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{{Short description|American professor and historian of Christianity (1914–2000)}}
'''George Huntston Williams''' (April 7, 1914 in [[Huntsburg]] – October 6, 2000) was an American professor of Unitarian theology and historian of the [[Socinian]] movement.
 
{{Infobox academic
Williams' father was a Unitarian minister in Ohio. Williams studied at [[St. Lawrence University]] (graduated 1936), and [[Meadville Theological School]] (graduated 1939). After studies in Paris and Strasbourg he became assistant minister of a Unitarian church in [[Rockford, Illinois]], where he married. From 1941 he taught church history at the Unitarian affiliated [[Starr King School for the Ministry]] in Berkeley, CA, and at the nearby [[Pacific School of Religion]], while studying for his [[Th.D.]] completed at [[Union Theological Seminary, New York]] (1946). From 1947 he taught at [[Harvard Divinity School]]. In 1981 he was appointed to the [[Hollis Chair of Divinity]].<ref>[http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/03.20/18-mm.html Memorial Minute for George H. Williams] – Harvard Gazette</ref><ref>http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/williams.html</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= |author= |journal= |date= |jstor=1509213}}</ref> He was among the original Editorial Advisors of the scholarly journal [[Dionysius (journal)|Dionysius]] and, as a [[pro-life]] activist, he became the first chairman of the board of [[Americans United for Life]].
| name = George Huntston Williams
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|04|07}}
| birth_place = [[Huntsburg, Ohio|Huntsburg]], [[Ohio]], US
| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|10|06|1914|04|07}}
| death_place =
| residence =
| home_town =
| boards = <!--board or similar positions extraneous to main occupation-->
| spouse = {{marriage|Marjorie Derr|1941}}
| children =
| parents =
| awards = <!--notable national level awards only-->
| alma_mater = {{ubl | [[St. Lawrence University]] | [[Meadville Theological School]] | [[Union Theological Seminary (New York City)|Union Theological Seminary]]}}
| thesis_title =
| thesis_year =
| school_tradition =
| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors =
| influences = [[James Luther Adams]]
| era =
| discipline = History
| sub_discipline = [[History of Christianity]]
| workplaces = [[Harvard University]]
| doctoral_students = <!--only those with WP articles-->
| notable_students = <!--only those with WP articles-->
| main_interests = {{hlist | [[Socinianism]] | [[Unitarianism]]}}
| notable_works = {{nowrap|''The Radical Reformation'' (1962)}}
| notable_ideas =
| influenced = <!--must be referenced from a third party source-->
| signature =
| signature_alt =
}}
 
'''George Huntston Williams''' (April 7, 1914, in [[Huntsburg]] – October 6, 2000) was an American academic, [[historian of Christianity]], and professor of [[nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] [[Christian theology]]. His works focused on the historical research of nontrinitarian Christian movements that emerged during the [[Protestant Reformation]], primarily [[Socinianism]] and [[Unitarianism]].
 
==Biography==
George Pease Williams was born in 1914.<ref name=FT>[https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/03/a-holy-calling-to-keep-truth-alive First Things website, ‘’A Holy Calling: To Keep Truth Alive’’]</ref> His father David Rhys Williams was a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] who signed the [[Humanist Manifesto]],<ref name=HSL>[https://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies/george-huntston-williams/ Harvard Square Library website, Biography of George Huntston Williams]</ref> while his grandparents were Congregationalists.
 
Williams changed his middle name as a young man and chose the name of his village, Huntsburg, Ohio.<ref name=HSL /> He went to study at [[St. Lawrence University]] (graduated 1936) and [[Meadville Theological School]] (graduated 1939). After his academic studies in [[history of Christianity]] at the European universities of [[University of Paris|Paris]] and [[University of Strasbourg|Strasbourg]], he returned to the United States and became assistant minister of a Unitarian church in [[Rockford, Illinois]], where he married his wife Marjorie Derr in 1941.
 
From 1941 onwards, he taught [[Church history]] at the Unitarian-affiliated [[Starr King School for the Ministry]] in [[Berkeley, California]], and at the nearby [[Pacific School of Religion]], while studying for his [[Th.D.]] completed at [[Union Theological Seminary, New York]] (1946). From 1947 he taught at [[Harvard Divinity School]], being appointed [[Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History]] from 1956 to 1963.
 
In 1962 he was one of several official Protestant observers who attended the sessions of the [[Second Vatican Council]],<ref name=FT /> where he met the future Pope [[John Paul II]].
 
