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Alphabetical list of biographies • Over 400
Margot Susanna Adler (1946-2014) was a speaker, lecturer, writer, and public radio reporter. A self-described Wiccan High Priestess, she was a member of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, a member of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS), and a frequent speaker at UU events. . . . read more
James Henry Ecob Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz George Leonard Chaney Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg) Elizabeth Blackwell Joshua Young Robert Nelson West Harm Jan Huidekoper Samuel Carter Thomas Gibson Thomas Field Gibson Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. William Joseph McEldowney Thomas Fyshe Palmer Elizabeth (Betsey) Ronalds Helen R. Y. Reid Francis Ronalds Elmo Arnold Robinson Margot Adler Eliza Anne McIntosh Reid William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) Hone Tuwhare Clarence Mott Woolley Smith Rensselaer Woolley Lucia Fidelia Woolley Gillette Thomas Dawes Eliot Ernest Cassara Owen Glenbrook Hansen Charles Francis Adams, Jr. Thomas W Higginson Edward Mott Woolley Adrian Cedric Boult Edward Everett Hale Lincoln Gribble Henry David Thoreau Margaret Brackenbury Crook Harold Hitz Burton
By Emily Klenin by Wesley Hromatko by Jim Kelley by Emily Klenin by Carol Howard by Melinda Green & Karen G. Johnston by Alan Seaburg by Andy Pochatko by Beverley Ronalds by Beverley Ronalds by Beverley Ronalds by Wes Hromatko by Wayne Facer by Wayne Facer Beverley Ronalds by Virginia Martin by Beverley Ronalds by Alan Seaburg by Laura Nagel by Virginia Martin by Emily Klenin by Wayne Facer by Jim Nugent by Jim Nugent by Jim Nugent by Richard Kellaway by Alan Seaburg by Wayne Facer by Wes Hromatko by Barry Andrews by Jim Nugent by Peter Hughes by Alan Seaburg By Wayne Facer by Barry Andrews by Claudia Elferdink by Jim Kelley
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Elmo Arnold Robinson (1887-1972) was a Unitarian Universalist minister, a professor of philosophy for thirty years at San Jose State University in California, and a scholar of American Universalism, especially its history in Ohio and Indiana. Born in Portland, Maine, his father was a salesman of wholesale groceries, tea, and coffee . . . read more William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) (1834-1879) has been called "the founder of modern Unitarianism in Wales". This area, where Welsh Unitarianism flourished, was maliciously dubbed the "Black Spot". Thomas's activism on behalf of his congregation culminated in his, and their, being locked out of the church in 1876 . . . read more Lucia Fidelia Woolley Gillette (1827-1905) was one of the first women to be ordained to the Universalist ministry in the United States and probably the first ordained woman to preach in Canada. By her teen years she was writing for Universalist newspapers. Later in life she campaigned for woman's suffrage and lectured on religious, literary, and women's issues. . . . read more Sir Francis Ronalds (1788-1873) – inventor, engineer and scientist – is known for building the first working electric telegraph and, while director of the Kew Observatory, the first successful continuously-recording camera. He was also arguably the first electrical engineer. . . . read more Thomas Fyshe Palmer (1747-1802) was one of five, eighteenth-century British political reformers, who came to be known as “The Scottish Martyrs”. Palmer was ordained to the Anglican clergy before embracing Unitarian beliefs. Convicted of sedition in 1793, he was sentenced to seven years in Australia. . . . read more Hone Tuwhare (1922-2008) was one of the leading poets of the twentieth-century. Building on his Maori and Scottish background, his poetry reflected, critiqued, and celebrated New Zealand culture and its people. He was a social justice advocate, a defender of the working class, and an advocate for the Maori . . . read more Reverend Joshua Young (1823-1904), Unitarian minister who served five congregations throughout his lifetime, was best known as the clergyman who officiated at the funeral of abolitionist John Brown. Along with his wife, he was active in the Underground Railroad both in Boston, Massachusetts and in Burlington, Vermont. Ahead of his . . . read more Helen Richmond Young Reid (1869-1941) was a Montreal social worker involved in local, national, and international reform movements. A life long Unitarian, she founded and directed a number of charitable and educational organizations. She published articles and books in the fields of social welfare, public health, and immigration. Reid travelled widely . . . read more Eliza Anne McIntosh Reid (1841-1926) was a social reformer, women's activist, and a leader in the movement to gain access to