Potter, Alonzo

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Alonzo Potter, 1800–1865, American Episcopal bishop, b. near Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Ordained a priest in 1824, he served (1826–31) as rector of St. Paul's Church in Boston. In 1831 he became professor of philosophy and political economy at Union College; he was its vice president from 1838 to 1845. As bishop of Pennsylvania (1845–65), he founded in Philadelphia an Episcopal hospital (1860) and a divinity school (1863). His notable Lowell Lectures, delivered in Boston, appeared posthumously as Religious Philosophy (1872).