David Rhys Williams (1890 – March 28, 1970) was an American Congregational and Unitarian minister who wrote a Marlovian book called ''Shakespeare Thy Name Is Marlowe''.

Biography

Rhys Williams was born in 1890 to David Thomas Williams. In 1919 he participated in the dispute resolution between the International Structural Steel and Iron Workers Union and the Contractors Association of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where he was a labor arbitrator. During the 1920s and 1930s he joined the

League for Industrial Democracy The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) was founded as a successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society in 1921. Members decided to change its name to reflect a more inclusive and more organizational perspective. Background Intercollegiate ...

and by 1936 became a member of its local

planning committee A planning committee in the United Kingdom is a committee of local authority councillors that sit as the local planning authority to determine planning applications. Advice is usually given to the committee by planning officers who provide a re ...

in Rochester, New York. In 1928 he left the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago. He supported Soviet-American relations between 1929 and 1931, probably because his brother,

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

, was a journalist in Russia, and took part in the Open Road to Russia movement. From 1933 to 1934 he was a vice president of the Rochester Torch Club, and a year later became its president, holding that office for a year. From 1936 to 1937 he served as president of the Unitarian Fellowship for Social Justice. In 1938 he was charged with Communism by the Rochester Social Justice Club because of his opposition to the racist and anti-Semitic opinions of

Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic Church, Catholic priest based near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Lit ...

. From 1928 to 1958 he served as minister at the

First Unitarian Church of Rochester The First Unitarian Church of Rochester is located at 220 Winton Road South in Rochester, New York, U.S. The congregation is one of the largest in its denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association. The non-creedal church conducts prog ...

, and continued there as Minister Emeritus until his death. During the 1950s he stood in opposition to Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

and to New York's Feinberg Law (which barred "subversives" from teaching in the state's public schools). Two years later he was given the Champion of the Oppressed award by the Unitarian Fellowship for Social Justice. He advocated independence for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and for the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

to be permitted to settle in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. He also was one of the signers of the

Humanist Manifesto ''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' A Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as ''Humanist Manifesto'' I), the '' Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and '' Human ...

and was a member of the

World Parliament of Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

. He sponsored the Emergency Committee in Cuba and the

Mental Hygiene Society Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama film starring Toni Collette * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action film starring Shakib Khan * ''Mental'', a 2008 docu ...

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...

. He supported the abolition of the House Un-American Committee. He was a chairman of the Rochester Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy. He advocated placing Susan B. Anthony in the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

, and funding for the Black Affairs Council of the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Ch ...

References

External links

David Rhys Williams
at Peace Host {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David Rhys American Unitarian Universalists American Unitarian clergy 1890 births 1970 deaths Shakespeare authorship theorists American people of Welsh descent