Lyman Beecher

Lyman Beecher
Painting c. 1842
Born(1775-10-12)October 12, 1775
New Haven, Connecticut Colony
DiedJanuary 10, 1863(1863-01-10) (aged 87)
Brooklyn, New York, US
OccupationMinister
Spouses
Roxana Foote
(m. 1799; died 1816)
Harriet Porter
(m. 1817; died 1835)
Lydia Beals
(m. 1836)
Children13, including Catharine, William, Edward, Harriet, Henry, Charles, Isabella, Thomas, James
FamilyBeecher

Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was an American Presbyterian minister and abolitionist. He fathered 13 children, over half of whom became writers or ministers, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Catharine Beecher, and Thomas K. Beecher.

According to his son Henry, Beecher was "largely engaged during his life-time in controversy". However, "he was also the most respected religious voice of his era. ...[H]e seemed also to embody all of the nation's moral ideals, in representing the established clergy, who looked to him for leadership."