1837 – Elijah P. Lovejoy, Presbyterian minister and publisher of the Observer in Alton, Illinois, was killed while mobs destroyed his printing presses for his abolitionist writings. Although Lovejoy had trained as a Presbyterian minister, his work for human rights drew him closer to liberal neighbors who had moved from New England and retained their Unitarian and Universalist upbringings.

The post November 7 first appeared on Harvard Square Library.

Read more at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.