1804 – Joseph Priestley, author of the influential History of the Corruptions of Christianity (1782), died. Thomas Jefferson credited the book with his conversion to Unitarianism. However, Priestley is best known for chemistry, in which he made a number of discoveries, including oxygen. Priestley made his inventions available to the public and received no money … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History February 6

1900 – Adlai Stevenson was born in Los Angeles, California. He was elected governor of Illinois in 1948 and ran twice as the Democratic candidate for U.S. President. John Kennedy appointed him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1961. Stevenson’s mother was a lifelong Unitarian, and he became member of the Bloomington church … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History February 5

1939 – The American Unitarian Association sent Martha and Waitstill Sharp to Czechoslovakia to work with refugees from the Nazis. This marked the beginning of the Unitarian Service Committee, which merged to become the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in 1963, which focuses on humanitarian aid, development, and human rights throught the world. Read more about … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History February 4

1821 – Elizabeth Blackwell was born in Bristol, England. Best known as America’s first woman physician, she published The Laws of Life; with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls. She became professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for Women. She was a member of the First Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History February 3

1805 – Sarah Flower Adams was born in England. An actress who achieved a dramatic triumph as Lady Macbeth, she became ill suddenly and had to give up the stage. She was a lifelong Unitarian, deeply devoted to her Unitarian church in South Place, London. She also composed “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” The post … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History February 22

1868 – Phebe Ann Coffin Hannaford was ordained at Hingham, Massachusetts, becoming the first woman Universalist minister in New England. The post February 19 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

Henry Whitney Bellows, the 19th century’s leading Unitarian churchman, died in 1882 at age 67. Read more about Henry Whitney Bellows at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism. The post January 31 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.

Stanislaus Lutomirski, a Polish priest and secretary to King Sigismund Augustus of Poland, professed his Unitarian beliefs and was appointed superintendent of the Churches of Little Poland by the 19th Synod at Pinczow in 1561. The post January 30 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History January 30

1861 – Florida Yates Ruffin Ridley was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She became the second African-American teacher in the Boston public schools. She and her husband lived in Brookline and joined Second Unitarian Church. She founded the Society of Descendants, Early New England Negroes. The post January 29 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History January 29

1944 – Emily Taft Douglas, U.S. Congress Representative from Illinois and Moderator of the American Unitarian Association, died at the age of 104. She wrote several books, including a biography of Margaret Sanger. Her father was the sculptor, Loredo Taft. Read more about Emily Taft Douglas at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History January 28