CALIFORNIA’S ATHEIST BENEFACTOR PRESENTED BY JIM HELDBERG James Lick was the richest man in California back in the 1880’s. He gave all of his money away to good causes stirring in San Francisco. The Academy of Sciences, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Lick Observatory are all much indebted to him. As a strong atheist, James Lick also gave generously to atheist causes and organizations active in San Francisco. Many Bay Area people are familiar with James Lick’s name but they don’t know why. Jim Heldberg is going to fill us in on why we should know his name.