This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 31

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1867 – Sylvanus Cobb died at age 68. Born in Maine, he was an influential Universalist, working as a minister, theological journalist, legislator, and social reformer in the Boston area. He served Universalist churches in Winthrop and Waterville, Maine and in Malden, Waltham, and East Boston, Massachusetts. Read more about Sylvanus Cobb at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 30

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1867 – John Albion Andrew, a Unitarian prison reformer, abolitionist, and governor of Massachusetts, died at age 49. Born in Maine, he was reared orthodox but became Unitarian in Boston during the ministry of James Freeman Clarke. A lawyer, Andrew visited prisons, took on many cases pro bono, and became an advocate of prison reform. He was an outspoken opponent of slavery, and became the governor of Massachusetts in 1869, after raising funds to support abolitionist John Brown’s family.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 29

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1929 – Ernest William Kuebler was born. Educated at Boston University and Yale University, he served the American Unitarian Association and the Unitarian Universalist Association in many capacities, especially in religious education. With Frederick May Eliot and Sophia Lyon Fahs, Kuebler was instrumental in overhauling Unitarian religious education. He served as executive vice president of the AUA and director of the Education Department of the UUA, among many other roles.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 28

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1818 – Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of U.S. president John Adams, died at age 73. She was the chief figure in the social life of her husband’s administration and one of the most distinguished and influential first ladies in American history. A lively, intelligent woman, her letters are a vivid source of social history, and she worked for social justice and abolition of slavery. A devoted Unitarian, Adams was noted for a serene religiosity. Read more about Abigail Smith Adams at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 27

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1553 – Michael Servetus was burned at the stake at Champel, near Geneva, Switzerland. At the instigation of John Calvin, he had been sentenced the day before to death for challenging the doctrine of the Trinity and publishing On the Errors of the Trinity. Servetus went to his death with his books chained to his thighs. Servetus was a learned theologian. His death gave rise to cries for tolerance in religion. Read a biography of Earl Morse Wilbur, an historian who wrote prominently about Michael Servetus.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 26

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1811 – Abiel Abbot Livermore was born. He became minister of the Unitarian Church in Keene, New Hampshire, then went to Cincinnati and Yonkers, New York, where he edited the Liberal Christian. In 1862, Livermore became president of Meadville Theological School until he retired in 1890.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 25

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Bran Castle, Transylvania

1600 – The Diet of Léczfalva, Transylvania, used the word Unitarian as an adjective. This is the first time that the term was recorded. Since the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, when the central issue was whether Jesus is the same as or different from God, an underground “Unitarian” movement existed until the mid-1500s, when separate churches were organized.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 24

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1844 – Divinity Hall at Meadville Theological School in Meadville, Pennsylvania, was dedicated on this date. It was the gift of Harm Jan Huidekoper whose goal was to establish outside Boston a school for the preparation of Unitarian ministers. Read about Meadville Theological School in a biography of Frederic Huidekoper, son of Harm Jan Huidekoper.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 23

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1850 – The first meeting of the National Women’s Rights Convention opened in Worcester, Massachusetts. Many of the organizers and supporters, such as Lucy Stone, were Unitarians. Delegates came from eleven states, including California. Read about the first meeting of the National Women’s Rights Convention in “Emerson and Women’s Rights,” part of an online exhibit about Ralph Waldo Emerson, or read a short biography of Lucy Stone.

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Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 22

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1881 – The celebrated illustrator Newell Convers Wyeth was born. His work appeared in dozens of books, including Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and in magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Harpers, Scribner’s, Colliers, and The Ladies’ Home Journal. Wyeth’s historical and allegorical murals are in the Boston Public Library and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Wyeth and his wife were members of First Unitarian Society of Wilmington, Delaware. Read more about N.C. Wyeth at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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