E. F. (Enoch Fitch) Burr

Born in Westport, Connecticut, in 1818, Enoch Fitch Burr was educated at Yale College, graduating in 1839. After further study in science and theology and a period of travel, he was called in 1850 to the Congregational church in Lyme, Connecticut, where he remained pastor for the rest of his life.

Burr became known as a lecturer and writer who tried to bring science and religion into conversation rather than conflict. Reference works describe him as a theologian, astronomer, and author, and note that he lectured on the scientific evidences of religion at places including Amherst College, Williams College, and Yale's Sheffield Scientific School.

He published a long list of books across several genres, including The Mathematical Theory of Neptune, Ecce Coelum, Evolution, Theism as a Canon of Science, Universal Beliefs, and the novel Aleph the Chaldean. Yale's archives also show that he corresponded with prominent figures such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Dwight Dana, and William Gladstone, suggesting the wide intellectual circle his work reached.