(March 24, 1795 – May 4, 1874) was an American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, minister, and head of the Oneida Institute.
He was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views".
He has been described as "cantankerous".
Former student Alexander Crummell described him as a "bluff, kind-hearted man," a "master-thinker".Greene was born in Preston, Connecticut, son of Beriah Green (1774–1865) and Elizabeth Smith (1771–1840).
His father was a cabinet and chair maker.The family moved to Pawlet, Vermont in 1810, and he may have attended the Pawlet Academy.
In 1815 he enrolled in the Kimball Union Academy, in New Hampshire.
He graduated from Middlebury College in 1819, where he was valedictorian, and then studied to become a missionary (minister) at Andover Theological Seminary (1819–20).
However, his religious beliefs did not agree with any denominational creed.