born Sept. 3, 1811, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S.
died April 13, 1886, Niagara Falls, Ont., Can.
U.S. social reformer.
While studying for the ministry at Yale, Noyes declared his belief in "perfectionism," announcing that he had achieved a state of sinlessness. Because his views were in direct opposition to the prevailing Calvinism , he was forced to leave Yale. In 1836 he organized a community of "Bible communists" in Putney, Vt., where he advocated free love and "complex" marriage as opposed to "simple," or monogamous, marriage. Arrested for adultery in 1846, he fled to Oneida, N.Y., where he established the Oneida Community , which he led until 1879, when he fled to Canada to avoid legal action. He wrote several books on perfectionism and a history of U.S. utopian communities.