Birth of Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine was born on 29 January 1737 in Thetford. An English-born political activist and writer, Paine emigrated to the American colonies in 1774, and became one of the most influential voices of the American Revolution. His pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776, argued for independence from Britain in plain language and sold in enormous numbers. His series The American Crisis included the line these are the times that try men's souls. He then wrote The Rights of Man in defense of the French Revolution, and the deist The Age of Reason, which made him unpopular. He was imprisoned in France and returned to the United States, where he died in relative poverty.

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