William Ellery Channing

William Ellery Channing
Born	(1780-04-07)7 April 1780 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	2 October 1842(1842-10-02) (aged 62) Old Bennington, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Harvard University
Occupation	Unitarian preacher
Parent(s)	William Channing Lucy Ellery
Relatives	William Ellery (grandfather) William Francis Channing (son) William Ellery Channing (nephew) William Henry Channing (nephew)
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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. Channing was known for his articulate and impassioned sermons and public speeches, and as a prominent thinker in the liberal theology of the day. His religion and thought were among the chief influences on the New England Transcendentalists although he never countenanced their views, which he saw as extreme. His espousal of the developing philosophy and theology of Unitarianism was displayed especially in his "Baltimore Sermon"^[1] of May 5, 1819, given at the ordination of the theologian and educator Jared Sparks (1789–1866) as the first minister of the newly organized First Independent Church of Baltimore.