Born in Britain in 1737, Thomas Paine had a humble, religious upbringing and very little formal education. The course of his life turned in 1774, when he met the great American statesman Benjamin Franklin in London. With Franklin's help, Paine emigrated to the American colonies, where his political writings such as Common Sense contributed to the discontent that resulted in the American Revolution. Paine maintained his stubborn commitment to morality and social justice until his death in 1809 in New Rochelle, New York at the age of 72.