Hannah Adams

Compiler of historical data, born in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Privately educated and in frail health from childhood, she was encouraged by a boarder in her family home to research comparative religions. Her Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects (1784) was well received and went into several editions in the USA and Britain. Her other compilations include A Summary History of New England (1799), History of the Jews (1812), and Letters of the Gospels (1824). She is remembered as the first American woman to support herself by writing.

Hannah Adams (October 2, 1755–December 15, 1831) was a Christian author, born in Medfield, Massachusetts and died in Brookline.

She was the second of five children, and her mother died when Hannah was 12 years old.

Her principal work was a View of Religious Opinions (1784), in which she gave a comprehensive survey of the various religions of the world. It was divided into:

An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day (1784) A Summary History of New England (1799) The Truth and Excellence of the Christian Religion (1804) A Brief Account of Paganism, Mohammedanism, Judaism, and Deism An Account of the Different Religions of the World. The work passed through several editions, and was reprinted in England. It was a pioneering work, in that she represented denominations from the perspective of their adherents, without imposing her own preferences; she described herself as a Unitarian Christian.

The work passed through several editions, and was reprinted in England. It was a pioneering work, in that she represented denominations from the perspective of their adherents, without imposing her own preferences; she described herself as a Unitarian Christian. In 1814 she published a Controversy with Dr. Morse, referring to a legal dispute she had with him in 1801, and in 1826 Letters on the Gospels.

She was simple in her manners and of rare modesty. Nonetheless, she was a popular guest in New England society, and once stayed for two weeks at the house of her distant cousin, President John Adams. During the closing years of her life she enjoyed an annuity provided by friends in Boston, and at her death was buried in Mount Auburn, the first person whose body was placed in that cemetery.

Her birthplace is preserved in Medfield.