J. M. (Joseph Mazzini) Wheeler

Born in London on January 24, 1850, Joseph Mazzini Wheeler became an English atheist writer and journalist closely associated with the freethought movement. He was named after the Italian patriot Giuseppe Mazzini, and after moving to London in the early 1870s he became active in secularist circles.

Wheeler is best known for his long work with The Freethinker, where he served as subeditor from the paper's founding in 1881 until his death in 1898. He wrote widely on religion, skepticism, and history, and his best-known book, A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations (1889), aimed to recover a broad tradition of doubters and nonconformists. Other works linked with his name include The Christian Doctrine of Hell, Frauds and Follies of the Fathers, and editions of controversial historical texts.

He died on May 5, 1898. Though not a household name today, Wheeler played an important part in late 19th-century radical publishing, combining editorial work with a steady stream of books and essays meant to make freethought accessible to ordinary readers.