A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations Part 18

Land (Jan Pieter Nicolaus), Dutch writer, b. Delft, 23 April, 1834. Has written critical studies on Spinoza, and brought out an edition of the philosopher's works in conjunction with J. van Vloten.

Landesmann (Heinrich). See Lorm.

Landor (Walter Savage), English poet, b. Ipsley Court, Warwickshire, 30 Jan. 1775. He was educated at Rugby and Oxford, and, inheriting a fortune, could indulge his tastes as an author. He published a volume of poems in 1795, and Gebir in 1798. An ardent Republican, he served as a volunteer colonel in the Spanish Army against Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, besides devoting a considerable sum of money to the Spanish cause. He became a resident of Florence about 1816. His reputation chiefly rests on his great Imaginary Conversations, in which many bold ideas are presented in beautiful language. Landor was unquestionably the greatest English writer of his age. While nominally a Christian, he has scattered many Freethought sentiments over his various works. Died at Florence, 17 Sept. 1864.

Lanessan (Jean Louis de), French naturalist, b. at Saint Andre de Cubzac (Gironde), 13 July, 1843. At 19 he became a naval physician, and M.D. in '68. He was elected in '79 as Radical member of the Munic.i.p.al Council of Paris, and re-elected in '81. In August of the same year he was elected Deputy for the Department of the Seine. He founded Le Reveil, edited the Ma.r.s.eillaise, and started the International Biological Library, to which he contributed a study on the doctrine of Darwin. He has written a standard work on botany, and has written vol. iii. of the "Materialists' Library," on the Evolution of Matter.

Lanfrey (Pierre), French author and senator, b. Chambery, 26 Oct. 1828, became known by a book on The Church and the Philosophers of the Eighteenth Century, '55, and celebrated by his History of Napoleon I. '67-75. M. Lanfrey also wrote The Political History of the Popes, a work placed on the Index. Died at Pau, 15 Nov. 1877.

Lang (Andrew), man of letters, b. Selkirk, 31 March, 1844. Educated at St. Andrews and Oxford. Mr. Lang made his name by his translation of the Odyssey with Mr. Butcher, and by his graceful poems and ballads. He has written In the Wrong Paradise, and many other pleasant sketches. More serious work is shown in Custom and Myth, '84, and Myth, Ritual and Religion, '87. A disciple of E. B. Tylor, Mr. Lang successfully upholds the evolutionary view of mythology.

Lang (Heinrich), German Rationalist, b. 14 Nov. 1826. Studied theology under Baur at Tubingen, and became teacher at Zurich, where he died, 13 Jan. 1876.

Lange (Friedrich Albert), German philosopher and writer, b. Wald, near Solix, 28 Sept. 1828. He studied at Bonn, and became teacher in the gymnasium of Cologne, '52. In '53 he returned to Bonn as teacher of philosophy, and there enjoyed the friendship of Ueberweg. He became proprietor and editor of the democratic Landbote, and filled various munic.i.p.al offices. In '70 he was called to the chair of philosophy at Zurich, but resigned in '72 and accepted a similar post at Marburg, where he died 21 Nov. 1875. His fame rests on his important History of Materialism, which has been translated into English.

Langsdorf (Karl Christian), German Deist, b. 18 May, 1757, author of G.o.d and Nature, a work on the immortality of the soul, and some mathematical books. Died Heidelberg, 10 June, 1834.

Lankester (Edwin Ray), F.R.S., LL.D., English scientist, b. London, 15 May, 1847, and educated at St. Paul's School and Oxford. Has published many scientific memoirs, revised the translation of Haeckel's History of Creation, and has done much to forward evolutionary ideas. In 1876 he exposed the spiritist medium Slade, and procured his conviction. He is Professor of Zoology and Natural History in the University of London.

La Place (Pierre Simon). One of the greatest astronomers, b. Beaumont-en-Auge, 23 March, 1749. His father was a poor peasant. Through the influence of D'Alembert, La Place became professor of mathematics in the military school, 1768. By his extraordinary abilities he became in 1785 member of the Academy of Science, which he enriched with many memoirs. In 1796 he published his Exposition of the System of the Universe, a popularisation of his greater work on Celestial Mechanics, 1799-1825. Among his sayings were, "What we know is but little, what we know not is immense." "There is no need for the hypothesis of a G.o.d." Died Paris, 5 March, 1827.

