1559 – The Synod of Pinczow, Poland, debated the nature of Christ, showing the Socinian influence. The dispute was settled with both sides claiming victory.
The post November 21 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1850 – Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her family belonged to First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. While studying piano in Germany, friends there told her about Thomas Masaryk, whom she married in 1878. The couple moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where Thomas fought for his country’s independence and Charlotte devoted her time to social problems. Thomas became the first president of Czechoslovakia. Read about the Masaryk family in the biography of John Howland Lathrop.
The post November 20 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1904 – Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney, a Unitarian and civil rights activist, died at age 80. She was an activist for women’s rights, abolition, and the education of free slaves. She was a friend of Harriet Tubman, who furthered her interest in educating former slaves. Interested in medical education for women, Cheney was instrumental in founding the New England Hospital for Women and Children. Cheney’s religion was greatly influenced by the Transcendentalists.
The post November 19 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
2003 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issues its decision in the case of Goodridge vs. the Department of Public Health of Massachusetts. The court held that under the Constitution of Massachusetts, it is illegal to deny to people of the same gender the same marriage rights granted to people of different genders. The primary plaintiffs were Hillary and Julie Goodridge. Of the 14 plantiffs, seven were Unitarian Universalists, including Hillary Goodridge.
The post November 18 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The coat of arms of Rakow, Poland
1599 – John Saieninius, the ruler of Krakow, Poland, converted from Calvinism to Socinianism during debates at Rakow and became a patron of Socinian churches and an important benefactor of the movement. He established a Unitarian congregation and his son James established a Unitarian seminary and printing office to aid the grown of Unitarianism. Rakow became the center of the Polish Unitarian community, and its members became known as Rakovians. Read more about the church in Poland here at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post November 17 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1611 – John Tyscovicius of Poland was executed because he would not take an oath on the Trinity but only to God. His tongue was plucked out for the crime of blasphemy, after which he was beheaded, his hands and feet cut off, and his body publicly burned. Although his village council exonerated Tyscovicius on the same charges, Queen Constantia, wife of Sigismund III, overruled their verdict. Read more about the church in Poland here at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post November 16 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1814 – Frances Anna Maria Russell was born. She became a Unitarian at age 70. Her grandson was the famous philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell and her husband was Lord John Russell. She was a friend to many Unitarian literary figures, including Charles Dickens, James Russell Lowell, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. She helped organize the Unitarian church in Richmond, Surrey, England.
The post November 15 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1797 – Sir Charles Lyell was born in Kinnordy, Forfarshire, England. He was a lawyer who became an eminent geologist and antrhopologist. Lyell worked to reconcile science and religion. Queen Victoria knighted him in 1848. Lyell worshiped at Little Portland Street Chapel (Unitarian) in London. On his trips to America, he became acquainted with New England Unitarians, and attended Unitarian churches in America.
The post November 14 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1813 – Henry Solly was born in London. Reared Unitarian, he was a member of the first class at University College in London that would receive Unitarians. He became minister at the Unitarian chapel at Yeovil, Somerset, England, He founded the Working Men’s Clubs, the Charity Organisation Society, and the Garden City movement. His main concerns were for the welfare of working men and the poor, universal suffrage, education, temperance, and the abolition of slavery.
The post November 13 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The New North Church, Boston (flickr.com)
1852 – Francis Parkman Sr., a noted Unitarian scholar, died in Boston at age 64. He studied theology under William Ellery Channing and was minister of New North Church in Boston for 40 years. His son, also named Francis Parkman, became a noted American historian.
The post November 12 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
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