Holyoake , George Jacob , 1817-1906 , co-operator and secularist

George Jacob Holyoake was born in Birmingham on 13 April 1817. For thirteen years until 1839 he worked at the Eagle Foundry, and in 1836 joined the Mechanics' Institute, where he developed an interest in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and phrenology. Holyoake became a leader in the free-thought movement and a social reformer. He was imprisoned for 6 months in 1841 for blasphemy. He coined the term secularism in 1846. He spent the latter part of his life working for the co-operative movement. He died in 1906.