Henry C. Sheldon

Henry Clay Sheldon (March 12, 1845 - August 4, 1928), best known as Henry C. Sheldon, was an American Methodist theologian and writer. Sheldon was born in Martinsburg, New York. He received his B.A. in 1867 and his M.A. in 1870 from Yale University. He was a pastor at two Methodist churches, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont from 1871 to 1872 and in Brunswick, Maine from 1872 to 1874. Later, though primarily a scholar and writer, he continued to preach occasionally. In 1874-1875 he studied at Leipzig University. When he returned to America in 1875, he was elected Professor of Systematic Theology at Boston University, where he remained until his retirement in 1921. In 1875, he married Mary Louise McLellan. They had two sons. Sheldon was a prolific author of books about Christian history and comparative religions. He was critical of the ideas of New Thought and Theosophy.