“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence…”

— John Adams

1770s, Boston Massacre trial (1770)
Variant: Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
Source: The Portable John Adams

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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John Adams202

2nd President of the United States 1735–1826

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“Facts are stubborn things.”

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Attributed
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Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) 18th-century poet and author from Scotland

Translation of Gil Blas (1749), Book X, Chap. 1.
Also used by Bernard Mandeville in An Enquiry Into the Origin of Honour (1732), p. 162, and by Jared Elliot in Essay on Field Husbandry (1747), p. 35.