Records compiled by Eliphalet Pearson relating to the election of Henry Ware as Hollis Professor of Divinity

Eliphalet Pearson (1752-1826), scholar and the first principal of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, served as Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages from 1786 to 1806; Fellow of the Harvard Corporation from 1800 to 1806; and Acting President of Harvard University from 1804 to 1806. Pearson was an influential figure at Harvard as a professor and a contributor to many Harvard committees. After the death of Harvard President Joseph Willard (1738-1804) in September 1804, Pearson, an orthodox Calvinist, assumed the duties as president and soon became embroiled in controversy with other Corporation members regarding the election of Henry Ware (1764-1845), a Unitarian Congregationalist, as Hollis Professor of Divinity. Disenchanted with Harvard's increasingly Unitarianism and the election of Henry Ware as Hollis Professor in 1805, Pearson left Harvard and returned to Andover, Massachusetts, to help establish the Andover Theological Seminary in 1808. At the Seminary, Pearson served as professor of sacred theology (1808-1809) and as president of the board of trustees (1802-1821).

After the death of David Tappan (1752-1803), the third Hollis Professor of Divinity, on August 27, 1803, efforts to appoint a replacement by the Harvard Corporation stalled over the religious beliefs the next Hollis Professor should hold. The Reverend Henry Ware (1764-1845), a Unitarian Congregationalist, was supported by the laymen members of the Corporation. However, Eliphalet Pearson (1752-1826), Hancock of Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages, argued that the statutes of the Hollis Professorship of Divinity required that the Divinity Professor be a Calvinist, and Pearson opposed every candidate proposed that did not meet this religious qualification. Ware's supporters replied that requiring a religious test for a professorial candidate was a "barbarous relic of Inquisitorial power" and contrary to the spirit of the government and people.

President Joseph Willard died on September 25, 1804, before a successor to Tappan could be named. As the senior member on the Harvard faculty, Pearson was appointed acting president and soon after the election process for both the president and Hollis professorship began. Pearson supported the Reverend Jesse Appleton (1772-1819), a leader of the conservative element of the Congregational churches for the Divinity Professorship. The Corporation was equally divided and spent the month of December 1804 debating the merits of various candidates. On February 1, 1805, a compromise was proposed that would have Ware elected president of Harvard and Appleton as Hollis professor. After several trial ballots, Ware was nominated for the Hollis professorship by a single vote. On February 14, 1805, the Board of Overseers elected Ware as the new Hollis Professor of Divinity, and thus the oldest theological professorship in the country became Unitarian. The professorship controversy created a divide between Pearson and the liberal members of the Corporation and diminished Pearson's chances to be elected Harvard's next president. On December 11, 1805, the Corporation elected Fisher Ames (1758-1808), the Federalist statesman, as president of Harvard. However, citing poor health and old age, Ames declined the appointment. On March 1, 1806, Pearson resigned both his chair and fellowship at Harvard when it became apparent to him that he would not be selected as the next Harvard president. On March 3, 1806, the Corporation elected the Reverend Samuel Webber (1759-1810), Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and a Unitarian, President of Harvard University.

The Hollis Professorship of Divinity was founded in 1721 by Thomas Hollis (1659-1731), a London merchant and one of the earliest supporters of Harvard College. It is the oldest endowed chair in the United States and the first professorship in theology in the country. The previous holders of the Hollis Professorship of Divinity were Edward Wigglesworth (1721-1765), Edward Wigglesworth (1765-1794), and David Tappan (1792-1803).