Channing, William Ellery, 1780-1842

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1780-04-07
Death 1842-10-02
Americans,
English,

Biographical notes:

William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) graduated from Harvard College in 1798. He served on the board of the Harvard Corporation from 1813 to 1826, where he worked for the establishment of the Divinity School, which occurred in 1816. A Unitarian minister, Channing served as the pastor of the Federal Street Church in Boston from 1803 until his death in 1842. In 1819 he gave the landmark Unitarian sermon, Unitarian Christianity, which upon publication sold thousands of copies. A believer in the abolitionist movement, he penned The Duty of the Free States in 1842, which was a rebuttal to Daniel Webster's teachings concerning the national slave laws.

From the guide to the Channing, William Ellery. Papers, 1803-1900., (Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School)

William Ellery Channing was born in Newport, Rhode Island, graduated from Harvard, and became minister of the Federal Street Church in 1803. An eloquent, logical, and emotional speaker, his reputation as a minister and thinker grew. During the Unitarian Controversy, he became the chief spokesman for the liberal religious movement , essentially ending the Puritan monopoly on New England ethics and thought, and his leadership and doctrines led to the development of the Unitarian Church. As a speaker, thinker, and writer, he also had a significant influence on the development of Transcendentalism.

From the description of William Ellery Channing letters, 1822-1827. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 63664592

Clergyman and abolitionist, of Boston, Mass.

From the description of Papers, 1849. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70938203

Unitarian minister of Boston, Mass.

From the description of Papers, 1835-1846. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 36668714

American theologian, author, Unitarian minister, Harvard graduate. Served Federal Street Church, Boston (1803-1842).

From the description of Papers, 1803-1842 (inclusive). (Harvard University, Divinity School Library). WorldCat record id: 181946363

American clergyman.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Boston, to Miss Jane Roscoe in Liverpool, 1835 Apr. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270622081

From the description of Autograph letter : Boston, to Benjamin Rodman in New Bedford, 1833 Dec. 27. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270621726

From the description of Autograph letter signed : [Boston], to the Rev. John Pierpont, [1821 Jan. 21]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270621996

William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) graduated from Harvard College in 1798. He served on the board of the Harvard Corporation from 1813 to 1826, where he worked for the establishment of the Harvard Divinity School, which occurred in 1816. A Unitarian minister, Channing served as the pastor of the Federal Street Church in Boston from 1803 until his death in 1842. In 1819 he gave the landmark Unitarian sermon, Unitarian Christianity, which upon publication sold thousands of copies. A believer in the abolitionist movement, he penned The Duty of the Free States in 1842, which was a rebuttal to Daniel Webster's teachings concerning the national slave laws.

From the guide to the Channing, William Ellery. Papers, 1803-1900., (Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School)

William Ellery Channing was born on April 7, 1780, in Newport, Rhode Island, and, following his father's death, was raised primarily by his grandfather, William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Channing graduated from Harvard in 1798 and, after spending time in Richmond, Virginia, became a vocal opponent of slavery. Upon his return north, Channing settled in Boston, where he turned the Federal Street Church into a leading institution in the Unitarian movement and helped establish both the American Unitarian Association and the Harvard Divinity School. Channing married Ruth Gibbs in 1814, and they had four children. He died on October 2, 1842.

From the guide to the William Ellery Channing collection, Channing, William Ellery collection, 1823-1842, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

Charles Babbage was a mathematician and inventor.

From the guide to the Charles Babbage selected correspondence, 1827-1871, 1827-1871, (American Philosophical Society)

Channing was a Unitarian minister in Boston and the principal spokesman for the Unitarian movement in the United States.

From the guide to the Papers, 1819-1852., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

From the description of Papers, 1819-1852. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122520919

Channing (Harvard, A.B., 1798) served as Fellow at Harvard.

From the description of Papers, 1824. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77069247

Clergyman.

From the description of William Ellery Channing correspondence, 1794-1841. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79453069

American Unitarian theologian.

From the description of Collection of William Ellery Channing manuscripts and letters, 1802-1842. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 430356552

William Ellery Channing received his A.B. from Harvard in 1798. He served as Fellow at Harvard, and was a Unitarian minister in Boston and the principal spokesman for the Unitarian movement in the United States.

From the description of [Student theme] , June 5, 1797. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77072605

Links to collections

Comparison

This is only a preview comparison of Constellations. It will only exist until this window is closed.

  • Added or updated
  • Deleted or outdated

Information

Permalink:
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Slavery
  • Account books
  • Teachers
  • Calculators
  • Christianity
  • College costs
  • Letters
  • Science
  • Scientists
  • Sermons
  • Slave insurrections
  • Slavery and the church
  • Trials (Blasphemy)
  • Unitarian churches
  • Unitarian churches
  • Unitarian churches
  • Unitarian churches
  • Unitarianism
  • Unitarianism
  • Unitarians
  • Unitarians
  • Unitarian Universalist churches
  • Voyages and travels

Occupations:

  • Clergy
  • Poets

Places:

  • Germany (as recorded)
  • Europe (as recorded)
  • Massachusetts--Boston (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Virginia--Richmond (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Santa Cruz (Calif.) (as recorded)
  • Boston (Mass.) (as recorded)

SNAC Cooperative Logo

Social Networks and Archival Context

SNAC is a discovery service for persons, families, and organizations found within archival collections at cultural heritage institutions.

Sponsors

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Endowment for the Humanities

Hosts

University of Virginia Library
National Archives and Records Administration