Frequently Asked

Ingersoll called himself an agnostic. He argued that honest intellectual humility required admitting what we cannot know — and what we cannot know includes the existence or nature of a god. He did not claim to prove the non-existence of a deity; he insisted that nobody else could prove the existence of one either.

The nickname was coined by Ingersoll's contemporaries and widely used in the press during his lifetime. It reflected both his public stature — he was the most famous agnostic in America — and the central role agnosticism played in his lectures and essays.

Yes. Ingersoll died in 1899, and his complete works (the twelve-volume Dresden Edition, 1900–1902) are in the public domain worldwide. You may read, copy, quote, and redistribute them freely.

The Dresden Edition is the definitive posthumous collection of Ingersoll's writings, published in twelve volumes between 1900 and 1902 and edited by his son-in-law Clinton P. Farrell. It takes its name from Dresden, New York — Ingersoll's birthplace.

He was a close personal friend of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Edison, and many others. He revered Abraham Lincoln but the two never met in person — Ingersoll came to prominence after Lincoln's assassination. He did deliver famous orations praising Lincoln's legacy.

For a taste of his oratory, begin with The Gods (1872). For his clearest statement of agnosticism, read Why I Am an Agnostic (1896). For his most famous political speech, see The Plumed Knight.

This is an ongoing project run in the author's free time. New works are added regularly. If you would like to help transcribe or proofread additional volumes, please get in touch.

Please cite the original Dresden Edition (1900–1902) as the primary source for Ingersoll's writings. You may link to this site as a convenient digital edition. For editorial essays on the blog, cite the author and URL.

Yes. We welcome well-researched essays on Ingersoll's ideas, his life, his contemporaries, or the broader history of American freethought. See the contact page for submission details.

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