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Adam Gowans Whyte (1875–1950)
I have often enough been burdened, disgusted, and outraged with life, but never have I been bored with it. There […]
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Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)
No poet since Shelley sings more loftily or with more fiery passion or with finer thought than Swinburne when he […]
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Annie Lidstone (1846–1940)
Those of us who can look back over the last thirty years will not fail to recall Mrs. Lidstone’s friendliness […]
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Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
Auguste Comte was a French writer, philosopher, and social scientist, whose theory of positivism was a significant influence on the […]
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Barbara Smoker (1923-2020)
To say that “God moves in mysterious ways” is to put up a smokescreen of mystery behind which fantasy may […]
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Charles E. Hooper
Rational Humanism is an ethical outlook, which seeks to be in accord with a scientific survey of man’s world. It […]
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Charles Watts (1836–1906)
Avoiding alike mysticism and shallow denial, he was a true Agnostic, anxious not merely to beat down error, but to […]
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Church of Humanity
No creative thinker has so governed… my mind as the French genius who framed the maxim – “Love for principle, […]
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Conway Hall
Conway Hall has effected a transformation. From the day of its opening the life of the Society has been full […]
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Edward Clodd (1840–1930)
He was one of the few of whom it can be said that he had a gift for friendship… There […]
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Edward Truelove (1809-1899)
The radical publisher Edward Truelove found himself in court more than once defending freedom of belief and expression. He believed, […]
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Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)
A cheerful and reverent Agnostic, whose whole life was one of unselfishness and devotion to lofty aims, who was tolerant […]
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From the archives: A Burial Service
The reward of a useful and virtuous life is the conviction that our memory will be cherished by those who […]
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From the archives: In Memoriam—Dr. Felix Adler
Those who never saw or heard Dr. Adler are nevertheless his heirs, though they cannot realise how creative and inspiring […]
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From the archives: Naming of Mazzini Truelove
On 11 November 1849, at the Literary and Scientific Institution, 23 John Street (now Whitfield Street), London, George Jacob Holyoake […]
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From the archives: The Great Human Detective Story
Humanism is a philosophy of life based on a concern for humanity rather than a belief in god. Humanists believe […]
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George Broadhead (1933–2021)
George Broadhead was a humanist activist and gay rights campaigner, motivated by a twin commitment to humanism and human rights. […]
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Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery is a nondenominational cemetery in Ireland, first opened in 1832. The brainchild of Catholic rights leader Daniel O’Connell, […]
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Helen Mary Dexter (1880–1948)
For many years a member of the Rationalist Press Association, and no longer associated with any church, she had devoted […]
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Highgate Cemetery
I was not, and was conceived. I loved and did a little work. I am not and grieve not. Epitaph […]
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Humanist Ceremonies
People have always looked for ways to mark significant events in their lives, and though many ceremonies have often been […]
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Humanist Society Scotland
Humanist Society Scotland (HSS) is the national humanist charity for Scotland. Founded in 1989 out of local groups whose roots go back to 1904, it secured legal recognition for humanist marriages in 2005 and today conducts more legal weddings than any religious group in Scotland.
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Humanists UK Campaigns
While much of the Humanist Heritage website looks back to the earlier years of the organised humanist movement, recent decades […]
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Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner (1858-1935)
When we are asked to believe that nothing but a supernatural ideal can inspire and sustain a life-time of complete […]
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Iain Banks (1954–2013)
What Iain brought to his writing was himself. He brought a wonderful combination of the dark and the light side of life, […]
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John Curry (1949–1994)
John Curry was an English figure skater celebrated for revolutionising the sport by combining athleticism with balletic artistry. Openly gay […]
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Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green, opened in 1833, was London’s first commercial cemetery, and the originator of the city’s ‘Magnificent Seven’. These suburban […]
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LGBT Humanists
Formed in the wake of the Gay News blasphemy trial, GALHA (now LGBT Humanists) came into being in 1979 as […]
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Marriage of Ernest Cotton and Florence Wilson (1914)
Love is a kind of courage, and, in the hearts of the man and woman who will here wed, there […]
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Mary Raftery (1957–2012)
The hard anger she felt at the cruelty she encountered was always rooted in a deep tenderness for vulnerable humanity. […]
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Mother Clap (died c.1726)
As for Mother Clap, she was present all the Time, except when she went out to fetch Liquors… The Company […]
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Owenism
Socialism emerged, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, as a humanist ideal of universal emancipation – the ideal […]
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Percy Vaughan (1879–1917)
To know him added a zest to existence, and was rich compensation for much that depresses the idealist. Percy Vaughan […]
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Positivism
Positivism is a philosophical system based on the writings of French thinker Auguste Comte, which flourished from the 1830s onwards. […]
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Richard Congreve (1818-1899)
Richard Congreve was a devoted follower of Auguste Comte, whose positivist philosophies and ‘Religion of Humanity’ inspired Congreve to open […]
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Rodger Alder (1947–1997)
The obituary reproduced below was written by George Broadhead, and originally appeared in a 1997 issue of The Gay Humanist […]
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South Place Ethical Society
Under its successive names, adopted or given… is traceable a constant endeavour to study carefully, and keep abreast of, the […]
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Stanton Coit (1857-1944)
Stanton Coit was a pioneer of the Ethical movement in England and the founder of the West London Ethical Society, […]
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The Ethical Church
The old teaching was that we must worship not truth, beauty and goodness, but their source, and that their source […]
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The Ethical Movement
Not by the Creed but by the Deed. Motto of the Society for Ethical Culture of New York, founded in […]
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The first humanist public funeral
He was the people’s First Minister, and this is a people’s ceremony. He wouldn’t want heavy mourning. This is a […]
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The Union of Ethical Societies
The Union of Ethical Societies (now Humanists UK) was formed in 1896, joining together existing ethical societies for fellowship and […]
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To Love and to Cherish (1988)
There are in Britain today a great many thoughtful people who have ideals and aspirations that owe nothing to religious […]