Stoddard, Solomon

Stoddard, Solomon (1643–1729) Protestant theologian; born in Boston, Mass. He graduated from Harvard in 1662 and became the first librarian there, serving from 1667 to 1674. From 1672 until his death he was pastor of the Congregational church at Northampton, Mass. (where his grandson Jonathan Edwards succeeded him). He helped develop the controversial Half-way Covenant, which permitted church membership to those who, without a full conversion experience, nevertheless showed qualities of godliness. His theological writings, including The Doctrine of Instituted Churches (1700), were important documents in the development of American Protestantism.