William Henry Channing (May 25, 1810 – December 23, 1884) was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher.

Biography

William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Channing's father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he was an infant, and responsibility for the young man's education was assumed by his uncle,

William Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. Channi ...

, the pre-eminent Unitarian theologian of the early nineteenth century. The younger William 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 ...

in 1829 and from

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 ...

in 1833. He was ordained and installed over the Unitarian church in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

in 1835. He became warmly interested in the schemes of

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical ...

and others for social reorganization. He moved to Boston about 1847, afterward to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

and to New York City, where, both as preacher and editor, he became a leader in a movement of

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe ca ...

. As an early supporter of the socialistic movement in the United States, he was editor of the ''Present'', the ''Spirit of the Age'' and the ''Harbinger''. In 1848 he presided over The Religious Union of Associationists in Boston, a socialist group which included many members of the Brook Farm commune. Channing took active part in the early years of the woman’s rights movement. He signed the call for and attended the first

National Woman's Rights Convention The National Women's Rights Convention was an annual series of meetings that increased the visibility of the early women's rights movement in the United States. First held in 1850 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the National Women's Rights Conventi ...

in 1850, where he was appointed to the National Women’s Rights Central Committee. As minister of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in 1852, he influenced Susan B. Anthony, a member of his congregation who was a young schoolteacher on the threshold of her career as a women's rights activist.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

, Anthony's close friend and co-worker, said in her autobiography that, "She nthonyfirst found words to express her convictions in listening to Rev. William Henry Channing, whose teaching had a lasting spiritual influence upon her." Channing wrote the call for and played a leading role in the Women's Rights Convention that Anthony organized in Rochester in 1853. The convention launched a petition campaign for equal legal and voting rights for women, for which Channing wrote the petitions and, with Ernestine Rose, addressed a select committee of the New York Senate in February 1854.Million, Joelle (2003
''Woman's Voice, Woman's Place: Lucy Stone and the Birth of the Women's Rights Movement''
Praeger , pp. 106, 293 note 26, 167-168, 172. Between 1854-1857, Channing was minister at

Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel was a Unitarianism, Unitarian place of worship in Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, England. It operated from 1811 until the 1890s and was particularly well frequented by ship-owning and mercantile families, who formed a ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England. In 1857, he succeeded

James Martineau James Martineau (; 21 April 1805 – 11 January 1900) was a British religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College ...

as minister of the

Hope Street Unitarian Chapel Hope Street Chapel was a Unitarian place of worship in Liverpool, England. It stood on Hope Street next to the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, about halfway between the Anglican and Catholic Cathedrals. The congregation had previously been based ...

, Liverpool, England. At the commencement of the American Civil War, he returned (1862) and took charge of the Unitarian church in Washington, D. C. William Henry Channing, along with the younger

Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing II (November 29, 1817 – December 23, 1901) was an American Transcendentalist poet, nephew and namesake of the Unitarian preacher Dr. William Ellery Channing. His uncle was usually known as "Dr. Channing", while the ne ...

, was a Transcendentalist. He was a prolific writer, contributing to the '' North American Review'', the '' Dial'', the ''

Christian Examiner ''The Christian Examiner'' was an American periodical published between 1813 and 1869. History and profile Founded in 1813 as ''The Christian Disciple'', it was purchased in 1814 by Nathan Hale. His son Edward Everett Hale later oversaw publicati ...

'', and other serials, a member of the Transcendental Club, a close friend of

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and h ...

and corresponded with

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

. Among his inspirational writings, one piece, his "Symphony", is well-known: :''To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common — this is my symphony.''

Octavius Brooks Frothingham Octavius Brooks Frothingham (November 26, 1822 – November 27, 1895) was an American clergyman and author. Biography He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (1793–1870), a prominent Unitarianism, Unitari ...

(1886
''Memoir of William Henry Channing'', p. 166
Houghton, Mifflin and Company, New York and Boston Channing was, in 1863 and 1864, the

Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Claus ...

. He died in London.

Larger works

*''A translation of Jouffroy's ''Ethics'' (1840) *''Memoir of''

is uncle In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' ...

'' (three volumes, 1848) *''Memoir of'' is cousin'' the Rev. James H. Perkins'' (1851) *''Memoir of

Margaret Fuller Ossoli Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movem ...

'' (in conjunction with Emerson and J. F. Clarke (1852)

Literature

*For his ''Life'' consult O. B. Frothingham (Boston, 1886)

References

External links

William Henry Channing
from the Transcendentalism Web * * * George Ripley; Charles A. (Charles Anderson) Dana, editors (1873
"Channing, William Henry"
'' The American Cyclopaedia'', D. Appleton & Company * {{DEFAULTSORT:Channing, William Henry 1810 births 1884 deaths 19th-century American translators American Christian clergy American Christian socialists 19th-century American memoirists American Unitarians Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives Fourierists Harvard Divinity School alumni Massachusetts socialists Members of the Transcendental Club Unitarian socialists Utopian socialists Writers from Boston Writers from Washington, D.C. American women's rights activists 19th-century American clergy

Biography

Larger works

Literature

See also

References

External links