Leiden, Netherlands 1598 The theological faculty at the University of Leiden in Holland declared that the newly published books by Christopher Osterod and Andrew Voidovius came close to Islamic theology. The town magistrates banned them. Osterod, one of the most learned and active Socinian leaders, was converted to Socinianism during years spent as a minister … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 12
1901 – Margaret Moseley was born in Dedham, Massachusetts. She wanted to be a nurse but was refused by every hospital-nursing program in Boston because she was African-American. Moseley joined and became president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She was also a leader in the fight against McCarthyism in the … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 11
1531 – Michael Servetus published On the Errors of the Trinity. He was arrested three days later in Switzerland and imprisoned for heresy. Read a biography of Earl Morse Wilbur, an historian who wrote prominently about Michael Servetus. The post August 10 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 10
1650 – English Parliament passed the Act Against Several Atheistical, Blasphemous, and Execrable Opinions, Derogatory to the Honour of God. This act led to persecution of Unitarians. The post August 9 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1763 – The celebrated architect Charles Bulfinch was born in Boston. He was particularly famous for the churches he designed in Boston, Taunton, Lancaster, and Pittsfield Massachusetts. His most important work was the State House in Boston. Bulfinch also designed houses, one of which had an oval room adjoining its garden and became the design for … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 8
1555 – Pope Paul IV denounced Unitarians in Italy, indicating that there were a significant number of Unitarians in Italy at that early date. The post August 7 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. Many Unitarian Universalists had participated in the protest marches from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, which paved the way for this historic change in civil rights for African-Americans. Three people were killed in the march: James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister; Jimme Lee Jackson, an African-American church … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 6
1811 – William Greenleaf Eliot Jr. was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard Divinity School in 1834, he went to St. Louis, Missouri, to bring Unitarianism to the frontier. In 1835, the First Congregational Society of St. Louis was organized. Eliot served as its minister until his resignation in 1869. In the … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 5
1875 – The famous Universalist storyteller Hans Christian Andersen died at Rolighed, Denmark, at the age of 70. A successful novelist and poet, Andersen is best known for fairy tales such as “The Little Match Girl,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Snow Queen.” In 1842 he wrote The True Story of My Life. Andersen’s poetry … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 4
1997 – Edna Pearl Bruner, a field worker for the Universalist Church in America, died at age 93. Born in Canada, she traveled throughout the continent, leading numerous conferences on religious education. She continued her work for the Council of Liberal Churches and then for the Unitarian Universalist Association until 1968. The post August 3 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History August 3
