John Humphrey Noyes (1811–86)

American religious and social reformer. Expelled from Yale Divinity School, 1834, for declaring that he had reached a state of sinlessness. Formed a society of Bible communists in Putney, Vermont, practising ‘complex marriage’, a form of polygamy/polyandry. Moved the community to Oneida, New York, in 1848 following charges of adultery. Moved to Canada with a small group of followers in 1879.