William Bentley (June 22, 1759, Boston, Massachusetts – December 29, 1819,

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

) was an American Unitarian minister, scholar, columnist, and diarist. He was a polymath who possessed the second best library in the United States (after that of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

), and was an indefatigable reader and collector of information at the local national and international level. Starting in 1794, he produced a weekly news summary of world events for the local newspaper the '' Salem Gazette.'' He provided a highly sophisticated capsule of current political and cultural news, set in a broad historical context. His unsigned reports were widely copied and reproduced in the young nation's newspapers. Bentley believed in

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

enlightenment and the widest possible diffusion of knowledge. He was upset by the increasingly shrill tone of the partisan press, and the superficiality of much journalism.

Career

Bentley graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1777, and worked as a schoolteacher and then a tutor of Latin and Greek at Harvard. On September 24, 1783, he was ordained as a minister and became pastor of the Second

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

in Salem, known as the East Church, where he remained until his death in 1819. In 1805,

asked him to become the first president of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, but Bentley opted to continue with the church. He also declined Jefferson's offer of the role of chaplain for Congress. In 1811, Bentley was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Bentley was well liked by his parishioners because of his philosophy of emphasizing good works over rigid doctrine. He himself lived modestly, and was a boarder at the Crowninshield-Bentley House from 1791 until his death in 1819. He gave almost half his salary to help the poorer members of his congregation. He often shared the East Church pulpit with pastors of other sects. He was a strong supporter of public education and frequent tutor and substitute teacher; among the students he taught was

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

. The Bentley School in Salem is named for him.

Scholarship

Bentley spoke 21 languages, 7 fluently, and was an inexhaustible reader and book collector. He eventually amassed a library of over 4,000 volumes, one of the largest private libraries in America at the time. In addition to classic Latin and Greek works, Bentley's collection included books on language, philosophy, the sciences, and early Christianity. Bentley had originally drafted his will to leave his collection to Harvard, but withdrew the bequest because of Harvard's failure to award him an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree until just before his death. Bentley was one of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

's earliest elected members; elected in 1813,American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> he also left his books on history and natural science to the Antiquarian Society in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

in his revised will. He left the rest of his library to the just-established

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

, founded by fellow Harvard graduate

Timothy Alden Rev Timothy Alden, Jun. (August 28, 1771 – July 5, 1839) was an educator and founder of Allegheny College. Early life Timothy Alden was born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts on August 28, 1771. After receiving a theology degree from Harvard Coll ...

Bentley Hall Bentley Hall is a historic building located on the campus of Allegheny College at Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1820 and 1835, and is a vernacular brick and stone building with a Federal style center building and ...

on the Allegheny College campus is named in his memory. ''Note:'' This includes

World news

From 1797 to 1817, Bentley wrote columns twice weekly for the Salem ''Gazette'' and '' Salem Register'', discussing American and foreign news and politics on current topics such as the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

trade, slavery, and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, and often reflecting Bentley's Jeffersonian outlook. He twice declined

's offers of prominent positions, first as chaplain of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, and then as first president of the

. Bentley kept a detailed diary recording not only current events in Salem and the world, but also his own thoughts on a broad range of topics. The diary fills nearly 32 volumes; an abridged 11-volume version was published in 1905. William Bentley died on December 29, 1819, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. The noted orator

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Mass ...

delivered his eulogy. He is buried in

Harmony Grove Cemetery Harmony Grove Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts. It was established in 1840 and is located at 30 Grove Street. The cemetery is approximately 35 acres in size and was designed by Francis Peabody and Alexander Wadsworth. ...

Works on Bentley

* Brown, Richard D. ''Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, 1700-1865'' (1991
excerpt and text search
pp 197–217 *Ruffin, J. Rixey. 2007. ''A Paradise of Reason: William Bentley and Enlightenment Christianity in the Early Republic''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

External links

The Diary of William Bentley, D.D.
(Google Books; includes detailed biographical sketch)
Finding aid to William Bentley papers, ca. 1783-1819
at the Tufts Digital Library

*
Ruffin Book

Digital facsimiles of Christophe Daniel Ebeling letters to William Bentley
MS Am 576,

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library system of Harvard's Faculty of Art ...