Freethought Almanac

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January 29: Thomas Paine (1737)

It was on this date, January 29, 1737 (N.S February 9), that English-born American patriot and pamphleteer Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, Norfolk, into an English Quaker family. He worked as a stay-maker for women’s dresses, and as an excise-man, but in London Benjamin Franklin persuaded the budding writer to emigrate to America. As a soldier in George Washington’s army, Paine witnessed the struggle for independence for himself and penned Common Sense, which made him so popular that the title became Paine’s nickname.

To read more, go to THIS LINK.

Originally published January 2003 by Ronald Bruce Meyer.

Ronald Bruce Meyer

Our Fearless Leader.


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The Week in Freethought History (September 9-15)

Here’s your Week in Freethought History: This is more than just a calendar of events or mini-biographies – it’s a reminder that, no matter how isolated and alone we may feel at times, we as freethinkers are neither unique nor alone in the world. Last Monday, September 10, but in 1941, “One of the most […]



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