Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them May 9, 1959 Issue

Robert Green Ingersoll, 1833—1899

[Mentioned in Retrospection and Introspection, p. 77, and in Miscellany, p. 110]

Robert G. Ingersoll, agnostic and freethinker of the nineteenth century, became nationally known overnight for his oratorical eloquence when he nominated James G. Blaine for President at the Republican Convention in Cincinnati in 1876. Previous to this, Ingersoll was known in Illinois as an able speaker and lawyer and as an agnostic. His Civil War service and his hatred of slavery made him popular as a speaker at patriotic gatherings; he was attorney general for the state for two years. His defeat in 1868 in his bid for the governorship was attributed by many to his agnosticism.

Son of a minister, Ingersoll early rebelled against strict Calvinist discipline and dogma. He once said that he could not remember when he believed in the doctrine of eternal punishment. While he received instruction from his father, most of his learning derived from his own wide reading. He did not particularly enjoy the brief periods when he attended school, and his own two years as an instructor he labeled "the worst thing I ever did." He also believed that schools destroyed creative ability.

Admitted to the bar in 1854, Ingersoll opened a law office with his brother the following year in Shawneetown, Illinois. He successively practiced in Peoria, in Washington, D. C., and in New York City. He was a successful corporation lawyer as well as a brilliant defense attorney. His antireligious views sometimes made it necessary for him to refuse a case.

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Robert Green Ingersoll, 1833—1899

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