January 11
On this date in 1850, British atheist activist
G.W. Foote was born in England. In 1876, George William Foote began co-editing a weekly newspaper, the
Secularist, with Jacob Holyoake, then became the premiere editor of the National Secular Society's
Freethinker. Foote edited the
Freethinker,
which is still published today by the NSS, for 35 years. He was
prosecuted for blasphemy in 1882, and was jailed for a year. Foote's
plight brought reform, making future criticism of Christianity lawful in
Great Britain. Foote launched several other freethought journals,
publishing companies and presses, devoting his life and career to the
advancement of secularism. His books include
Flowers of Freethought, and, with W.P. Ball,
The Bible Handbook. D. 1915.
“Who burnt heretics? Who roasted or drowned millions of
'witches'? Who built dungeons and filled them? Who brought forth cries
of agony from honest men and women that rang to the tingling stars? Who
burnt Bruno? Who spat filth over the graves of Paine and Voltaire? The
answer is one word--CHRISTIANS.”
—G.W. Foote. "Are Atheists Wicked?," chapter from Flowers of Freethought (1894)
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