I’m asking about the purported leader of the international conspiracy.
Yes, he was. He lived from 1748-1830, was a professor of Canon Law at the University of Ingolstadt, and founded the Order of the Illuminati
Wow, that’s way more informative an answer than I was expecting. Thanks, Cap.
Hmmm … You’re not having me on, are you? Maybe I should have demanded a cite.
Google the name, and you’ll find many cites.
Here, by the way, is Cecil’s take on the Illuminati.
Adam Weishaupt was real, and did indeed found the Bavarian Illuminati.
Whether or not that group is responsible for secretly running the western world is a matter of speculation.
Here is a brief biography of him.
I thought about doing a Web search, but then it occurred to me that there just might be a conspiracy on the Web to persuade me that he really did exist.
That’s the spirit!!
The real point of conspiracy theory literature is to inure the public to the idea of conspiracy, and relegate its proponents to the outskirts of public discourse, rendering them “quacks” and “loonies” so that when the real conspiracy is uncovered, the whistleblowers will just be another group of weirdos.
I like the way you think. Oh, and don’t listen to Revtim, his one of us… er… them. 
I’m now wondering whether it was a mistake to bring this issue up at the SDMB. How do I know that you all aren’t really just employees of the Chicago Reader pretending to be “Teeming Millions”?
Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen a copy of the Chicago Reader.
Hm.
If they had the budget to employ all of us, they’d likely have the budget for a fast server for the SDMB to spread their lies…
They do. Which is exactly why they don’t use it. You’re all so gullible.
Any truth behind the rumor that the picture on the U.S. dollar bill is Adam Weishaupt and not George Washington?
Funny, I thought it was really Sigismundo Celine?
I thought it was Barbara Bush.
I could be wrong, but I thought the rumor about Weishaupt on the dollar bill originated before any of the Robert Anton Wilson novels, if that’s what you were referring to bughunter.