Robert Green Ingersoll

Biography

Robert Green Ingersoll balanced his early military service with pursuits as a lawyer and famed orator, using his experience as a civil war officer to inform his passionate advocacy for civil liberties and justice. Revered as the “Great Agnostic,” he did not shy from speaking boldly on matters of conscience while always urging respect for human dignity.

His legal work and public lectures drew on the discipline he acquired during his years in uniform, and he remained a beloved figure among those who valued reasoned debate. Arlington National Cemetery became his final resting place, where visitors can pay respects to a man whose words inspired countless Americans.