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. The pamphlet sold more copies than any book save the Bible.
Paine lived in France for most of the 1790s, becoming deeply involved in the French Revolution. He wrote the Rights of Man in 1791, a defense of the French Revolution. Despite not speaking French, he was elected to the French National Convention in 1792. But in December of 1793, Paine was arrested and imprisoned in Paris – then released in 1794.
Paine returned to America in 1802, after becoming notorious due to publication of The Age of Reason, his book advocating deism, reason and freethinking, against institutionalized religion and Christian doctrines. When he died in 1809, he had been ostracized for his ridicule of Christianity.
On February 6, 1756, Aaron Burr was born. Burr was an American politician who served as third Vice President of the United States, a man with a deeply ambiguous record. His popularity in his home state of New York, combined with the Slave Power vote, allowed for Thomas Jefferson’s victory in 1800 — and yet, another constitutional quirk, in addition to his apparent calculating ambition, precipitated a constitutional crisis in that election. He found a strong opponent in Federalist politician Alexander Hamilton, whom he killed in a duel during his vice presidency. Later, Burr gathered an army west of the Appalachians, ostensibly to conquer Mexico. The army was captured, and Burr was put on trial for treason, with Thomas Jefferson moving heaven and earth to see a conviction. Burr was found not guilty, traveled to Europe, and then returned to America for a long life in the private sector.
On February 5, 1788, Robert Peel was born. He would become one of the most important of the United Kingdom’s prime ministers, ushering in some reforms that led to the liberalization of England in the 19th century.