The Inner Circle

Friends & Contemporaries

Ingersoll walked among giants. His correspondence and friendships spanned the greatest minds of the 19th century.

MT

Mark Twain

Admirer

"I have heard him speak... and was held spellbound. He was the most beautiful speaker I ever heard."

WW

Walt Whitman

Close Friend

"Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at Whitman's funeral, calling him the 'poet of the human race.'"

TE

Thomas Edison

Scientist

"Edison recorded Ingersoll's voice on early wax cylinders, preserving his oratory for history."

AC

Andrew Carnegie

Philanthropist

"Carnegie once said, 'Ingersoll's life is a creed to which I subscribe.'"

ES

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Suffragist

"They shared platforms advocating for women's rights, agreeing that religion was often used to oppress women."