Larevelliere-Lepaux (Louis Marie DE), French politician, b. Montaigu 25 Aug. 1753. Attached from youth to the ideas of Rousseau, he was elected with Volney to represent Angers in the national a.s.sembly. He was a moderate Republican, defended the proscribed Girondins, was doomed himself but escaped by concealment, and distinguished himself by seeking to replace Catholicism with theophilanthropy or natural religion. He wrote Reflections on Worship and the National Fetes. He became President of the Directory, and after the 18 Brumaire retired, refusing to swear fealty to the empire though offered a pension by Napoleon. Died Paris, 27 March, 1824.

Larousse (Pierre Athanase), French lexicographer, b. of poor parents, 23 Oct. 1817, at Toucy, Yonne, where he became teacher. He edited many school books and founded the Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe. Siecle, 1864-77. This is a collection of dictionaries, and may be called the Encyclopedie of this century. Most of M. Larousse's colleagues were also Freethinkers. Died at Paris, 3 Jan. 1875.

Larra (Mariano Jose de), distinguished Spanish author, b. Madrid, 4 March, 1809. He went with his family to France and completed his education. He returned to Spain in '22. At eighteen he published a collection of poems, which was followed by El Duende Satirico (The Satirical Goblin). In '31 appeared his Pobrecito Hablador (Poor Gossip), a paper in which he unmercifully satirised the public affairs and men of Spain. It was suppressed after its fourteenth number. He edited in the following year the Revista Espanola, signing his articles "Figaro." He travelled through Europe, and on his return to Madrid edited El Mundo. Larra wrote also some dramas and translated Lamennais'

Paroles d'un Croyant. Being disappointed in love he shot himself, 13 April, 1837. Ch. de Mazade, after speaking of Larra's scepticism, adds, "Larra could see too deep to possess any faith whatever. All the truths of this world, he was wont to say, can be wrapped in a cigarette paper!"

Larroque (Patrice), French philosopher, b. Beaume, 27 March, 1801. He became a teacher and was inspector of the academy of Toulouse, 1830-36, and rector of the academies of Cahors, Limoges, and Lyons, 1836-49. In the latter year he was denounced for his opposition to clerical ideas and lost his place. Among his numerous works we mention De l'Esclavage chez les Nations Chretiennes, '57, in which he proves that Christianity did not abolish slavery. This was followed by an Critical Examination of the Christian Religion, '59, and a work on Religious Renovation, '59, which proposes a moral system founded upon pure deism. Both were for a while prohibited in France. M. Larroque also wrote on Religion and Politics, '78. Died at Paris, 15 June, 1879.

La.s.salle (Ferdinand Johann Gottlieb), founder of German Social Democratic party, b. of Jewish parents, 11 April, 1825, in Breslau, studied philosophy and law at Breslau and Berlin. He became a follower of Hegel and Feuerbach. Heine, at Paris, '46, was charmed with him. Humboldt called him "Wunderkind." In 1858 he published a profound work on the philosophy of Herac.l.i.tus. For planning an insurrection against the Prussian Government he was arrested, but won his acquittal. Died through a duel, 31 Aug. 1864.

Lastarria (Jose Victorino), Chilian statesman and Positivist, b. Rancagua, 1812. From youth he applied himself to teaching and journalism, and in '38 was appointed teacher of civil law and literature in the National Inst.i.tute. He has founded several journals and literary societies. From '43 he has been at different times deputy to the legislature and secretary to the republic of Chili. He has also served as minister to Peru and Brazil. In '73 he founded the Santiago Academy of Science and Literature; has written many works, and his Lecciones de Politicia Positiva has been translated into French by E. de Riviere and others, 1879.

Lau (Theodor Ludwig), German philosopher, b. at Konigsberg, 15 June 1670, studied at Konigsberg and Halle, and about 1695 travelled through Holland, England, and France. In 1717 he published in Latin, at Frankfort, Philosophical Meditations on G.o.d, the World, and Man, which excited an outcry for its materialistic tendency and was suppressed. He was a follower of Spinoza, and held several official positions from which he was deposed on account of his presumed atheism. Died at Altona, 8 Feb. 1740.

Laurent (Francois), Belgian jurisconsult, b. Luxembourg, 8 July, 1810. Studied law and became an advocate. In '35 he was made Professor of Civil Law in the University of Ghent, a post he held, despite clerical protests, till his retirement in '80. A voluminous author on civil and international law, his princ.i.p.al work is ent.i.tled Studies in the History of Humanity. He was a strong advocate of the separation of Church and State, upon which he wrote, 1858-60. He also wrote Letters on the Jesuits, '65. Died in 1887.

