Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-72) was an English clergyman and social reformer. He was born in 1805, the son of a Unitarian clergyman and studied civil law at Cambridge University. He converted to Anglicanism and was ordained to the priesthood in 1834.

In 1838 Maurice published The Kingdom of Christ, a discussion of the causes and cures of divisions within the Christian Church. He became a leader of the Christian Socialist movement about which he wrote, 'Ö.will commit us at once to the conflict we must engage in sooner or later with the unsocial Christians and unchristian Socialists.'

Maurice was also a leader in the field of education. He was appointed professor of English Literature and History at King's College, London and later on became professor of Theology as well. He later lost this post because of the orthodox views contained in his book Theological Essays published in 1853. Maurice founded the Queen's College for women and the Working Men's College, both in London. From 1866 until his death in 1872, he was professor of Moral Theology at Cambridge.