Testa (Giacinto), of Messina, Italian author of a curious Storia di Gesù di Nazareth, 1870, in which he maintains that Jesus was the son of Giuseppe Pandera, a Calabrian of Brindisi.
Thaer (Albrecht Daniel). German agriculturist, b. Celle, 14 May, 1752. Studied at Gottingen, and is said to have inspired Lessing’s work on The Education of the Human Race. Died 28 Oct. 1828.
Theodorus of Cyrene, a Greek philosopher, whose opinions resembled those of Epicurus. He was banished for Atheism from his native city. He resided at Athens about 312 B.C. When threatened with crucifixion, he said it mattered little whether he rotted in the ground or in the air.
Theophile de Viau, French satiric poet, b. Clerac, 1590. For the alleged publication of Le Parnasse Satyriques, he was accused of Atheism, condemned to death, and burnt in effigy. He fled, and was received by the Duc de Montmorency at Chantilly, where he died, 25 Sept. 1626.
Thompson (Daniel Greenleaf), American author of works on The Problem of Evil, ’87; The Religious Sentiments, etc. He is President of the Nineteenth Century Club.
Thomson (Charles Otto), Captain, b. Stockholm, 3 Jan. 1833. Went to sea in ’49 and became a merchant captain in ’57, and was subsequently manager of the Eskilstuna gas works. At Eskilstuna he started a Utilitarian Society in ’88, of which he is president. He has done much to support Mr. Lennstrand in his Freethought work in Sweden; has translated articles by Ingersoll, Foote and others, and has lectured on behalf of the movement. He shares in the conduct of Fritänkaren.
Thomson (James), Pessimistic poet, b. Port Glasgow, 23 Nov. 1834. Educated at the Caledonian Asylum, London, he became a schoolmaster in the army, where he met Mr. Bradlaugh, whom he afterwards assisted on the National Reformer. To this paper he contributed many valuable essays, translations, and poems, including his famous “City of Dreadful Night,” the most powerful pessimistic poem in the English language, (April, ’74, afterwards published with other poems in ’80). “Vane’s Story” with other poems was issued in ’81, and “A Voice from the Nile,” and “Shelley” (privately printed in ’84). Thomson also contributed to the Secularist and Liberal, edited by his friend Foote, who has published many of his articles in a volume entitled Satires and Profanities, which includes “The Story of a Famous Old Jewish Firm,” also published separately. Thomson employed much of his genius in the service of Freethought. Died 3 June, 1882.
Thomson (William), of Cork. A disciple of Bentham, and author of The Distribution of Wealth, 1824; Appeal for Women, ’25; Labor Reward, ’27, and in the Co-operative Magazine.
Thorild (Thomas), or Thoren, Swedish writer, b. Bohuslau, 18 April, 1759. In 1775 he studied at Lund, and in 1779 went to Stockholm, and published many poems and miscellaneous pieces in Swedish, Latin, German, and English, in which he wrote Cromwell, an epic poem. In 1786 he wrote Common Sense on Liberty, with a view of extending the liberty of the press. He was a partisan of the French Revolution, and for a political work was imprisoned and exiled. He also wrote a Sermon of Sermons, attacking the clergy, and a work maintaining the rights of women. Died at Greifswald; 1 Oct. 1808. He was a man far in advance of his time, and is now becoming appreciated.
Thulie (Jean Baptiste Henri), French physician and anthropologist, b. Bordeaux, 1832. In ’56 he founded a journal, “Realism.” In ’66 he published a work on Madness and the Law. He contributed to La Pensée Nouvelle, defending the views of Büchner. He has written an able study, La Femme, Woman, published in ’85. M. Thulie has been President of the Paris Municipal Council.