José María Blanco y Crespo (July 11, 1775-May 20, 1841), also known as Joseph Blanco White, was a poet who composed in both in Spanish and English and also a literary critic, novelist, essayist, journalist and religious controversialist. In his political writing he was an early advocate of Spanish American independence.…
Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901-August 19, 1994), a distinguished American chemist, helped to integrate chemistry with quantum theory and founded the discipline now called molecular biology. From 1945 on much of his time was devoted to antiwar activities and stopping the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons.…
Caroline Howard Gilman (October 1, 1794-September 15, 1888), one of the most popular women writers of the first half of the nineteenth century, was born in Boston on October 1, 1794. Her parents, Samuel Howard and Anna Lillie, were prosperous and well-connected.
Samuel Gilman (February 16, 1791-February 9, 1858) was arguably the most important and dedicated leader of the ultimately unsuccessful effort to establish Unitarianism in the antebellum South. He served the Archdale Street Church, the only Unitarian congregation in South Carolina, for almost 40 years and became a central figure in Charleston’s social and intellectual life.…
John Relly Beard (August 4, 1800-November 22, 1876), British educational reformer and minister, was a militant exponent and populariser of mid-Victorian Unitarianism. His most enduring achievement is the Unitarian Home Missionary Board.
John was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire, the first of John and Ann Beard’s nine children.
John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767-February 23, 1848) spent most of his youth and adult life in public service to the United States, as senator, diplomat, secretary of state, president, and congressman. He made his greatest contribution to his country after his presidency, while serving in the United States House of Representatives as a staunch opponent of slavery and expansionist war.
Robert Spears (September 25, 1825-February 25, 1899), a remarkably able and successful Unitarian minister, was the voice of Biblically-based British Unitarianism in his day. He organized or reinvigorated twelve congregations and founded journals and social service organizations. Because of his great energy he has been called the Unitarian dynamo of the 19th century.…
William Hamilton Drummond (August 1778-October 16, 1865), a leading 19th century Irish non-subscribing Presbyterian minister and Unitarian Christian theologian, was also an honored poet, an educationalist and an early advocate of the rights of animals.
Born in Larne in August, 1778, Drummond was the son of William Drummond, a naval surgeon, and Rose Hare.…
John Turner Sargent (July 12, 1807-March 26, 1877) served as a Unitarian minister-at” align=right>t-large in Boston for eight years. Deeply committed to the poor and to freedom of the pulpit, he was active in many causes, including woman’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery.
John E. Wood (July 30, 1910-June 15, 1980), Universalist and Unitarian Universalist minister and denominational official, played a significant part, first in preparing the way for the Unitarian-Universalist consolidation, and then in raising environmental consciousness within the Unitarian Universalist denomination.
Charles Dickens (February 7, 1812-June 9, 1870) is often considered the finest English novelist of the 19th century. His enduring comic characters are part of the culture. He is known as well for exposing the wretchedness of the downtrodden, for his anger at their heartless oppression and for his contribution to the celebration of Christmas.
Maurice B. Visscher (August 25, 1901-May 1, 1983) was an internationally recognized physiologist and an outspoken and active citizen. His work as medical researcher and teacher, in linking the science of physiology with the practice of surgery, led to major developments in cardiovascular surgery.…