This Week in Christian History: Dante Exiled, Pastor Murdered, Martin Luther's Birthday

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Abolitionist Minister Murdered — November 7, 1837

A portrait of 19th century abolitionist minister Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837).
A portrait of 19th century abolitionist minister Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837). | (Photo: Public Domain)

This week marks the anniversary of when  Presbyterian minister Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered for running an abolitionist printing press.

A native of Maine, Lovejoy moved to slave state Missouri and ran a publication that often expressed anti-slavery sentiments. Eventually threats against him and his family led him to move to nearby Illinois.

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When a new printing press for his anti-slavery work was delivered, a mob attacked the press and through the chaos an individual shot Lovejoy dead.

"Throughout the North and West, more people joined anti-slavery societies following Lovejoy's death," noted America's Library.

"Officials in Illinois said almost nothing about the incident, with the exception of a young state representative named Abraham Lincoln, who spoke out against the crime."

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