Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine, also spelled as Thomas Pain, (February 9, 1737 – June 8, 1809) was American political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary, who was born in England. He authored the two most important pamphlets at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War and was the inspiration behind the independence declaration from Great Britain. His ideas reflected the age of Enlightenment.

Paine moved to United States in 1774, after Benjamin Franklin had asked to help him in the American Revolution. His most famous pamphlet is Common Sense (1776). His most well-known books are Rights of Man (1791) and The Age of Reason (1793-94). Paine was arrested in 1793 by the French government. President James Monroe used his connections to get Paine released in 1974. He returned to the US in 1802, where he died in 1809.