George William Foote (11 January 1850 – 17 October 1915) was an English radical journalist, writer, editor, publisher, and prominent secularist.

He was a leading advocate of freethought, founding and editing notable publications such as The Freethinker and The Secularist and co-founding the British Secular Union.

He defended himself in court, arguing his crime was making blasphemy accessible to the working class while elite agnostics such as T. H. Huxley and Aubrey Beardsley faced no consequences.

[2] Foote's succession marked a shift from direct parliamentary agitation to pressure group politics, focusing on humanitarian reforms and freethought issues.

Under Foote, the NSS expanded its objectives to include "an extension of the moral law to animals, so as to secure them humane treatment and legal protection against cruelty".

[3] A leading member of the Metropolitan Radical Federation, he championed free expression, opposed socialism, and grew disillusioned with what he saw as democratic mediocrity.

And when the end came his head dropped back on the pillow, and with a quiet sigh, as of one falling to sleep, he passed away.Foote's first marriage was to Henriette Mariane (born c. 1850), daughter of Adolph Heimann, a professor of German, on 20 March 1877.

[2] Foote was a cultured scholar with a deep knowledge of English literature, an admirer of Shakespeare, and a friend of George Meredith.