John Weiss (28 June 1818 - 9 March 1879) was an American author
and clergyman, as well as a noted abolitionist. Weiss was born
in Boston. His father, a German Jew, was a barber in Worcester.
He graduated at Harvard in 1837 and at the Harvard Divinity
School in 1843, studying abroad in between. He then preached at
Watertown, but withdrew on account of his anti-slavery opinions.
He was pastor at New Bedford, Massachusetts, for a short time,
resigning on account of the failure of his health. After several
years of study and travel he resumed his pastorate in the
Unitarian church at Watertown in 1859, remaining there until
1870. On the issue of slavery, the Reverend John Weiss was an
outspoken abolitionist. He was an advocate of woman's rights, a
rationalist in religion, and a disciple of the transcendental
philosophy. He delivered courses of lectures on “Greek Religious
Ideas,” “Humor in Shakespeare,” and “Shakespeare's Women.” Of
his lectures on Greek religious ideas, Octavius B. Frothingham
said: “They were th