catholic Church, outlawed the Illuminati and other secret societies by edict in 1784, 1785, 1787 and 1790.
Background and detail
Background. The name Illuminati, plural of Latin illuminatus ('enlightened'), has been given to several groups, both real and fictitious. In its historical sense it usually denotes the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society established on 1 May 1776 in the Electorate of Bavaria.
Founding of the Perfectibilists. On 1 May 1776, Adam Weishaupt and four students formed the Perfectibilists, taking the Owl of Minerva as their symbol. In April 1778 the order became the Illuminatenorden, or Order of Illuminati, after Weishaupt had seriously contemplated calling it the Bee order.
Early Growth and Suppression. By the end of summer 1778 the order counted 27 members in five commands, including Munich (Athens) and Ingolstadt (Eleusis). The Illuminati, together with Freemasonry and other secret societies, were outlawed by edict of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, encouraged by the Catholic Church, in 1784, 1785, 1787 and 1790.
People involved
- Adam Weishaupt · founder of the Perfectibilists, later the Order of Illuminati
- Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria · elector whose edicts outlawed the Illuminati and other secret societies
Sources
- Illuminati Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-14
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.