1928 – Lewis Howard Latimer, a Unitarian African-American inventor and engineer, died at age 80. Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, he was one of the founding members of the First Unitarian Church of Flushing, New York. He was the only African-American member of the Edison Pioneers, Thomas Edison’s engineering division of the Edison Company. Latimer prepared … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 11
1741 – John Murray was born in Alton, England. The beginning of Universalism in America is often traced back to the grounding of Murray’s boat at Cranberry Inlet, New Jersey, at 1770, near Thomas Potter’s family chapel. Potter believed God sent Murray to preach Universalism there. In 1793, Murray moved to Boston and stayed there … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 10
1608 – The celebrated poet John Milton was born in Cheapside, England. He was a devout Puritan who was influential in Oliver Cromwell’s government after the death of King Charles I in 1649. Milton is rememberd primarily as the author of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Aereopagitica. Milton’s Treatise on Christian Doctrine, published posthumously, affirmed his … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 9
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 8
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 7
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 6
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 5
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 4
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. The post December 3 first appeared on Harvard Square Library. Read … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 3
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 … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History Director’s Note, December 2012
