This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 18

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1870 – Louis Craig Cornish was born in New Bedford, MA. He served as minister in Hingham, Massachusetts and in various capacities at American Unitarian Association headquarters, including as president from 1927 to 1937, following the presidency of Samuel Atkins Eliot. Cornish was president of the International Association for Religious Freedom. Read selections from Work and Dreams and the Wide Horizon by Louis Craig Cornish.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 17

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1774 – Theophilus Lindsey founded the Unitarian Society (now Essex Street Chapel) in London. The first services were held with 200 attending, including Benjamin Franklin, who joined the church. Many historians consider this the beginning of the Unitarian movement in England. At that time it was a criminal offense in England to express Unitarian views.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 16

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Nottingham, England

1895 – Edwin Smith, a Unitarian minister in Manchester, England, died at age 62. He ran a private school in Nottingham, wrote poetry, and authored scientific papers.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 15

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1814 – John Lothrop Motley was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. A historian and novelist, his books include two histories of the Netherlands. He also wrote The Life and Death of John of Barneveld (1874). Throughout his life, he travelled extensively in Europe. Motley was an active Unitarian Layman.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 14

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1640 – A convocation opened in England with the aim of checking Socinianism. Resolutions were passed but no action ensued, perhaps because England was at the beginning of the civil war that overthrew King Charles II.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 13

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1743 – Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia. As delegate to the Continental Congress (1775-76), he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson also wrote the Statue for Religious Freedom of Virginia, where he served as governor. He was the U.S. minister to France, was appointed secretary of state under George Washington, became vice president under John Adams, and served two terms as president of the United States. In retirement he founded the University of Virginia. A convinced Unitarian, he also prepared a Socinian edition of the Bible, known as the Jefferson Bible, which is still in use. Read more about Thomas Jefferson. at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 12

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1912 – Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, died at age 90. The Joslin Diabetes Center is located at her birthplace in North Oxford, Massachusetts, a historic site. She worked with the wounded in the Civil War and provided supplies for medical personnel. President Abraham Lincoln asked her to search for missing soldiers. She formed the American Red Cross in 1882. Read more about Clara Barton at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 11

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1865 – Mary White Ovington was born in Brooklyn. She spent her life fighting for social justice. Inspired by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, she was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for which she worked tirelessly for decades. Ovington lived in the Tuskegee Apartments in Manhattan, where she was the only white resident. She wrote The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1947), a history of women leadership in the NAACP. Her ashes are interred at Community Church (Unitarian) in New York, where she was a member. Read more about Mary White Ovington. at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 10

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1778 – William Hazlitt was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, also named William, was a prominent Unitarian Minister. Young William became an artist and well-known literary figure. He was a friend of Charles Lamb.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History April 9

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1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz was born in Breslau, Germany. A hunchback, he took the name “Proteus” to express his wish that he could change his shape, as the Greek god did. He was forced to Flee Germany because of his political activities as a socialist, and he came to America to work for General Electric. A brilliant physicist and electrical engineer, Steinmetz invented many processes, mostly improving the delivery of alternative electrical current. He was an active layman in the Schenectady Unitarian Church.

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