Thomas Paine

Born January 29, 1737
Husband of Mary Lambert— married
Died June 8, 1809 



Thomas Paine was a writer and revolutionary. He was born in Thetford, England, and lived and worked in Britain until age 37, he immigrated to the British American colonies, in time to participate in the American Revolution.


Thomas Paine will be most remembered because he is the writer of the famous book called Common Sense, published January 10. 1776. It expressed the ideas behind the American Revolution.
In a time when there were only two million free colonists living in America, 100,000 copies were sold in just three months!  It was read by everyone.
The publication of this hugely popular pamphlet, along with other similar publications, would lead to his legacy as the Father of the American Revolution.
After the American Revolution ended, he moved back to England were he was outlawed for treason for defending the French Revolution. In 1792 he fled to France. He greatly influenced the French Revolution. He wrote the Rights of Men(1791), a guide to Enlightenment ideas. Despite not speaking French, he was elected to the French National Convention in 1792.