George Washington Burnap (November 30, 1802 in

Merrimack, New Hampshire Merrimack is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 26,632 as of the 2020 census. There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly kno ...

– September 8, 1859 in

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) was a Unitarian clergyman of the United States.

Biography

His father was a

Congregational 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 ...

minister in Merrimack. His mother died when he was seven, and a sister took care of him. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1824, and then studied for three years at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

. His studies of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

in college convinced him to become a Unitarian. In 1828 he was ordained pastor of the First Independent Church in Baltimore, where

Jared Sparks Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard College from 1849 to 1853. Biography Born in Willington, Connecticut, Sparks studied in the common s ...

had preceded him, and which position he retained till his death. He married Nancy Williams in 1831. Without neglecting his pastoral duties, Burnap devoted much of his career to studies, mostly oriented toward explaining Unitarianism to the public and justifying its doctrines in the face of its critics. In 1849 he received the degree of

D.D. 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 ra ...

from Harvard College. He was the first person to write "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for" in his ''Lectures on the Sphere and Duties of Woman''. This quote is often misattributed to such writers as

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

and

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard S ...

Works

He was a voluminous writer, chiefly on theological and controversial subjects. His principal works are: * ''Lectures on the Doctrines in Controversy between Unitarians and other Denominations of Christians'' (1835) * ''Lectures on the History of Christianity'' (1842) * ''Expository Lectures on the principal Texts of the Bible which relate to the Doctrine of the Trinity'' (1845) * ''Life of

Leonard Calvert The Hon. Leonard Calvert (1606 – June 9, 1647) was the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the second son of The 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), the first proprietor of Maryland. His elder brother Cecil (1605– ...

'' in

' ''The Library of American Biography, Volume IX'' (1846) *''The Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures'' (1848) * ''Lectures to Young Men on the Cultivation of the Mind, the Formation of Character, and the Conduct of Life'' (1848) * ''Lectures on the Sphere and Duties of Woman'' (1849) * ''Lectures on the Doctrines of Christianity'' (1850) * ''Christianity, its Essence and Evidence'' (1855)

Essentials of happiness quotation

Published in Burnap's ''The Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures'' (1848), Lecture IV: "The grand essentials of happiness in this life are: Something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnap, George Washington 1802 births 1859 deaths American Unitarian clergy Harvard Divinity School alumni Harvard College alumni 19th-century American clergy