Thomas Paine

American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activist (1737–1809)
Person human Q126462
Thomas Paine
Auguste Millière / After George Romney / After William Sharp · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Summary

Thomas Paine was born on February 9, 1737[1], in Thetford[2]. He died on June 8, 1809[3], in Greenwich Village[4]. He worked as a philosopher[5], politician[6], writer[7], entrepreneur[8], and prose writer[9]. He ranks in the top 0.49% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (25,940 views/month, #4,931 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Date of birth: January 29, 1737[11]
  • Place of burial: New Rochelle[12]
  • Spouse: Mary Lambert[13], Elizabeth Ollive[14]
  • Country of citizenship: Kingdom of Great Britain[15], United States[16], France[17]
  • Ethnic group: English people[18]
  • Occupation: opinion journalist[19]
  • Position held: member of the French National Assembly[20]
  • Educated at: Thetford Grammar School[21]
  • Notable work: Common Sense[22], The Age of Reason[23], Rights of Man[24]
  • Award received: New Jersey Hall of Fame[25]
  • Member of: American Philosophical Society[26], Pennsylvania Abolition Society[27]
  • Religion or worldview: deism[28]
  • Sex or gender: male[29]
  • Commons category: Thomas Paine[30]
  • Family name: Paine[31], Pain[32]
  • Given name: Thomas[33]
  • Topic's main category: Category:Thomas Paine[34]
  • Commons gallery: Thomas Paine[35]
  • Work location: Paris[36]
  • Depicted by: Thomas Paine[37], Thomas Paine (1737–1809)[38]
  • Described by source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978)[39], Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary[40], Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary[41], Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900[42], Otto's encyclopedia[43]

Why It Matters

Thomas Paine has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[44] He is known by 43 alternative names across languages and contexts.[45]

He has been cited as an influence by Christopher Hitchens[46], a journalist[47], 1949–2011[48], of United Kingdom[49], awarded the Richard Dawkins Award[50] and Mary Wollstonecraft[51], a translator[52], 1759–1797[53], of Kingdom of Great Britain[54], specialised in essay[55].

Works attributed to him include Common Sense[56], a literary work[57]; The Age of Reason[58], a literary work[59]; Rights of Man[60], a literary work[61]; The American Crisis[62], a pamphlet series[63]; and Agrarian Justice[64], a literary work[65].

FAQs

Where was Thomas Paine born?

Thomas Paine's place of birth was Thetford[2].

Where did Thomas Paine die?

Thomas Paine passed away in Greenwich Village[4].

Who was Thomas Paine married to?

Thomas Paine's spouses include Mary Lambert[13] and Elizabeth Ollive[14].

What did Thomas Paine do for work?

Thomas Paine worked as a philosopher[5], politician[6], writer[7], entrepreneur[8], and prose writer[9].

Where did Thomas Paine go to school?

Thomas Paine was educated at Thetford Grammar School[21].

What awards did Thomas Paine receive?

Honors received include New Jersey Hall of Fame[25].

Who did Thomas Paine influence?

Thomas Paine has been cited as an influence by Christopher Hitchens[46] and Mary Wollstonecraft[51].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . ushistory.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [29] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [6] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [7] ↑ . Library of the World's Best Literature. wikidata.org.
  14. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [19] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [25] ↑ . njhalloffame.org. njhalloffame.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [1] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [11] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  26. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [33] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [58] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [60] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [62] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [64] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [47] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [49] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [50] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [52] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [53] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [54] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [55] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [57] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [59] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [61] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [63] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [65] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [44] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [45] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Thomas Paine. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/thomas-paine
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BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_thomas-paine_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Thomas Paine}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/thomas-paine}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-18}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 1d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||3 */ source for place of birth, source for place of death, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permiss"
  2. 4d ago · Printstream · 2026-10-14 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14966 → 2673656
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/59775|batch #59775]]: Import P14966"
  3. 11d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-10-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sbn author id → UBOV026503
    Nlb authority id (belarus) → NLB-ar2500440
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Nlb authority id (belarus): NLB-ar2500440, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/289738|batch #289738]]"
  4. 15d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-10-03 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sitelink count → 135
    Wikipedia languages → ['an', 'ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'az', 'azb', 'be', 'bg', 'bh', 'bn', 'br', 'bs', 'ca'
    Occupation → philosopher, politician, writer +3
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||5 */ Cleanup: remove wikimedia+obsolete refs; remove redundant occupations ([[User:Difool/WikidataCleanup]])"
  5. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00060186n
    P14750 → 8177-590A-C39E-3FBD-01BC
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151061006
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  6. 13w ago · Susmuffin · 2026-07-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag → thomas-paine
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Harper's tag: thomas-paine, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289970117|thomas paine (#289970117)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7915|Harper's tag]"
  7. 14w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14611 → 60184
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14611: 60184, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/260288|batch #260288]]"
  8. 14w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14541 → 1TCI3u
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  9. 15w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14608 → 118591215
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14608: 118591215, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783130387391"
  10. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 356339
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 356339, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
  11. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → 0252796-Paine-Thomas-17371809
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: 0252796-Paine-Thomas-17371809, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259492|batch #259492]]"
  12. 21w ago · Quesotiotyo · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14397 → 3645
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14397: 3645, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/258229|batch #258229]]"
  13. 22w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30842|batch #30842]]: match CERL IDs on the basis of GND (1)"
  14. 23w ago · Bargioni · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Plaque image → Thomas Paine Commemorative Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 311958, Thomas Paine 1737 - 1809 (Lewes).jpg, Thomas Paine blue plaque at The George, Grantham.JPG +2
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30465|batch #30465]]: add P1810 to P5739 1/3"
  15. 23w ago · Sj1mor · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb → —
    Plaque image → Thomas Paine Commemorative Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 311958, Thomas Paine 1737 - 1809 (Lewes).jpg, Thomas Paine blue plaque at The George, Grantham.JPG +2
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Plaque image: Thomas Paine Commemorative Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 311958.jpg"
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