Thomas “Tom” Paine was born on January 29, 1736 in Norfolk, England. His father was Joseph Paine, a Quaker, who was incredibly unhappily married to Frances, the daughter of an Anglican lawyer. His education as a boy was very basic and poor. He learned only enough writing and math to get by, and his grammar was almost never perfect. When he was thirteen, he became an apprentice to his father's trade: forestay making, which was the practice of making heavy rope rigging on sailing ships that attaches the masts to the ship's hull. This was Thetford's main industry, which, unfortunately, was quite low. Many biographies and rumors about him state that he and his father were, in fact, both corset makers. However, this was not true, and was mainly used as a weapon by those who did not approve of him to denigrate him. In the darkness of his adolescence, around the age of nineteen, he was conscripted as a privateer, or someone who was authorized by the government to attack foreign ships in times of war. He persevered in this occupation for only a few years, and during his twenties, despite being poorly educated as a young man, he was fascinated by new ideas and authors, whose ideas were considered unusual. He used the money earned from his expedition as a privateer to purchase books and scientific instruments. This was the push that led him to live out the rest of his life. After this period, he returned to Britain and became a master envelope maker, like his father, and on 27 September 1759 he was briefly married to Mary Lambert, their life together ended tragically when both Mary and her son died in early labor . Soon after his marriage to Mary, his business collapsed. In the middle of the paper even his friends had abandoned him for fear of prejudice against them and people no longer saw him as a hero due to some of his works. He died alone on June 8, 1809. Thomas Paine was one of the most influential people on the issue of the American Revolution. Although he was born in poverty and had very little education, his ideas were not limited. He distanced himself from the common religious beliefs of the world and went his own way, despite persecution, which proved that his personality was that of a leader and a free thinker. Works Cited "Thomas Paine". Ushistory.org. Network. January 09, 2012. "Thomas Paine." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Network. 09 January 2012. "Biography of Thomas Paine". Biographical home base. Network. 09 January. 2012. .