1828 – The Brahmo Samaj, a movement in Hindu similar to Unitarianism, held its first worship meeting. Many Indian historians consider its founder, Rajah Rahmmohun, to be the “father of modern India.” Read a biography of poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was also influenced by the Brahmo Samaj.
The post August 20 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1839 – Aaron Bancroft, a Unitarian Christian minister and the first president of the American Unitarian Association, died at age 84. Despite a Calvinist upbringing, he decided on liberal ministry and was invited to candidate at First Parish (Unitarian) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he failed to secure sufficient votes. The liberal minority withdrew to worship under his care at the Second Congregational Church in Worcester. Bancroft was a champion of Unitarian Christianity and religious liberty. He also wrote The Life of Washington (1807). Read more about Aaron Bancroft at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post August 19 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1831 – The Massachusetts Association of Universal Restorationists was formed. Its profession of faith included belief in retribution beyond death before reconciliation with God. It caused a schism in the Universalist movement. The terms Restorationist and Universalist were sometimes used interchangeably. The Restorationists included Adin Ballou. Read more about Adin Ballou. at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism
The post August 18 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1858 – Caroline Julia Bartlett Crane was born in Hudson, Wisconsin. Inspired by the preaching of the Unitarian Oscar Clute, she decided to become a minister when ministry was considered an exclusively male profession. She earned a B.A. and M.A. from Carthage College, then studied theology on her own while working as a teacher and journalist. She was ordained in 1887 by a colleague of Mary Safford. She was a successful minister in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, then in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She also worked to promote public kindergartens and urban sanitation.
The post August 17 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
1794 – James Walker was born in Woburn, Massachusetts. He received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1814 and graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1817. He was the Unitarian minister at Harvard Church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, from 1818 to 1839 and helped form the American Unitarian Association in 1825. Walker also edited the influential Christian Examiner from 1831 to 1839, and taught religion, philosophy, and civil polity at Harvard from 1839 to 1853. In 1853 he took over as president of Harvard. Read more about James Walker at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post August 16 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1696 – Ebenezer Gay, considered to be the first Unitarian minister in the United States, was born. His ministry at the Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts, lasted for 69 years. Gay lectured widely and received many honors, including a D.D. degree from Harvard. He is often called the “father of American Unitarianism.” Although he remained loyal to Great Britain during the Revolutionary War, he was admired by John Adams for his gentle demeanor and religious tolerance. Read more about Ebenezer Gay at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post August 15 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1553 – John Calvin brought thirty-eight charges against Michael Servetus in Geneva, Switzerland, saying he had offended the trinity, and Servetus was thrown in prison. Read more about John Calvin at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post August 14 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
1818 – Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. An early leader of the movement for women’s rights and suffrage, she worked as a schoolteacher for 10 years before entering Oberlin College, the only college then open to women. She was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a B.A. Reared a Congregationalist, she later became a Unitarian and remained so all her life. She became famous as an orator on behalf of abolition and women’s rights. Stone founded a weekly paper, The Woman’s Journal, with her husband. Read more about Lucy Stone at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.
The post August 13 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.
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