Volney's Ruins of Empires was the most popular Freethought book in the United States during the 19th century. George Washington, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman all read it. What they didn't know was Thomas Jefferson liked the book so much he anonymously translated it into English.

In 1923, a French researcher discovered letters between Volney and Jefferson that implied, but did not prove, Jefferson translated Ruins of Empires.

The book provides solutions to the problems humanity faces today, including religious conflicts. Volney's Ruins isn't about Yesterday. It's about Today—and Tomorrow. That's why Jefferson translated it.

Thomas Christian Williams, our guest speaker, discovered, or more accurately, rediscovered, Thomas Jefferson’s anonymous translation of Volney’s Ruins of Empires and that the Massachusetts Historical Society possessed a manuscript that proves, once and for all, Jefferson’s involvement with this controversial book.

Williams was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. But he's spent most of his adult life in Europe. He's worked as an accountant, a commodities trader and a domestic affairs analyst in the political section at the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

He is the world's leading expert in Volney's Ruins of Empires. His first novel, English Turn: Napoleon Invades Louisiana, featured Volney. He is currently finishing his second novel, a freethought adventure story set in the desert southwest.

The New Orleans Secular Humanist Association is dedicated to raising the awareness of people of the Gulf Coast region to the ideals and values of secular humanism. The group is an affiliate of the Council for Secular Humanism, an associate of the American Humanist Association, an affiliate of American Atheists, and a member of the Atheist Alliance International.