FAMOUS CHARACTERS!
[May 1987; updated August 1997]
GBY! The following are short, thumbnail sketches of some of the famous men mentioned in Good Thoughts, listing the most important details of their lives, as well as what Dad has said about them in the Letters. Following each biography you will find the references in brackets [ ] of the places where they may be found in the book.
Many of the great missionaries, evangelists & men of God listed below were not church people, but often men & women like us who wanted to serve God, despite their failings & shortcomings.--But they didn't have the benefit of Dad & the Family, like we do, so they often had to work through the established church system of their day. As Mama said in "The Doorknob's Too High": "These great men & women of God didn't actually belong to the church, the church didn't possess them, but God possessed them, so they belong to our Family as much as they belong to the church! They belong to our worldwide Family of God!" (ML #1141). And their great feats were a result of their great faith, the same kind of things you can do if you have the faith! PTL! WLY & pray this is a blessing & an inspiration!
ADAMS, John Quincy,
(1767-1848) Sixth President of the U.S., son of John Adams, second President of the U.S.! After graduating from Harvard he became a U.S. Senator & later Minister to Russia during the invasion of Napoleon in 1809. In 1817 he was appointed Secretary of State, at which time he gained Florida for the U.S. by a treaty with Spain. In 1824 he was elected President over Andrew Jackson & served one term. A Christian, he once said, "The first & almost only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the World. So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country & respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year." [Old Age--12]
ADAMS, Sarah
Female hymn writer of the nineteenth century who wrote, "Nearer, my God, to Thee." [Trials--128]
AESCHINES,
(389-314 B.C.) Athenian orator. [Commitment--50]
ALDIS, Dorothy
Author of children's poems: Altogether: A Child's Treasury of Verse & Prose. [Children--451, 452]
ALFONSO XII
(1857-1885) Spanish King who took office at the age of 17 & died at only 28 of tuberculosis. For most of his reign Spain enjoyed a remarkable tranquillity. He was a very popular king with great natural tact & sound judgement. His son, Alfonso XIII, was the father of the present King Juan Carlos. [Com.w/God:Praise--29]
AMBROSE, St.
(340-397) Bishop of Milan, Italy, & its patron saint. Educated in law in Rome, he later became prefect of Northern Italy & was noted for his justice. He had a lot of influence on Augustine & was the one to baptize him in 387 at Milan. [Testimonies--12, Trials--358]
AMES, Fisher
(1758-1808) American lawyer & orator. He was a prominent member of the Federalist Party, supporting George Washington's administration. [War--54]
ANDREW, Brother
Modern-day Dutch missionary who has made it his life's work to preach the Gospel in the Communist countries of Eastern Europe. He has written several books on his experiences, including God's Smuggler! Read an exciting true story from his adventures in "Life with Grandpa," Vol. 4, pg. 140-144. [Communism 53]
AQUINAS, St. Thomas
(1225-1274) Italian philosopher, scholar & author of a system which was afterwards declared to be the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic church. Born near Naples of a famous family, he entered the order of the Dominicans. He later went to Paris where he became a famous teacher & leader of the Dominicans. At the age of 31 he went to Italy as professor & also as advisor in the Papal court. He was one of the greatest disciples of Aristotle's philosophy & contended that reason & faith were not antagonistic. [Churchianity--31, Shtick--27]
ARCHIMEDES
(287-212 B.C.) Greek mathematician, physicist & inventor, the most famous of ancient mathematicians. Famous for his pioneer work in physics, mechanics & hydrostatics, he wrote some mathematical works which are still in use. He invented the combination of pulleys for lifting weights & also devised Archimedes' screw, a narrow cylinder with a rotating screw to raise waters above their natural level--a device used to irrigate fields. He was reportedly in his bathtub when he discovered the principle of Archimedes: When a solid body is placed in water it apparently loses weight, & this apparent loss of weight equals the weight of the water which it displaces. After this discovery he is supposed to have run down the hall naked, shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!") [Redeem Time--16]
ARISTOTLE
(384-322 B.C.) Greek philosopher, one of the World's great thinkers & scientific investigators. He was the tutor of Alexander the Great, & when Alexander began his Asian campaigns Aristotle began a school in Athens & taught for 13 years. [Anger--13, Beauty--8, Commitment--97, Jealousy--34, Jesus--24]
ASIMOV, Isaac
Modern American science fiction writer. See Dad's comment about him in WND 25, pg. 50.
