Daniel Dravot - Fictional Freemason

Daniel Dravot is one of two key fictional characters in Rudyard Kipling's short story The Man Who Would Be King, subsequently made into a feature film in 1975.

In the book, Dravot and co-conspirator Peachey Carnehan are Master Masons, that is to say, members of the Third Degree of Freemasonry. Traveling to Kafiristan (in modern Afghanistan) with the intention of becoming kings, the two make a very convenient discovery: the natives are in possession of the secrets of both the First and Second Degrees of Freemasonry, but not those of the Third Degree. Dravot puts on his Master Mason's apron, whereupon the natives recognise the Third Degree symbol as their own sacred symbol concealed on the bottom of a stone. As luck would (again) have it, the stone on which the symbol is engraved is the very stone upon which Dravot is then sitting. Dravot immediately declares himself "Grand Master of All Kafiristan" and also Co-King of Kafiristan along with Peachey. The conspiracy is eventually discovered, and results in the deaths of both men.

The film of 1975 is very true to the book, but goes into less masonic detail. The different degrees are not mentioned by name. The identification of Dravot as a supposed god is made by the fact that he wears a pendant bearing a symbol, which is the sacred symbol of the Kafir natives. The symbol used in the film is not named, but is clearly shown, and is simply the Square & Compasses symbol of Freemasonry. The other key difference between the book and the film is that Carnehan does not die in the film - both men die in the book itself.

Kipling was himself an active Freemason, and there are many other examples of masonic references in his work.

From Wiki entry on Daniel Dravot