William Henry Chamberlin (philosopher)

William Henry Chamberlin
Chamberlin, c. 1914
Born	(1870-02-12)February 12, 1870 Salt Lake City, Utah
Died	May 9, 1921(1921-05-09) (aged 51) Logan, Utah
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Utah University of Chicago
Era	Modern philosophy
School	Personalism
Institutions	Brigham Young University (1909–1916) University of Utah (1917–1920)
Main interests	Mormonism, higher criticism
Notable ideas	Spiritual realism
Influences Josiah Royce, George Holmes Howison
Influenced E. E. Ericksen
Signature

William Henry Chamberlin, Jr. (February 12, 1870 – May 9, 1921) was an American Mormon philosopher, theologian, and educator. His teachings and writings worked to reconcile Mormonism with the theory of evolution. He taught philosophy and ancient languages as well as science and math at several Latter-day Saints (LDS) institutions including Brigham Young University in the early 20th century. He was one of four educators at Brigham Young University whose teaching of evolution and attempts to reconcile it with Mormon thought, although strongly popular with students, generated controversy among university officials and the LDS community. Chamberlin has been called "Mormonism's first professionally trained philosopher and theologian."

William Chamberlin was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 12, 1870 to parents William Henry Chamberlin and Eliza Frances Brown Chamberlin. William Jr. was the oldest of 12 children. He showed early interest in botany, geology, and mathematics. His brother Ralph Vary Chamberlin would go on to become a noted biologist and would later become embroiled with William in controversy regarding the teaching of evolution. On September 28, 1892, Chamberlin married Amelia Telle Cannon, a daughter of President George Q. Cannon, First Counselor in the First Presidency (LDS Church). William and Amelia had six children: Max Cannon, Hester, Martha, Paul, Frances, and Luke.

Chamberlin's early career was divided between teaching, studying, and working to support his family. He taught in public schools from 1889-1891, and from 1891 to 1897 he taught math, geology, and astronomy at Latter-day Saint College. He finally completed a Bachelor of Arts in science with the University of Utah in 1896. From 1897 to 1900 he served a mission in the South Pacific Society Islands where as part of his proselytizing he translated the Book of Mormon into Tahitian, and became mission president, an ordained high priest of the Church. Around the turn of the century he donated a large collection of ferns from Utah and the South Pacific to the University of Utah's natural history museum. From 1900 to 1904 he taught science and theology at Brigham Young College, where he was Chair of Geology and Mineralogy.