What is Illuminati and who are the members?

The 'Illuminati', an organized in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830) in Ingolstadt Bavaria; the original was the Bavarian Illuminati with an initial membership of five. Although the membership rolls were kept secret, eventually around 2000 throughout Europe, some known members were:

Baron Adolph von Knigge

Ferdinand of Brunswick

Franz Xaver von Zwack

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Gottfried Herder

Count Alessandrodi CagliOStro

When Karl Theodore became ruler of Bavaria in 1777 and secret societies were banned by an edict of 1785, including the Illuminati. Weishaupt fled and his documents and correspondence were seized. Van Zwak's premises was searched and all of the groups literature was found. The entire organization disbanded and any whose name had not been uncovered did not want their association to become public.

Any groups claiming to be or named as 'Illuminati' since that time are a product of fiction. A number of novels (fiction) have been written using the name of the organization or a similar sounding one. There are many rumors, theories, and sound bites constantly circling around, but that is all they are. There are people who have a need to believe in secret organizations and conspiracies who keep the stories circulating.