John Toland was an Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions of the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment. Born in Ireland, he was educated at the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leiden and Oxford and was influenced by the philosophy of John Locke. November 30, 1670 – March 11, 1722; died at 51. Alive at the same time as Isaac Newton, Johann Sebastian Bach, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Carl Linnaeus. Wiki link