Ezra S. (Ezra Stiles) Gannett

author

Ezra S. (Ezra Stiles) Gannett

1801–1871

A leading voice in 19th-century American Unitarianism, this Boston minister spent decades preaching, editing, and helping shape the movement’s institutions. His life joined pulpit work with public service, and ended tragically in a railroad accident in 1871.

1 Audiobook

The Religion of Politics A Sermon Delivered Before His Excellency John Davis, Governor, His Honor George Hull, Lieutenant Governor, The Honorable Council, And The Legislature Of Massachusetts, At The Annual Election, January 5, 1842.

The Religion of Politics A Sermon Delivered Before His Excellency John Davis, Governor, His Honor George Hull, Lieutenant Governor, The Honorable Council, And The Legislature Of Massachusetts, At The Annual Election, January 5, 1842.

by Ezra S. (Ezra Stiles) Gannett

About the author

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1801, Ezra Stiles Gannett was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. He became a prominent Unitarian minister in Boston and is especially associated with the Federal Street Church, later Arlington Street Church, where he served for much of his career.

He was also active beyond the pulpit: sources describe him as an editor and as a founder, and first secretary, of the American Unitarian Association. That combination of steady parish ministry and institution-building made him an important figure in New England religious life during the mid-1800s.

Gannett came from a notable family background as the grandson of Yale president Ezra Stiles. He died in 1871 after a railroad accident while traveling to preach, a sudden end to a long ministry that left a clear mark on American Unitarian history.