He was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1953.<ref>[https://www.amacad.org/person/george-huntston-williams American Academy of Arts and Sciences website, profile page]</ref>
 
In 1981 he was appointed to the [[Hollis Chair of Divinity]].<ref>[https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/03/memorial-minute-for-george-h-williams/ Memorial Minute for George H. Williams. Harvard Gazette. March 20, 2003. Accessed September 30, 2023.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/williams.html |title=George Huntston Williams: Historian of the Christian Church |access-date=2010-11-14 |archive-date=2011-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101123825/http://harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/williams.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was among the original Editorial Advisors of the scholarly journal ''[[Dionysius (journal)|Dionysius]]''. As an [[Anti-abortion movement in the United States|anti-abortion activist]], he became the first chairman of the board of [[Americans United for Life]].<ref>Carol Mason: [https://books.google.com/books?id=UZDxyVcLKh4C&pg=PA140 ''Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics'']. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-8014-3920-9}}, page 140.</ref>
 
A [[Festschrift]] was published in his honor in 1999 titled ''The Contentious Triangle: Church, State, and University''. Contributors included [[Jaroslav Pelikan]], [[Timothy George]] and [[Harold O. J. Brown]], among others.
 
==Works==
* ''Spiritual and Anabaptist Writers: Documents Illustrative of the Radical Reformation,'' 1957
* ''The Polish Brethren : Documentation of the History and Thought of Unitarianism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the Diaspora 1601-1685'', Scholars Press, 1980, ISBN 0-89130-343-X.
* ''The Radical Reformation'', ISBN1962 {{ISBN|0-940474-15-8}}.
* ''The Polish Brethren: Documentation of the History and Thought of Unitarianism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the Diaspora 1601-1685'', Scholars Press, 1980, {{ISBN|0-89130-343-X}}.
* ''Unterschiede zwischen dem polnischen und dem siebenbürgisch-ungarischen Unitarismus und ihre Ursachen,'' in: Wolfgang Deppert/Werner Erdt/Aart de Groot (Hrsg.): ''Der Einfluß der Unitarier auf die europäisch-amerikanische Geistesgeschichte'', Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main/Bern/New York/Paris 1990, ISSN 0930-4118, ISBN 3-631-41859-0, S. 33-57.
* ''The Mind of John Paul II: Origins of His Thought and Action'', Seabury, 1981, {{ISBN|0816404631}}.
* Article ''The Attitude of Liberals in New England toward Non-Christian Religions, 1784–1885,'' Crane Review 9.
* ''Unterschiede zwischen dem polnischen und dem siebenbürgisch-ungarischen Unitarismus und ihre Ursachen,'' in: Wolfgang Deppert/Werner Erdt/Aart de Groot (Hrsg.): ''Der Einfluß der Unitarier auf die europäisch-amerikanische Geistesgeschichte'', Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main/Bern/New York/Paris 1990, ISSN 0930-4118, {{ISBN|3-631-41859-0}}, S. 33-57.
* Article ''The Attitude of Liberals in New England toward Non-Christian Religions, 1784-1885,'' Crane Review 9.
 
==Family==
Williams was married to Marjorie Derr for 59 years and they had four children.<ref>[https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/03/memorial-minute-for-george-h-williams/ Harvard University, Memorial Minute dated March 2003]</ref>
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>
 
==External links==
* [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:DIV.LIB:div00404 A collection of papers] on proanti-lifeabortion organizations in the United States and abortion issues by George Huntston Williams is in the Andover-Harvard TheologicalDivinity School Library at [[Harvard Divinity School]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].
 
{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kirsopp Lake]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Winn Professorship of Ecclesiastical History|Winn Professor of<br />Ecclesiastical History]]|years=1956–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Heiko Oberman]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Amos Wilder]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Hollis Chair of Divinity]]|years=1963–1980}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Harvey Cox]]}}
{{s-end}}
 
{{Winn Professor}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Williams, George Hunston
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American academic
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 7, 1914
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Huntsburg, Ohio
| DATE OF DEATH = October 6, 2000
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, George Hunston}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:St.20th-century LawrenceAmerican University alumniacademics]]
[[Category:Union20th-century TheologicalAmerican Seminarymale (New York City) alumniwriters]]
[[Category:American20th-century religionAmerican academicshistorians]]
[[Category:21st-century American academics]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American historians]]
[[Category:American anti-abortion activists]]
[[Category:American expatriate academics]]
[[Category:American expatriates in France]]
[[Category:American expatriates in West Germany]]
[[Category:American historians of religion]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:American Unitarian Universalists]]
[[Category:Harvard Divinity School faculty]]
[[Category:ChurchHistorians historiansfrom New York (state)]]
[[Category:Historians of Protestantism]]
[[Category:Presidents of the American Society of Church History]]
[[Category:Reformation historians]]
[[Category:AmericanSt. pro-lifeLawrence activistsUniversity alumni]]
[[Category:AmericanUnion academicTheological biographySeminary stubsalumni]]
[[Category:GuggenheimUnitarian FellowsUniversalist clergy]]
[[Category:20th-centuryUnited AmericanChurch historiansof Christ ministers]]
[[Category:20th-centuryUniversity Americanof writersParis alumni]]
[[Category:University of Strasbourg alumni]]
 
 
{{US-academic-biohistorian-stub}}
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