Carpenter, Lant

CARPENTER, LANT: English Unitarian; b. at Kidderminster (15 m. s.w. of Birmingham), Worcestershire, Sept. 2, 1780; lost overboard from a steamer between Naples and Leghorn Apr. 5, 1840: He studied at Glasgow College 1798–1801; became a popular and successful school-teacher and preacher; was minister at Exeter 1805–17, and at Bristol 1817–39. He did much to broaden his denomination and to consolidate its scattered congregations; was a leader in philanthropic work; and was one of the most efficient of English schoolmasters. His publications were numerous, the most noteworthy being: An Introduction to the Geography of the New Testament (London, 1805); Unitarianism the Doctrine of the Gospel (1809; 3d ed., with alterations, Bristol, 1823); Systematic Education, in collaboration with William Shepherd and Jeremiah Joyce (2 vols., 1815); An Examination of the Charges Made Against Unitarians by the Right Rev. Dr. Magee (Bristol, 1820); Principles of Education (London, 1820); A Harmony of the Gospels (Bristol, 1835). After his death appeared a volume of Sermons on Practical Subjects (Bristol, 1840), edited by his son, Russell Lant Carpenter.

Bibliography: R. L. Carpenter, Memoirs of the Life of Rev. Lant Carpenter, with Selections from his Correspondence, Bristol, 1842; DNB, ix. 157–159.