The Thomas Paine Historical Association holds many events throughout the year, both in-person and online, to highlight the life, legacy and philosophy of this great man. The TPHA is headquartered at the Thomas Paine Memorial Building, located at 983 North Avenue in New Rochelle, New York 10804. We welcome visitors to tour our museum every Saturday from 1 to 4pm. Entry is free with an optional donation supporting the work of the TPHA. For more information about any of our events please email info@thomaspaine.org.
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 7PM EST
WHAT: Thomas Paine and the Founding of the United States
WHERE: Vladeck Hall, Amalgamated Housing Co-op, 74 Van Cortlandt Park S. (At Hillman Ave.), The Bronx, NY 10463. Get more info on the event here!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ABOUT: The Bronx County Historical Society and the Amalgamated Joint Community Activities Council (JCAC) present a lecture, “Thomas Paine and the Founding of the United States” featuring Gary Berton, Thomas Paine Historical Association president. Made possible with the support of New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 4PM EST
WHAT: Thomas Paine and Rights of Man
WHERE: In-person at the Thomas Paine Memorial Building at 983 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY and via Zoom. Register today to join the event on Zoom!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ABOUT: Thomas Paine Historical Association Board Member Dr. Frances Chiu, Associate Teaching Professor at the New School and author of “The Routledge Guidebook to Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man” offers an in-depth discussion of this all-important work in her discussion titled “Thomas Paine and Rights of Man“.
Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 2PM EST
WHAT: Thomas Paine and the Feminists
WHERE: In-person at the Thomas Paine Memorial Building at 983 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY and via Zoom. Register today to join the event on Zoom!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ABOUT: Gary Berton, Thomas Paine Historical Association president, and Joy Masoff, doctoral candidate and Thomas Paine Historical Association Board Member, will speak about Paine’s connections with the leading feminists of the Age of Democratic Revolutions in “Thomas Paine and the Feminists”.
Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 4PM EST
WHAT: Common Sense Was Not Enough
WHERE: Via Zoom. Register today to join the event on Zoom!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ABOUT: With a May 1776 Pennsylvania election going sideways, was independence doomed? Not with Paine and compatriots, during the weeks before the Declaration, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. William Hogeland (Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent) and Richard Briles Moriarty (TPHA Board member and Paine scholar) escort you on the roller-coaster ride that made independence possible.
* For more information about any of our events please email info@thomaspaine.org.
CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE EVENTS TO COME!
Past events:
January 9-10, 2026 – Lewes is where Thomas Paine first emerged as a powerful political voice. This two-day conference, titled “Common Sense at 250: Legacies of Democracy from Paine to Today”, brought together leading scholars to reflect on the 250th anniversary of Common Sense and its enduring democratic legacies. Members of the Thomas Paine Historical Association Board participated in the conference, with Professor Scott Cleary chairing a panel on Friday and Paul Myles speaking on a panel. The conference was organised by the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona University, Thomas Paine: Legacy, and the University of Sussex.
January 10, 2026 – The Thomas Paine Historical Association hosted a community reading of selected portions of Thomas Paine’s transformative work, Common Sense, at the event titled “Voices of Common Sense: Readings from Thomas Paine’s 1776 Clarion Call for an Independent and Democratic America”. The event featured live readings by various members of the New Rochelle community including the Mayor of New Rochelle Yadira Ramos-Herbert, New Rochelle City Council Member Sara Kaye, Westchester County Legislator Terry Clements, Westchester County Legislator Judah Holstein, New York State Senator Shelley B. Mayer, New York State Assembly Member Amy Paulin, New York State Assembly Member Steve Otis, various community leaders and local students. TPHA Board member Lisa Burton moderated the event, and readings were followed by questions and discussion with Gary Berton, TPHA President. View the full video of the event here.
January 17, 2026 – Award-winning author and historian Jack Kelly on his new book, “Tom Paine’s War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time”. The exciting event delved into the life and impact of Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War. Jack Kelly gave an in-person talk based on his book – an “exploration of our nation’s birth… a story of the power of words, and the power of belief, and how both speak as well to America’s current crisis.” Thomas Paine Historical Association President Gary Berton participated in the lengthly Q&A at the end of the lecture. Berton called the book “compelling, informative and superbly written… a celebration of our roots, especially when they are threatened today… Paine is the Founder that held democracy up for all to see”. View the full video of the event here.
January, 24, 2026 – Gary Berton, TPHA President and an editor of the new “Collected Writings of Thomas Paine” from Princeton University Press discussed the topic, “Two Conflicting Periods of the Founding” at Carslake Community Center, 207 Crosswicks St., Bordentown, New Jersey. The Bordentown Historic Society hosted the event.
January 29, 2026 – The yearly celebration of the official birthdate of Thomas Paine. Jack Kelly, author of the book “Tom Paine’s War” was the keynote speaker. Congressman Jamie Raskin and Congresswoman Victoria Spartz delivered opening words. This event was organized by the Freethought Society and co-sponsored by the Thomas Paine Memorial Association (TPMA), Black Nonbelievers, Thomas Paine Historical Association, Freethought Society, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Thomas Paine Society, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, American Atheists, Secular Coalition for America, American Humanist Association, and Center for Inquiry/Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason.
January 31, 2026 – Dr. Daniel Gomes de Carvalho, Professor of Modern History at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil returned with another fascinating aspect of Paine’s political philosophies as he discussed,”Finishing the Revolution: Thomas Paine, Universal Suffrage, and the Problem of Bicameralism (1776–1795)“. View the full video of the event here.
February 9, 2026 – Gary Berton, the president of The Thomas Paine Historical Association, joined TPHA Board Member Scott Cleary, co-editor of New Direction in Thomas Paine Studies and author of The Field of Imagination: Thomas Paine and Eighteenth-Century Poetry, discussed the revolutionary life, ideas, and legacy of Thomas Paine in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his famous pamphlet, Common Sense, in an event titled “Thomas Paine and the 250th Anniversary of Common Sense”. Julie Silverbrook, vice president of civic education of the National Constitution Center, moderated. This program was generously sponsored by Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers. View the full video of the event here.