On Feb. 9, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England.
Paine would come to America in 1774 and by 1776 publish Common Sense, urging American independence. Later works included The Rights of Man (1792) and The Age of Reason (published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807).
Paine died in 1809.