Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/182

 CHANNING.

CHANNING.

physician. In 184.") he was foremost among those who urged the introduction of purer water u. lO Boston, and in 1849 took the lead in introduc- ing ether into medical practice. In 1858 he was appointed consulting physician to the New England hospital for women and cliildren. Among his manj^ published writings are : An Address on the Prevention of Pauperism (1843) ; My Own Times, or, 'Tis Fifty Years Since (1845) ; A Treatise on Etherization in Child- birth (1848) ; Memoir of Enoch Hale (1848) ; 3Iiscella neons Poems (1851) ; ^4 Physician's Vacation ; or a Summer in Europe in 1S52 (1856) ; Bed Case : Its History and Treat- ment (1860), and Memoir of T. W. Storrow (1863). He died in Boston, Mass., July 27, 18T6.

CHANNING, William Ellery, clergyman, was born in Newport, R. I., April T, 1780; son of William and Lvxcy (Ellery) Channing, and grand- son of William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He attended school in Ne«'- port until his twelfth year, when he was placed

vmder the care of his uncle, the Rev. Henry Chambers, of New London, Conn., who prepared him to enter Harvard. He was graduated in 1798 with the highest honors, having attracted the attention of both fac- ulty and students by the brilliancy of his scholarship, the origi- nality of his thought, and the remarkable charm of his person- ality. After his graduation he became tutor in the family of David Meade Randolph of Rich- mond, Va. Though he there viewed slavery from its most attractive side, his innate hatred of the system was confirmed during his eighteen months in Richmond, and he declared " the in- fluence of slavery on the whites to be almost as fatal as on the blacks themselves. " ' His interest in politics, both American and European, was positive, and his private letters written at that time disclose great breadth of mind and lucidity of expression. The love of luxurj- which charac- terized the Virginians, he regarded as effeminate, and with unwise zeal he proceeded to curb the animal nature by the most rigid asceticism. He slept on the bare floor exposed to the cold, ab- stained from eating any but the most necessary food, wore insufficient clothing, and made a practice of remaining at his study-table until two or three o'clock in the morning. As a result, his

once fine health was permanently destroyed. In July, 1800, he retui'ned to Newport, where he remained a year and a half, devoting his time to the study of theology, and to preparing the son of Mr. Randolph and his own younger brother for college, in December, 1801, he was elected regent in Harvard, and while performing the merely nominal duties of the office he pursued his theological studies. He began to preach in the autumn of 1803, and in December received an invitatiun from the Federal street society, Eos- ton, to become their pastor. At the same time he was urged to accept the pastorate of the Brat- tle .street church, but, believing that he could accomplish more good in the weaker society, he accepted the first call, and was ordained June 1, 1803. His earnestness and eloquence strength- ened the little society, and in 1809 the number of listeners had so increased as to necessitate the building of a larger church edifice. In 1812 he was elected to succeed Dr. Buckminster as Dex- ter lecturer in the divinity school at Harvard college, but was obliged to resign in 1813. His fame and influence as a preacher were steadily increasing, while his physical strength was be- coming enfeebled. In 1822 his parishioners deemed it necessary to send him abroad to recu- l^erate, and from May of that year until August of 1823 he travelled over the old world. In the spring of 1824, the Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett was ordained the associate pastor of the Federal street society, and Mr. Channing was relieved of part of the care of the church. At the organiza- tion of the "Anthology Club" Mr. Channing- contributed several es.says to its journal ; and he wrote frequently for the Christian Disciple, which, in 1824, was enlarged and its name changed to the Christian Examiner. In the Examiner there appeared the series of what he called "hasty effii.sions,"" which caused him to be recognized and admired by the world of letters. His subjects were : Milton (1826) ; Bonaparte (1827-28). and Fenelon (1829). Soon after this he was induced to collect and revise his writings, wiiicli resulted in Mis- cellanies, the first volume of which was pub- lished in 1830. His theology broadened in advance of his time, and though his sympathies were with the Unitarian movement, his mind was too large and free to be bound by any sect. He was " a member of the church universal of the lovers of God and lovers of man ; his religion was a life, not a creed or a form." In 1830 the state of his health again demanded rest, and he made a voyage to the West Indies. Dr. Chan- ning gradually withdrew from church work to give his energies more to the outside world ; the aim of his life being to promote freedom of thought, and to bring about the abolition of slavery. In