This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 8

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The coat of arms of Rakow, Poland

1622 – Valentine Smalcius, a minister, theologian, and activist, died at age 50. He was born in Gotha, Thuringia (now Germany). A Unitarian leader, he was friends with Faustus Socinus and became pastor of the Socinian Church in Rakow, Poland. Smalcius fought for tolerance of other Protestant groups such as the Lutherans and Mennonites in Poland. He wrote many distinguished works, including On the Divinity of Jesus Christ, Treatise on the Church, and The Mission of Ministers.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 7

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1683 – Algernon Sydney, age 61, was beheaded for attempting to create support to abolish the monarchy for a second time in England. He had played a principal role in the removal and execution of Charles I. He disliked all religious establishments and rejected the Trinity. Church historians such as Robert Wallace and George Dyer regarded him as a Unitarian Christian.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 6

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1563 – Agitation began in Zürich, Switzerland, against the presence of the anti-Trinitarian Bernardino Ochino, who was strongly influenced by Michael Servetus in his rejection of the Trinity. Ochino was banished from the state of Zurich and the church “to preserve the peace and purity of both.” His book Thirty Dialogues, dealing mostly with whether Jesus was the Messiah, which he denied, and the Trinity, which he rejected.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 5

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1899 – Sir Henry Tate died at age 80. He was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England, the son of a Unitarian minister. Apprenticed to a grocer in Liverpool when he was 13, he soon bought his own shop, then five more, which he sold to become a partner in a sugar refining company. He eventually bought the company and made a great fortune. A great philanthropist, Tate endowed the libraries at the University of Liverpool and Manchester College (Unitarian) as well as hospitals. He is best known for building the Tate Gallery in London. Tate was an active Unitarian in Ullet Street Chapel in Liverpool.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 4

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1847 – Francis Greenwood Peabody was born in Boston. He began his career as a teacher and became a Unitarian minister in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1874. Peabody held two professorships at Harvard Divinity School. He was a strong social gospel advocate and specialized in social ethics at Harvard, leading to his key work Jesus Christ and the Social Question. The son of minister Ephraim Peabody, he was also a gifted preacher and professor of homiletics. Read more about Francis Greenwood Peabody at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism, or read Prayers for Today by Francis Greenwood Peabody.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 3

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1828 – Gilbert Stuart was born in North Kingston, Rhode Island. A famous Unitarian American portraitist, he studied portraiture in London and Edinburgh and became one of the most famous American artists, painting portraits of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History Director’s Note, December 2012

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HSL is still at work on the redesign of the website, however that work is going on in the background. In the spring and summer of 2013, steps will be taken to release the new site sequentially. We have a backlog of interesting new content ready to share with our readers. Most of this is waiting for the redesign to go live. However, given the approach of the holidays, we are releasing two historic hymnals in high-quality PDF format. For up-to-date news about the progress of the redesign, be sure to sign up for our Newsletter (using the link in the sidebar on the left) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

-Emily Mace, December 2012

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 1

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The Univeristy of Altdorf

1595 – George Ludwig Leuchsner entered the University of Altdorf. He later became a leader of the Socinians in Poland and Germany. In about 1616, under government pressure, he denied having been a Socinian, after which there are no further records of his life or work.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 30

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Königsberg, Germany

1680 – Christopher Sandius Jr., the author of many Arianist tracts, died at age 36. Born in Königsberg, Germany into an avidly anti-Trinitarian family, he became a proofreader when other work was denied him because of his beliefs. His Nucleus historiae ecclisiasticae is an important work in 18th century theology and claimed the attention of the likes of Newton and Spinoza.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 29

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1832 – The author Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Her father was Bronson Alcott, a founder of the Transcendentalist Club. She worked as a teacher and domestic worker and eventually began to write poems and short stories for children. Alcott was an ardent abolitionist and served as a nurse during the Civil War. This experience provided the material for Hospital Sketches, which established her literary reputation. Her best-known story, a great financial success, is Little Women, which was largely autobiographical. Alcott did not like formal church connections, but her beliefs were Unitarian. Read more about Louisa May Alcott at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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