Hector Hawton

Hector Hawton (7 February 1901 – 14 December 1975) was a British humanist, novelist and rationalist writer.

Biography

Hawton was born in Plymouth and was educated at Plymouth College.Lofts, William Oliver Guillemont; Adley, Derek John. (1970). The Men Behind Boys' Fiction. Howard Baker. p. 177 He married Mary Bishop, they had two sons.Reginald, Robert. (1979). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2. Gale Research Company. p. 933. {{ISBN|0-8103-1051-1}} He worked as a journalist for the Western Morning News (1919–1923), National Press Agency (1923–1927) and was an editor for Empire News (1927–1929).

During World War II he worked for No. 4 Group RAF at Heslington Hall, Yorkshire.Flynn, Tom. (2007). The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief. Prometheus Books. p. 381. {{ISBN|978-1-59102-391-3}} He was managing director of the Rationalist Press Association (1952–1971) and editor for The Humanist.[https://conwayhall.org.uk/hector_hawton_500db0ca1536e/ "Hector Hawton"]. Conway Hall.

Hawton was sympathetic to the Christ myth theory. He wrote the introduction to the 1967 reprint of J. M. Robertson's book Pagan Christs. He ghostwrote many of the books attributed to Eustace Chesser.

Hawton authored many novels, including science fiction. Some of these were published under the pseudonyms Jack Lethaby or John Sylvester.

He identified as a Marxist but later moved away from this viewpoint.Walter, Nicolas. Secularism and British Marxism. New Left Review I/126, March–April 1981. He has been described as "one of the most significant humanists in postwar Britain."

Publications

Nonfiction

Flight From Reality (1941)
Night Bombing (1944)
The Men Who Fly (1944)
Men Without Gods (1948)
[https://archive.org/details/philosophyforple032124mbp Philosophy for Pleasure] (1949)Hartland-Swann, John. (1950). Philosophy for Pleasure by Hawton Hector. Philosophy 25 (95): 349–350.
Why be Moral?: How to Decide What is Right and What is Wrong Without Invoking a Supernatural Law-Giver (1947)
The Thinker's Handbook: A Guide to Religious Controversy (1950)
The Feast of Unreason (1952)
[https://archive.org/details/reasoninaction032248mbp Reason in Action] (1956) [with Archibald Robertson, J. B. Coates, Donald Ford and H. J. Blackham]
The Humanist Revolution (1963)
Controversy: The Humanist/Christian Encounter (1971)