Notable Unitarians and Universalists

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Many United States Presidents were Unitarians for the majority of their lives. Which of these is NOT one of them? Millard Fillmore John Adams, Sr. Herbert Hoover John Quincy Adams

2. This Unitarian U.S. President was a problematic historical figure who was talked into running for high office by his close friend, the outgoing President, only to fall into bitter conflict with that former President in the next election four years later. Who was this Unitarian who would become the only former President to serve as Chief Justice? Daniel Webster James Monroe William Howard Taft Henry Clay

3. What major politician of the 1950s who was twice nominated as Democratic candidate for President was a Unitarian? (Hint: he did serve his country as Governor of Illinois and Ambassador to the United Nations.) Joe Frazier Jesse Helms Don Newcombe Adlai Stevenson

4. This longtime fighter for Women's Suffrage, who practiced an early form of nonviolent resistance by submitting to arrest after attempting to vote in 1872, is probably the best-known American activist for her cause of the nineteenth century. Who was this Unitarian pioneer for women's rights? Gloria Steinem Susan B. Anthony Eleanor Roosevelt Emeline Pankhurst

5. One of the most quoted authors in Unitarian Universalist services today, this tremendous figure in American Transcendentalism was one of the first Unitarian figures to eloquently state (in an address to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School, no less) that morality ought be based on common sense rather than supernatural authority. Who is this great American essayist who sparked a revolution in liberal religious thought? Henry Ward Beecher Cotton Mather Jonathan Edwards Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. Another Transcendentalist thinker, whom many Unitarians have adopted as one of their "saints", was this essayist and activist who preached a "purposeful" way of living, as exemplified by his book "Walden" and his essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience". Who was this seminal American author and activist? Henry David Thoreau Carl Sandberg Buckminster Fuller Karl Marx

7. While volunteering to teach a Sunday class at a local prison, this nurse and activist was shocked to find that many of the jail's inmates were not criminals at all, and that the unheated prisons in Boston were largely occupied by mentally ill and mentally handicapped people. This revelation would lead to a career in advocacy and research that fundamentally changed how institutions for the mentally ill were administered and organized. Who was this founding mother in the ethics of mental health institutions? Elizabeth Cady Stanton Susan B. Anthony Harriet Beecher Stowe Dorothea Dix

8. Thought by many to be the greatest American poet, this "Leaves of Grass" author expounded on themes of individualism and humanism, as well as the freedom from the rhyme and meter inherited from European poetic forms. Who was this polarizing American author? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Walt Whitman Bob Dylan Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. This upstate New York businessman was one of the preeminent newspaper publishers of his time. Since his death in 1957, the media company that bears his name has grown to include the national daily "USA Today" as well as several regional papers. Who was he? Frank Gannett William Randolph Hearst Howard Hughes Joseph Pulitzer

10. Though low-key about Unitarian Universalist beliefs, this renowned Science-Fiction author makes good use of Unitarian references in his work, including "Fahrenheit 451", "A Graveyard for Lunatics", and "The Martian Chronicles". Who is this renowned author and humanist? John Grisham Stephen King Ray Bradbury Piers Anthony

11. In a life seen by many as tragic, this poet produced some of the most wrenching confessional verse of her era in a career that was cut short by her suicide in 1963. Who was this writer, perhaps best known for her autobiographical novel "The Bell Jar"? Adrienne Rich Virginia Wolff Sylvia Plath Susan B. Anthony

12. This actor and activist for stem cell research joined the Unitarian Universalist church after a horse-riding accident resulted in severe spinal injury in 1995. Who was this public figure whose battle against adversity inspired so many? Answer: ( Two words, or just surname .. shoot, I'll even take his best-known role)

13. Best known for his design of the geodesic dome (a technique of making strong, lightweight domes and spheres based on basic geometric shapes), this renowned architect held 28 patents and was the author of several provocative books. Who was this master of "doing more with less"? Dale Chihuly I. M. Pei Buckminster Fuller Thomas Edison

14. This sentimental yet thought-provoking author is probably best known for the maxim: "All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten", which served as the title for his best-known book in 1986. Who is this former Unitarian Universalist minister? Robert Fulghum George Carlin Stephen King Mitch Albom

15. This person was not a Unitarian Universalist - far from it. He did attend Unitarian services while doing graduate work at Boston University, and gave an amazing address (one of several in his career) at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in 1966. Who was this great American Civil Rights leader and 1964 Nobel laureate? Answer: ( Three words, or just last name)