previous_post death_date religion death_place birth_place location title article_title background period birth_date image ordination name
pastor connecticut -rrb- pastor , hollis street congregationalist church -lrb- boston , , massachusetts -rrb- greenfield hill congregationalist church -lrb- fairfield , 31 july 1827 unitarianism aboard of mexico the ship '' louisiana '' in the gulf salisbury , connecticut lexington , kentucky president of transylvania university horace holley -lrb- minister -rrb-
 #ffa 500 1818 & ndash ; 1827 13 february 1781 horace holley.jpg 1804 horace holley
horace holley -lrb- minister -rrb-

horace holley -lrb- february 13 , 1781 -- july 31 , 1827 -rrb- was a unitarian minister and president of transylvania university in lexington , kentucky .
born to a prominent new england family , holley finished his formal secondary education by age ten .
he began preparatory studies at age sixteen , and graduated from yale university in 1799 .
after briefly studying law at a firm in new york , he returned to yale to study theology under president timothy dwight .
he earned a divinity degree in 1804 , and began pastoring a congregationalist church in fairfield , connecticut .
after three years , he left fairfield to pastor in boston , massachusetts .
his religious views also became more liberal , and he converted to unitarianism in 1809 .
he was elected a member of the american antiquarian society in 1816 .
in 1818 , holley was offered the presidency of the struggling transylvania university .
he accepted , and immediately began a series of changes that positioned the university among the nation 's elite institutions .
however , his theological views clashed with those of the presbyterian church , which had historically wielded great influence at transylvania .
holley 's sympathies for the federalist party also won him a number of enemies in the state .
his opponents began to spread rumors regarding his personal life .
governor joseph desha also opposed holley and persuaded the general assembly to cut off the university 's funding .
in the face of such overwhelming issues , holley resigned his post in 1827 .
holley moved his family to new orleans , louisiana where he was offered the presidency of a planned new university .
however , before the university could be opened , holley contracted yellow fever while vacationing aboard a ship bound for new york , and died july 31 , 1827 .
