1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Devon, England. Raised partly as a “charity boy” in an institution, he was a minister’s child with an inquisitive mind. In early life, he was a Unitarian and often preached in Unitarian chapels, but he eventually became an Anglican. Coleridge was a gifted poet who was instrumental in … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 21

1880 – Lydia Maria Child, an ardent Unitarian, feminist, and abolitionist, died at age 78. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, she joined the church served by her Unitarian minister brother, Convers Francis, in Watertown, Massachusetts. Child found success as a popular writer, producing a romantic historical novel and practical household manuals. She became vice president of … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 20

1735 – John Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He became a prominent lawyer and attacked the Stamp Act in 1765. He helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams also drafted the Massachusetts Constitution. He was vice president under George Washington and succeeded him as president. He was a member of First Parish (Unitarian) … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 19

1796 – Hosea Ballou II was born in Guilford, Vermont. A grandnephew of Hosea Ballou, he wrote Ancient History of Universalism (1829). Before becoming a minister, Ballou was a schoolteacher in Roxbury and Medford, Massachusetts. He worked with Horace Mann as a major advocate for public education. Ballou was president of Tufts College from 1854 to … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 18

1792 – Sir John Bowring was born in Exeter, England. He was a writer and linguist who worked as a merchant and public servant. He was also a close friend of the economist Jeremy Bentham. As a member of Parliament, he promoted free trade. He also sponsored legislation to provide equal rights to all religions. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 17

1863 – Joseph Austen Chamberlain was born, the oldest son of Joseph Chamberlain. He followed the Unitarian family tradition in religion and politics. He was chancellor of the exchequer, secretary for India, and a member of Lloyd George’s War Cabinet, Lord Privy Seal, leader of the House of Commons. King George V knighted him in … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 16

1889 – Manchester College, an academy to train Dissenters from the Church of England for the learned professions, opened in Oxford. Its main function was to train Unitarian ministers, though it had no official connection with the denomination. Now a constituent college of Oxford University, its charter from Queen Elizabeth II requires that the chaplain … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 15

1894 – Edward Estlin Cummings (e.e. cummings) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The son of Edward Cummings, minister of the South Congregational Church (Unitarian) in Boston from 1908 to 1926, Cummings received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Harvard University and then volunteered for duty in France during World War I, where he was arrested … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 14

1841 – Thomas Lamb Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Greenleaf Eliot Jr. Due to an eye injury he suffered as a student at Washington University, materials often had to be read to him. Nevertheless, Eliot graduated from Harvard Divinity School and headed to a frontier town of 6,000 inhabitants … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 13

1909 – Dorothy Livesay was born in Winnipeg, Canada. She was a leading Canadian poet of the 20th century. In 1928, she published her first collection of poems, Green Pitcher. She joined the Communist party and worked among the unemployed. She and her husband, Duncan Macnair, joined the Unitarian Church in Vancouver, British Columbia. She … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 12