Abraham Lincoln

1809–1865

Political Hero & Intellectual Inspiration

Ingersoll revered Lincoln deeply, though they never met in person. After the war, Ingersoll delivered some of his most moving orations praising Lincoln's emancipation of the enslaved and his…

“Abraham Lincoln, so far as I know, was the greatest man who ever wore the human form.”

Mark Twain

1835–1910

Close Friend & Fellow Freethinker

Twain and Ingersoll were great mutual admirers and personal friends. Both shared a sardonic wit, a deep skepticism of religious orthodoxy, and a passionate belief in human dignity. Twain called…

“The most brilliant speaker I ever heard — he could do more with words than any man I ever met.”

— Mark Twain on Ingersoll

Walt Whitman

1819–1892

Poet & Admirer

Walt Whitman held Ingersoll in the highest esteem, calling him one of the greatest Americans of the age. Ingersoll defended Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' at a time when it was widely condemned as…

“Ingersoll has given me my best word from the outside world. I have been waiting for it.”

— Walt Whitman

Frederick Douglass

1818–1895

Fellow Champion of Human Liberty

Ingersoll and Douglass shared a profound commitment to human liberty, equality, and the abolition of slavery. They appeared together on the lecture circuit and were mutual admirers. Ingersoll, a…

“I have heard Ingersoll, and his is the most magnificent voice — the most wonderful eloquence.”

— Frederick Douglass

Susan B. Anthony

1820–1906

Ally in the Cause of Women's Rights

Ingersoll was an early and outspoken champion of women's suffrage and women's rights. He argued passionately that women deserved full equality before the law and in public life. Susan B. Anthony…

“I believe in the equality of woman with man. I believe in the liberty of woman as I believe in the liberty of man.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

1815–1902

Friend & Fellow Freethinker

Ingersoll and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were close allies. Stanton shared Ingersoll's deep skepticism of orthodox religion, which she believed was a primary tool of women's oppression. Her later work…

Ulysses S. Grant

1822–1885

Close Personal Friend

Ingersoll and President Grant were close personal friends. Ingersoll was a loyal Republican and a staunch defender of Grant's character when political enemies attacked him. When Grant lay dying of…

“In the great night of death, the music of the future will not be heard.”

— Ingersoll at the Grant Memorial

Thomas Edison

1847–1931

Admirer & Fellow Rationalist

Thomas Edison deeply admired Ingersoll, calling him the greatest orator he had ever heard and one of the most intellectually honest men of the age. Both men shared a belief in human reason, science…

“Ingersoll had the greatest mind I ever encountered in the form of man.”

— Thomas Edison

Andrew Carnegie

1835–1919

Friend & Patron

The steel magnate Andrew Carnegie was an admirer and friend of Ingersoll. Both were self-made men who believed in reason over religion and the power of education. Carnegie's philosophy of giving back…

Charles Darwin

1809–1882

Intellectual Hero

Though Ingersoll never met Darwin personally, he was one of the most passionate American advocates for Darwin's theory of evolution. Ingersoll saw natural selection as the scientific key that…

“Charles Darwin — who without religion made, in a few years, more progress for the welfare of mankind than all the priests since the beginning of the world.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

Thomas Paine

1737–1809

Greatest Intellectual Hero

Thomas Paine was Ingersoll's greatest intellectual hero and inspiration. Ingersoll delivered his famous oration 'Thomas Paine' in 1870, rescuing Paine's reputation from decades of slander by…

“Thomas Paine had more brains in his body than all his detractors put together.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

Robert Ingersoll Parker

n/a

Wife & Life Partner

Eva Parker Ingersoll was the center of Robert's world. In an era when women were legally subservient to their husbands, Ingersoll treated Eva as his full equal and partner. He refused to include the…

“She is the finest woman I have ever known — and I include myself in that statement.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

Voltaire

1694–1778

Enlightenment Hero

Voltaire was one of the great intellectual ancestors Ingersoll claimed. Ingersoll saw himself as carrying forward the Enlightenment tradition: attacking superstition with wit, reason, and courage. He…

“Voltaire — the greatest man of his time — laughed at the Church and struck it dead with a smile.”

Link copied