Law (Harriet), English lecturess, who for many years occupied the secular platform, and engaged in numerous debates. She edited the Secular Chronicle, 1876-1879.

Lawrence (James), Knight of Malta, b. Fairfield, Jamaica, 1773, of good Lancashire family. Educated at Eton and Gottingen; became acquainted with Schiller and Goethe at Stuttgart and Weimar, was detained with English prisoners at Verdun. In 1807 he published his The Empire of the Nairs, or the Rights of Women, a free-love romance which he wrote in German, French, and English. He also wrote in French and English, a curious booklet The Children of G.o.d, London, 1853. He addressed a poem on Tolerance to Mr. Owen, on the occasion of his denouncing the religions of the world. It appears in The Etonian Out of Bounds. Died at London 26 Sept. 1841.

Lawrence (Sir William), surgeon, b. Cirencester, 1783. Admitted M.R.C.S., 1805, in '13 he was chosen, F.R.S., and two years later was named Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons. While he held that chair he delivered his Lectures on Man, which on their publication in 1819 roused a storm of bigotry. In his early manhood, Lawrence was an earnest advocate of radical reform; but notwithstanding his early unpopularity, he acquired a lucrative practice. Died London, 5 July, 1867.

Layton (Henry), educated at Oxford, and studied at Gray's Inn, being called to the bar. He wrote anonymously observations on Dr. Bentley's Confutation of Atheism (1693), and a Search After Souls, and Spiritual Observations in Man (1700).

Leblais (Alphonse), French professor of mathematics, b. Mans, 1820. Author of a study in Positivist philosophy ent.i.tled Materialism and Spiritualism (1865), to which Littre contributed a preface.

Le Bovier de Fontenelle. See Fontenelle.

Lecky (William Edward Hartpole), historian, b. near Dublin, 26 March, 1838. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His works, which are characterised by great boldness and originality of thought, are A History of the Rise and Spirit of Rationalism in Europe ('65), A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne ('69), and A History of England in the Eighteenth Century (1878-87).

Leclerc (Georges Louis). See Buffon.

Leclerc de Septchenes (N.), b. at Paris. Became secretary to Louis XVI., translated the first three vols. of Gibbon, and wrote an essay on the religion of the ancient Greeks (1787). A friend of Lalande, he prepared an edition of Freret, published after his death. Died at Plombieres, 9 June, 1788.

Leconte de Lisle (Charles Marie Rene), French poet, b. Isle of Bourbon, 23 Oct. 1818. After travelling in India, returned to Paris, and took part in the revolution of '48, but has since devoted himself mainly to poetry, though he has written also A Republican Catechism and A Popular History of Christianity ('71). One of his finest poems is Kain. On being elevated to the seat of Victor Hugo at the Academy in '87, he gave umbrage to Jews and Catholics by incidentally speaking of Moses as "the chief of a horde of ferocious nomads."

Lecount (Peter), lieutenant in the French navy. He was engaged in the battle of Navarino. Came to England as a mathematician in the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway, of which he wrote a history (1839). He wrote a curious book in three volumes ent.i.tled A Few Hundred Bible Contradictions; A Hunt After the Devil and other Old Matters, by John P. Y., M.D.; published by H. Hetherington ('43). The author's name occurs on p. 144, vol i., as "the Rev. Peter Lecount."

Leenhof (Frederick van), b. Middelburg (Zealand), Aug. 1647. Became a minister of Zwolle, where he published a work ent.i.tled Heaven on Earth (1703), which subjected him to accusations of Atheism. It was translated into German in 1706.

Lefevre (Andre), French writer, b. Provins, 9 Nov. 1834. He became, at the age of twenty-three, one of the editors of the Magasin Pittoresque. He wrote much in La Libre Pensee and La Pensee Nouvelle; has translated Lucretius in verse ('76), and written Religions and Mythologies Compared ('77); contributed a sketchy History of Philosophy to the Library of Contemporary Science ('78); has written Man Across the Ages ('80) and the Renaissance of Materialism ('81). He has also edited the Lettres Persanes of Montesquieu, some Dialogues of Voltaire, and Diderot's La Religieuse ('86).

Lefort (Cesar), disciple of Comte. Has published a work on the method of modern science (Paris, 1864).

Lefrancais de Lalande. See Lalande.

