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John Clarke (1755–1798) was a minister of the First Church in Boston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in the late 18th century. He was born in

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, on April 13, 1755, to John Clarke and Sarah Clarke. He was educated at the Boston Public Latin School (class of 1761) and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(class of 1774; MA 1777).Ellis; p.209. He joined the ministry of Boston's First Church in January 1778, and remained there until his death at age 42. He was a charter member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1780. He was associated with the Boston Library Society; the Humane Society of Massachusetts; and the

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. Clarke married Esther Orne; they had four children. He died in Boston on April 2, 1798.

Works by Clarke

* A letter to Doctor amuelMather. Occasioned by his disingenuous reflexions upon a certain pamphlet, entitled, Salvation for all men. 1782. * A sermon delivered at the church in Brattle-Street, January 2, 1784 : at the interment of the Rev. Samuel Cooper, D.D. who expired, December 29, 1783. * A discourse, delivered at the First Church in Boston, February 15, 1787. At the interment of the Rev. Charles Chauncy, D.D. A.A.S. Its Senior Pastor, who expired, Feb. 10, 1787. * A discourse delivered before the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : at the semi-annual meeting, eleventh of June 1793. * ''An answer to the question, why are you a Christian?'' (1795) * A discourse, delivered at the First Church in Boston, April 19, 1795, the Lord's-Day after the interment of Nathaniel W. Appleton, M.D. 1796. * ''Letters to a student in the University of Cambridge, Massachusetts'' (1796) *

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, John 1755 births 1798 deaths Clergy from Boston 18th-century American Congregationalist ministers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 18th century in Boston Harvard University alumni