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COLLECTION Identifier: bMS 478

Walker, James, 1794-1874. Correspondence, 1815-1859.

Overview

Letters received by Harvard University president and American Unitarian Association founder James Walker (1794-1874) in connection with his work for the American Unitarian Association and the Christian Examiner, 1815-1859.

Dates

  • Creation: 1815-1859.

Creator

Extent

2 boxes

Letters received by James Walker in connection with his work for the American Unitarian Association and the Christian Examiner, 1815-1859.

Biographical / Historical

James Walker (1794-1874) was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College in 1814 and Harvard Divinity School in 1817. He was President of Harvard University from February 10, 1853, to January 26, 1860. He served as a Fellow of Harvard University from 1834 to 1853 and as a member of the Board of Overseers from 1825 to 1836 and again from 1864 to 1874. From 1838 to 1853, he served the University as the Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity while also acting as Preacher of the College. Walker was also a leader of the Unitarian movement and one of the founders of the American Unitarian Association. He was an editor of The Christian Examiner from 1831 to 1859, and he served as a Unitarian minister for the Harvard Church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, for 20 years. His most important work was The Philosophy of Man's Spiritual Nature in Regard to the Foundation of Faith (1834). Following his death in 1874, his library and the bulk of his estate was bequeathed to the Harvard College Library.

Title
Walker, James, 1794-1874. Correspondence, 1815-1859: A Finding Aid.
Author
Andover-Harvard Theological Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
div00478

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository

Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.

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