CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, D.D., a celebrated Unitarian preacher and author, was b. 7th April, 1780, at Newport, B. I., in the United States, entered Harvard university at the age of 14, and took his degree in 1798. In 1803, he was ordained min ister of a church in Boston. During the earlier years of his ministry, his theological peculiarities had little prominence in his discourses, and in consequence he stood upon friendly terms with his brethren in more orthodox churches. In 1S19, however, he preached a sermon at the ordination of the Rev. Jared Sparks, in which he advocated the Unitarian doctrine with so much zeal and ability, that he was termed the "apostle of Unitarianism." This involved him in controversy, a thing which he naturally loathed. Nevertheless, to the end of his life, he preserved a devoutly Christian heart, shrinking with the delicate instinct of a pious nature from everytlnng cold, one-sided, and dog matic, whether Unitarian or Trinitarian. As late as 1841, he wrote: " I am little of a Unitarian, have little sympathy with the system of Priestley and Belsham, and stand aloof from all but those who strive and pray for clearer light." It 1821, he received the
title of D.D. from Harvard university, on account of the high talent he had exhibited in his tractate on the Evidences of Christianity, his Address on War, and his Sermons. In 1822, he visited Europe, and made the acquaintance of several great English authors, such as Wordsworth and Coleridge, both of whom were strongly impressed in his favor. Coleridge said of him: " He has the love of wisdom and the wisdom of love." In 1823, he published an Essay on National Literature; ID 1826. Remarks on the Character and Writings of John Milton; in 1829, the Character and Writings of Fenelon; in 1835, a work in opposition to Negro Slavery; and in 1838, an essay Besides these, ha wrote a variety of other essays and treatises, all characterized by vigor, eloquence, pure taste, and a lofty tone of moral earnestness. He died Oct. 2, 1842, at Bennington, Vt. An interesting memoir of him has been published by his nephew William Henry Channing (3 vols., London, 1848).