Legate (Bartholomew), Ant.i.trinitarian native of Ess.e.x, b. about 1572, was thrown into prison on a charge of heresy, 1611. King James had many personal interviews with him. On one occasion the king asked him if he did not pray to Jesus Christ. He replied that he had done so in the days of his ignorance, but not for the last seven years. "Away, base fellow!" said His Majesty, "It shall never be said that one stayeth in my presence who hath never prayed to the Savior for seven years together." He was burnt at Smithfield by the King's writ, De Haeretico Comburendo, 18 March, 1612, being one of the last persons so punished in England.

Leguay de Premontval. See Premontval.

Le Hon (Henri) Belgian scientist, b. Ville-Pommeroeul (Hainault) 1809, was captain in the Belgian army, professor at the military school of Brussels, and Chevalier of the Order of Leopold. Author of L'Homme Fossile en Europe, '66. Translated Professor Omboni's exposition of Darwinism. Died at San Remo, 1872.

Leidy (Joseph), M.D., American naturalist, b. Philadelphia, 9 Sept. 1823. He became professor of biology at the University of Philadelphia, and is eminent for his contributions to American palaeontology.

Leigh (Henry Stone), English author of a Deistic work on the Religions of the World, 1869.

Leland (Theron C.), American journalist, b. 9 April, 1821. He edited with Wakeman the journal Man. Died 2 June, 1885.

Lemaire (Charles), member of the Academical Society of Saint Quentin, author of an atheistic philosophical work, in two vols., ent.i.tled Initiation to the Philosophy of Liberty, Paris, 1842.

Lemonnier (Camille), Belgian writer, b. Ixel les Bruxelles, 1845, author of stories and works on Hysteria, Death, etc., in which he evinces his freethought sentiments.

Lenau (Nicolaus), i.e. Nicolaus Franz Niembsch von Strehlenau, Hungarian poet, b. Czatad, 15 Aug. 1802. His poems, written in German, are pessimistic, and his const.i.tutional melancholy deepened into insanity. Died Ober-Dobling, near Vienna, 22 Aug. 1850.

Lennstrand (Viktor E.), Swedish writer and orator, b. Gefle, 30 Jan. 1861. Educated at Upsala University. Founded the Swedish Utilitarian Society, March '88, and in May was sentenced to a fine of 250 crowns for denial of the Christian religion. On the 29th Nov. he was imprisoned for three months for the same offence. Has written several pamphlets and has incurred several fresh prosecutions. In company with A. Lindkvist he has founded the Fritankaren as the organ of Swedish freethought.

Leontium, Athenian Hetaera, disciple and mistress of Epicurus (q.v.) She acquired distinction as a philosopher, and wrote a treatise against Theophrastus, which is praised by Cicero as written in a skilful and elegant manner.

Leopardi (Giacomo), count, Italian pessimist poet, b. Recanati (Ancona), 29 June, 1798. In 1818 he won a high place among poets by his lines addressed To Italy. His Canti, '31, are distinguished by eloquence and pathos, while his prose essays, Operette Morali, '27, are esteemed the finest models of Italian prose of this century. Leopardi's short life was one long disease, but it was full of work of the highest character. As a poet, philologist, and philosopher, he is among the greatest of modern Italians. Died at Naples, 14 July, 1837.

Lequinio (Joseph Marie), French writer and Conventionnel, b. Sarzeau, 1740. Elected Mayor of Rennes, 1790, and Deputy from Morbihar to the Legislative a.s.sembly. He then professed Atheism. He voted the death of Louis XVI. "regretting that the safety of the state did not permit his being condemned to penal servitude for life." In 1792 he published Prejudices Destroyed, signed "Citizen of the World," in which he considered religion as a political chain. He took part in the Feasts of Reason, and wrote Philosophy of the People, 1796. Died 1813.

Lermina (Jules Hippolyte), French writer, b. 27 March, 1839. Founded the Corsair and Satan, and has published an ill.u.s.trated biographical dictionary of contemporary France, 1884-5.

Lermontov (Mikhail Yur'evich), Russian poet and novelist, b. Moscow, 3 Oct. 1814. Said to have come of a Scotch family, he studied at Moscow University, from which he was expelled. In '32 he entered the Military Academy at St. Petersburg, and afterwards joined the Hussars. In '37 some verses on the death of Pushkin occasioned his being sent to the Caucasus, which he describes in a work translated into English, '53. His poems are much admired. The Demon, exhibiting Satan in love, has been translated into English, and so has his romance ent.i.tled A Hero of Our Times. He fell in a duel in the Caucasus, 15 July, 1840.