I’m excited to announce the thirteenth in the Freethinker’s series of free online seminars for all those interested in freethought history and its enduring relevance. The webinars, hosted by me and lasting around one hour, will feature expert guest speakers, to whom you’ll have a chance to ask your questions. There is no set schedule for these webinars; the best way to stay informed about when they are happening is to sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter, which will also keep you updated on all other things Freethinker.
The webinars will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel. (This post will be updated and the video of the webinar—on which more in a moment—will appear below once the recording is available. All posts about these webinars will be accessible here, and all such posts will also be updated in due course when the webinar recordings are available, thus forming a complete catalogue of the series).
Register for Freethought History Webinar #13: G.W. Foote, Freethinker Founder, NSS President, and Prisoner for Blasphemy. With Bob Forder.
The webinar will take place on 15 September 2026 at 7 pm UK time (2 pm ET/1 pm CT/12 pm MDT/11 am MST/11 am PT) via Zoom.
About the webinar: George William Foote (1850-1915) was the founder and first editor of this very magazine, the Freethinker, and President of the National Secular Society (NSS) from 1890 until 1915. In this webinar, Bob Forder will discuss Foote’s life, career, and legacy, paying particular attention to the foundation of the Freethinker and Foote’s leadership of the NSS, including his origins, ‘conversion’ to militant freethought, and his imprisonment for publishing blasphemous cartoons.
About the speaker: Bob Forder is the National Secular Society’s historian, a bookseller, freethought book collector, and former history teacher. He is also a board member of Secular Society Limited, which (via GW Foote & Co) publishes the Freethinker. You can read his articles for the Freethinker here.
You must register to secure your place at the webinar. To do so, click here or on the image below.
With thanks to Bob Forder for suggesting these seminars and helping to organise them.
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