The was founded on May 1, 1776, by Adam Weishaupt , a professor of law at the University of Ingolstadt.

Illuminati | Facts, History, Suppression, & Conspiracy Theories

: The group aimed to promote Enlightenment ideals, such as reason, secularism, and individual liberty , while opposing the powerful influence of the Roman Catholic Church and the state.

The society did not last long. In , the Bavarian government, under Elector Karl Theodor, issued an edict banning secret societies.

: Today, the "Illuminati" is often linked to the New World Order, with skeptics and theorists pointing to symbols like the "All-Seeing Eye" on the U.S. dollar bill as "evidence" of their control, even though the symbol has no historical link to Weishaupt's group.

: Modern theories were largely popularized in the 1960s by writers Robert Wilson and Kerry Thornley , who wrote fake letters to magazines to satirize the era's paranoia—a prank that backfired and fueled real belief in a hidden cabal.