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Sunday 4 January 2015

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)'s father was a Unitarian minister, and Emerson initially followed his footsteps, attending Harvard Divinity School.

Boston's Second Church invited Emerson to serve as its junior pastor and he was ordained on January 11, 1829. His initial salary was $1,200 a year, increasing to $1,400 in July.

In time Emerson developed a belief system that espoused a non-traditional appreciation of nature called Transcendentalism. He first wrote about this view in an essay called Nature in 1836.

On July 15, 1838  Emerson delivered the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacted with outrage.


Emerson was in poor health for several years prior to his death, and he suffered from pneumonia and other respiratory ailments in the months leading up to his passing. He attended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's funeral on March 28, 1882, and his weakened state may have contributed to his worsening condition.

Emerson died on April 27, 1882 at his home in Concord, Massachusetts. He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, alongside many other notable figures from American history, including Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. His grave is marked by a simple, unadorned headstone, which is inscribed with his name and the dates of his birth and death.

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