Historical Timeline of Religion in the 19th Century

I am especially interested in the development of new religions in the 19th century, including the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I taught a course on this for Tyndale University College.

As a part of the background, I put together a bit of timeline of the major religious figures from the 19th century (and early 20th century). Some of these are sectarian leaders, some orthodox Christians and some critical scholars. I include also some philosophers who were influential on religious thought. I found it helpful for understanding how everything fit together.

I would suggest that the three most influential figures on the new religious movements were Charles Finney, Alexander Campbell and William Miller.

• 1782-1849 – William Miller
• 1788-1866 – Alexander Campbell
• 1790-1840 – Second Great Awakening
• 1792-1875 – Charles Finney
• 1800-1882 – John Nelson Darby
• 1801-1877 – Brigham Young
• 1802-1866 – Phineas Quimby
• 1805-1844 – Joseph Smith, Jr.
• 1805–1871 – John Thomas
• 1808–1874 – David Strauss
• 1809–1882 – Bruno Bauer
• 1809-1882 – Charles Darwin
• 1818-1883 – Karl Marx
• 1821-1910 – Mary Baker Eddy
• 1825 – American Unitarian Association
• 1827-1915 – Ellen G. White
• 1830 – Book of Mormon
• 1830 – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 1831-1891 – Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
• 1832 – Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• 1832-1914 – Joseph Smith, III
• 1834- 1892 – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
• 1835 – Doctrine and Covenants
• 1837-1899 – Dwight Moody
• 1843-1921 – C. I. Scofield
• 1844 – Great Disappointment
• 1844-1900 – Friedrich Nietzsche
• 1845–1931 – Myrtle Fillmore
• 1848 – Christadelphians
• 1851 – Pearl of Great Price
• 1852-1916 – Charles Taze Russell
• 1854–1948 – Charles Fillmore
• 1856-1939 – Sigmund Freud
• 1859 – On the Origin of Species
• 1863 – Seventh-day Adventist Church
• 1865-1935 – Arthur Drews
• 1868 – First Vatican Council
• 1869-1942 – Joseph Franklin Rutherford
• 1870-1922 – William J. Seymour
• 1872 – Church of Christ, Scientist
• 1873-1929 – Charles Fox Parham
• 1875 – Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
• 1875 – Theosophical Society
• 1881 – Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society
• 1889 – Unity School of Christianity
• 1892-1966 – Hebert W. Armstrong
• 1906-1915 – Azusa Street Revival
• 1914 – Oneness Pentecostalism
• 1934 – Worldwide Church of God

If you are interested in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you might like my books:

The Watchtower and the Word

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