1823 – Francis Parkman Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The son of a Unitarian minister, Parkman traveled extensively in the western United States in spite of physical ailments that left him a semi-invalid. He was a prominent historian and wrote The Oregon Trail (1849) and History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac (1851). Later he published … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 16
1889 – Frederick May Eliot was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, descending from a long line of Unitarian ministers. He headed the Commission on Appraisal of the American Unitarian Association when it issued its historic report Unitarians Face a New Age in 1936. As president of the American Unitarian Association, he helped to revive the denomination. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 15
1638 – John Harvard died at the age of 31. He was a congregational minister in Charlestown, Massachusetts, who left numerous books and some money to a college newly mandated by the General Court to be formed in Newtowne, Massachusetts. The school was then renamed in his honor, and the town’s name was changed to … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 14
Stargard, Germany 1660 – Jonas Schlichtingius, a lifelong Unitarian who served as a missionary and was imprisoned in Stargard, Germany, for his beliefs, finished his commentaries on the Pauline epistles. His sons and other colleagues published them after Schlichtingius’s death as part of a reference series for Polish Unitarians. The post September 13 first appeared … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 13
1797 – Samuel Joseph May was born in Boston. He was a popular Unitarian personality and a colleague of William Ellery Channing. A traveling preacher, May went as far south as Washington, D.D. where he saw slavery firsthand. May edited The Liberal Christian and espoused the causes of abstinence, peace, education, women’s rights, abolition, and … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 12
1832 – Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson submitted his letter of resignation to the proprietors of the Second Church in Boston (Unitarian) due to his unwillingness to serve communion. He decided to seek a new profession. Read a short biography of Emerson, or view an exhibit about Emerson from the 2003 Bicentennial of Emerson’s birth. The post … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 11
1797 – Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin died at age 38. Her exact date of birth is unknown. She was a tireless worker for women’s intellectual, domestic, and political freedom and one of the early devotees of women’s rights. Her best known of many works is A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792). She died after … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 10
A ‘roundel’ window from the Netherlands, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1598 – Unitarian books were burned at Leyden, Holland. The post September 9 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
“St. Dominic and the Albigenses” (1495) Berruguete 1647 – Twelve Arguments Against the Deity of the Holy Spirit by John Biddle was burned at Westminster Square in London, England. Biddle is considered the father of English Unitarianism. The post September 8 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 8
1782 – Charles Chauncy published The Mystery Hid from Ages and Generations, or, the Salvation of All Men. He was a Unitarian minister who adopted the Universalist position of universal salvation. He argued that the punishments of Hell are not eternal and that eventually all people will be redeemed. Read more about Charles Chauncy at: … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History September 7
