Howard Brinton

Howard Haines Brinton (1884-1973) was an author, professor and director whose work influenced the Religious Society of Friends movement for much of the 20th century. His books ranged from Quaker journal anthologies to philosophical and historical dissertations on the faith, establishing him as a prominent commentator on the Society of Friends.

Biography

Howard Brinton arrived on the educational and religious scene as a teacher at Earlham, Guilford and Haverford, all of which had roots as Quaker schools. "Friends for 300 Years." Howard Brinton. http://www.amazon.com/Friends-300-Years-History-Movement/dp/0875749038] During World War I, Brinton (then the acting president at Guilford College) visited conscientious objectors imprisoned in North Carolina. http://members.aol.com/friendsbul/Brintons.html] This visit may have inspired him to join the American Friends Service Committee soon after, which allowed Quakers and other pacifists to serve during wartime in nonviolent means. The gruesome battle scenes he witnessed in Upper Silesia seem to have influenced his work as a pacifist speaker and writer in the twenties and thirties.

He and his wife, Anna Cox Brinton [For an obituary of Anna Brinton (1887 - 28 October 1969), "see" [http://members.aol.com/WestFriends/WesternQuakerBiographies.html#Brinton Western Quaker Biographies project] .] , then assumed the position of co-directors at the Pendle Hill religious center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. [http://www.pendlehill.org/resources/files/pamphlet%20bios/hbrinton%20bio.htm] Brinton used this opportunity to produce over a dozen books and pamphlets dealing with Quakerism. Ironically, one of his most productive writing periods came during World War II, during which he published the widely-used "A Guide to Quaker Practice." http://www.pendlehill.org/resources/files/pamphlet%20bibliographies/hbrinton%20bibliography.php] One of his later works, "Friends for 300 Years," was cited by Elizabeth Vining as "one of the great Quaker books of all time."

Notable Works

*"A Religious Solution to the Social Problem" (1934)

*"Quaker Education in Theory and Practice" (1940)

*"Guide to Quaker Practice" (1943)

*"The Society of Friends" (1948)

*"Friends for 300 years" (1952)

[http://sk.librarything.com/author/brintonhowardh] [For an extensive list of Howard Brinton's publications "see" [http://tripod.brynmawr.edu/ Tripod Catalog: Catalogue of the libraries of Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore colleges] . His [http://tripod.brynmawr.edu/record=b3297871 papers] are at Haverford College.]

Sources