Brown, William Adams

Brown, William Adams

(1865–1943) Protestant clergyman, theologian; born in New York City. The son of a Wall Street banker, he grew up in easy circumstances, graduated from Yale (1886) and Union Theological Seminary (1890) and studied in Germany. Ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1893, he taught at Union from 1898–1936, where he became involved in social causes and the ecumenical movement. He helped found the American Theological Society. He published 15 books, including Beliefs That Matter (1928).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.