•On Aug. 4, 1753, George Washington, a young Virginia planter, becomes a Master Mason, the highest basic rank in Freemasonry. The ceremony was held at the Masonic Lodge No. 4 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Washington was 21 years old and would soon command his first military operation. Freemasons trace the origins of masonry back to the erecting of King Solomon’s Temple in biblical times.• On Aug. 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball, one of America’s most famous redheads and beloved comic actresses, is born near Jamestown, New York. Ball starred with husband Ricky Ricardo on television’s “I Love Lucy” from 1951 to ...