higher education for Canadian women. A life long Unitarian, her contributions would be continued and expanded by her daughter, Helen R. Y. Reid . . . read more William Joseph McEldowney (1889-1967) was an accountant and lawyer before switching—in mid-life—to the Unitarian ministry. Raised among Methodists and Presbyterians, he was in his forties when he started attending Unitarian services in Wellington, New Zealand. Unique in the British Unitarian movement, McEldowney was the only New Zealander trained at Manchester College who . . . read more Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007) was an American novelist also known for short stories, essays, and plays. His writing often displays a darkly comic and satirical style revealing serious moral commentary, sometimes through the medium of science fiction. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he came from a line of cultured German immigrant skeptics, including . . . read more Thomas Gibson (1777-1863) and his son Thomas Field Gibson (1803-1889) were prominent silk manufacturers in Spitalfields, in London’s East End, during the industrial revolution. Keenly interested in political, economic, industrial, and social reform they developed programs to support working people. As Unitarian lay leaders they were instrumental in expanding religious liberty . . . read more Samuel Carter (1805-1878) was a lawyer who shaped the legal codification and business practices of the early railways in England. For nearly four decades he was solicitor to two of the corporations that created Britain’s rail network. He was a lifelong Unitarian, a faith many of his forebears had embraced during the Midlands Enlightenment . . . read more Harm Jan Huidekoper (1776–1854) was a businessman, philanthropist, essayist and lay theologian, a vice president of the American Unitarian Association, and a founder of the Meadville Theological School. His church, the Independent Congregational Church, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, was among the earliest Unitarian churches west of the Appalachian Mountains . . . read more Robert Nelson West (1929-2017) was a Unitarian Universalist minister and the second president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Through careful stewardship and increased outside funding he assured that it had a reliable economic base. In 1971 he authorized the denomination’s Beacon Press to publish The Pentagon Papers . . . read more Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first woman to earn a degree from medical school in the United States and the first woman to appear on the medical registry of the United Kingdom. Blackwell was also instrumental in opening the medical profession to other women through a distinctive combination of managerial and social vision. She lectured widely and published several works . . . . read more Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg) (1747-1826) was one of the most influential and controversial figures Wales has produced. When Unitarianism separated from the state-sponsored church, he associated himself with prominent English Unitarians and became a leading ally of Thomas Evans (Tomos Glyn Cothi). Williams translated English Unitarian texts, he coined Welsh-language Unitarian vocabulary, and he wrote over 3000 Welsh-language hymns . . . read more Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz (1822-1907) was an early advocate for the education of women. Instrumental in the founding of the Harvard Annex—later Radcliffe College, she would serve as its first president. Her early career efforts were often in partnership with her husband, Louis Agassiz. She edited manuscripts, arranged scientific expeditions, and . . . read more George Leonard Chaney (1836-1922) was a Unitarian minister whose major contribution to Unitarianism was his work in the southern United States following the Civil War. After serving congregations in Boston Massachusetts, Chaney relocated to the south in 1882 where he served congregations in Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia . . . read more James Henry Ecob 1844-1921) was a minister in Unitarian, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches, and participated in and advocated for interdenominational worship and co-ordination for most of his career. He served as a minister of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia and was the first minister at the Unitarian Congregation of Queens in Flushing, New York . . . . read more Elizabeth Ronalds (1788-1854) was an English horticultural illustrator, best remembered for the lithographs in her father Hugh Ronalds' renowned book Pyrus malus Brentfordiensis: or, a concise description of selected apples. Her beautiful depictions of fruit and flowers enhanced the international reputation of her family's . . . read more