James Walker

author

James Walker

1794–1874

A leading Unitarian minister and moral philosopher, he spent much of his life shaping religious and academic life in New England. He is best remembered for serving as president of Harvard College in the 1850s, while also writing sermons, essays, and philosophical works.

2 Audiobooks

The Spirit Proper to the Times

The Spirit Proper to the Times

by James Walker

A Sermon Delivered before His Excellency Levi Lincoln, Governor, His Honor Thomas L. Winthrop, Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Council, the Senate, and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the day of General Election, May 28, 1828

A Sermon Delivered before His Excellency Levi Lincoln, Governor, His Honor Thomas L. Winthrop, Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Council, the Senate, and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the day of General Election, May 28, 1828

by James Walker

About the author

Born in Massachusetts in 1794, James Walker was educated at Harvard and went on to become a Unitarian minister, teacher, and writer. He served for many years as pastor of the Harvard Church in Charlestown, and later joined Harvard as professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity.

Walker became president of Harvard College in 1853 and remained in that role until 1860. Sources also describe him as an important figure in American Unitarianism, including as a founder of the American Unitarian Association and an editor of The Christian Examiner.

His published work includes sermons, essays, and books on the mind, religion, and ethics, and listings of his writings survive through library and archive records. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1874.