Freethought Almanac

Lighting a candle in toxic air.
2011-11-08
November 8: Edmund Halley

Edmund Halley (1656) It was on this date, November 8,* 1656, that British astronomer Sir Edmond Halley was born in Hagerston, Middlesex, England (now London), the son of a wealthy merchant. He was educated at Oxford and before graduating took his first astronomical field trip in 1676, to the British-controlled island of St. Helena, where […]

Read More
2010-11-08
November 8: Church-State Separation + Edmund Halley

Émile Combes and Church-State Separation (1904) It was on this date, November 8, 1904, that leftist French statesman Émile Combes introduced a bill for the separation of Church and State into the legislature of France. Born Justin Louis Émile Combes in Roquecourbe in the Tarn départment, Combes at first studied for the priesthood. After becoming […]

Read More

Ronald Bruce Meyer

Our Fearless Leader.


Daily Almanac

This Week in Freethought History (April 14-20)

Read about the churches and slavery, Leonardo da Vinci, Anatole France, the Dark Ages of Pope Benedict III, the creationist film “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” the Branch Davidian Conflagration, the Columbine Massacre and more …



Daily Almanac

Coming soon!

Follow me on twitter

@ 2020 Free Thought Almanac