Adam Weishaupt

The professor who built a society to infiltrate societies — then vanished into myth.

Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830), canon law professor at Ingolstadt, founded the Illuminati May 1, 1776, structured it in graded circles borrowed from Masonry, and was exposed when Bavaria seized internal papers in 1786-87 (published as 'Original Writings of the Order'). He died in exile writing philosophy. The 'Weishaupt replaced George Washington' claim is a documented later satire. His genuine innovation — infiltration of existing institutions by a hidden hierarchy — is the method every subsequent theory attributes to everyone, which is his actual legacy.