ASTOR, John Jacob (4th)
(1864-1912) The Astor Family is a wealthy American family, having origins in Germany. John Jacob Astor the 1st made his fortune as the greatest American fur trader & also became a leader in the trade with China. He bought vast lands in New York, the Midwest, Canada & New York City. He owned much of New York City at his death. John Jacob Astor the 4th served in the Spanish-American War & was made Lt. Colonel. He built the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York (see WND 27, pg. 48) & was drowned in the Titanic disaster in 1912. [Love--1]
AUGUSTINE, Aurelius
(354-430) Italian (Roman) who got saved at the age of 28 & dedicated the rest of his life to writing & preaching about Christ. He & his monks were largely responsible for planting the Roman Catholic church in England. He wrote 70 Christian books & one of his books, The Confessions of St. Augustine, has been ranked as one of the 100 greatest books of all time. He died peacefully in the year 430 A.D., shortly after Rome had fallen to the barbarians. It was St. Augustine who said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church!" (See also No.172:25 & FSM 17, pg. 35.) [Com.w/God: Praise--109, Com.w/God:Word--199, Faith--141, Giving--96, Justifying--11, This n That--56, Trials--358, Truth--4]
AURELIUS, Marcus
(121-180) Roman emperor who succeeded his uncle as emperor in 161 A.D. The major black mark on his rule was his persecution of the Christians. He established the civil law code, built schools, aided hospitals & homes. When barbarians threatened the Italian borders, he entered the battlefield in person for several years & was successful in his campaigns. [Anger--14, Com.w/God: Prayer--320]
AUSLANDER, Joseph
(1897-1965) American poet. After graduating from Harvard in 1917, he was appointed an instructor of English there. From 1937 to 1943 he was a consultant in English poetry at the Library of Congress. [Trials--239]
BACH, Johann Sebastian
(1685-1750) German composer & organist, one of the foremost musical geniuses of history. His musical works fill more than 50 volumes! During his own lifetime, his fame rested mainly on his skill at the organ. His fame as a composer didn't come about until long after his death. While organist/choirmaster at a Lutheran church in Germany, he had to compose, rehearse & perform a new cantata (complicated musical piece) every week for several years!
BACON, Francis (Baron)
(1561-1626) English statesman & writer. After entering Parliament, he became counsellor to Queen Elizabeth. In 1618 he was made Lord Chancellor &, while holding this office, was accused of accepting bribes. He pleaded guilty, but the sentence was suspended & Bacon retired on a pension. He spent his leisure time writing. [Paper Power--2, Redeem Time--41]
BACON, Leonard
(1802-1881) American Congregational minister who took an interest in many causes. He worked in the temperance movement in the early 1800s. His outspoken writings opposing slavery influenced Lincoln. [Righteous.--4]
BAKER, Sir Henry Williams
(1821-1877) English clergyman & hymn writer. [Com.w/God:Word--3, Jesus--61]
BAKUNIN, Mikhail
(1814-1876) Russian. Chief propagator of 19th century anarchism & a prominent revolutionary agitator. The son of a small landowner, Bakunin spent a short time in the military before he began his revolutionary career. His first radical publication (1842) resulted in his exile from Russia. He took part in the revolution of 1848 & was arrested in 1849, imprisoned & later exiled to Siberia. He escaped to London (1861) & entered a second period of exile. His quarrels with Marx in London split the European revolutionary movement for many years. [Communism 57]
BANGS, John Kendrick
(1862-1922) American humorist & editor who published more than 30 books of humor & verse. When he graduated from college he became associate editor of Life magazine & later editor of Harper's Weekly & Puck. After World War 1 he worked to rehabilitate the devastated areas of France. [Love--232]
BASIL, St.
(330-379 A.D.) Greek bishop & one of the four founding fathers of the Greek Orthodox church. Converted to a religious life, he wrote the "Rule of St. Basil" & founded the Basilian order of monks, the forerunner of the order of St. Benedict. [World System--71]
BEARD, Daniel Carter
(1850-1941) American writer, illustrator & woodcraftsman, the organiser of the Boy Scouts of America. [War--2]
BEECHER, Henry Ward
(1813-1887) Famous American preacher & lecturer on important questions of the day, including anti-slavery. (He was also one of the few clergymen to favor Darwin's theory of evolution!) [Creation--123, Criticism--76, Jesus--129, Mark 16:15--214, 363, Riches--62, Trials--772]
BEECHER, Lyman
(1775-1863) Father of Henry Ward Beecher. He was a noted preacher & strong advocate of temperance (not drinking). [Children--31]
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig Van
(1770-1827) Foremost German composer. Born in Bonn, at the age of 22 he moved to Vienna, where he was a pupil of Haydn. Despite growing deafness, which became total by 1819, he composed 9 symphonies, 5 concertos & a multitude of other numbers. [Love--68, Redeem Time--54, Trials--247]
BELASCO, David
(1854-1931) Playwright & producing manager. He established the Belasco Theatre in New York & was famous for his skill in discovering & training talent & his ingenuity in scenic & lighting effects. He was the manager of several famous actors & actresses of the time, including Mary Pickford. [Rel.w/People--191]
BEN-GURION, David
(1886-1973) Jewish statesman, born in Poland, he became the first Prime Minister & Defense Minister of Israel when it became a nation. [Faith--166]
BENTON, Thomas Hart
(1782-1858) American statesman, a Senator for 30 years. He was a defender of sound money & supported president Andrew Jackson in his stand against a national bank for the U.S. He also opposed secession (the South leaving the Union). [Trials--668]
BERNARD, St.
(1090-1153) He is called St. Bernard of Clairvaux because he founded the famous Cistercian abbey at Clairvaux in France. His charm, eloquence & dedication greatly influenced church & civil affairs in Europe in the first half of the 12th century. He was a confidant of 5 popes, & at the urging of Pope Eugene III, he spoke out for the Second Crusade to free Palestine from the Moslems.
BERNARDO, Dr.
A doctor who is very well known in England, especially as being the founder of hundreds of homes for orphans which are still here today. He started out as a preacher & would start churches in bars & music halls, etc. His main ministry became one of gathering orphan children off the streets & brothels & then putting them in homes where he would lead them to the Lord & teach them the Bible. Many went on from his care & training to become teachers & prominent people in society! [Jesus--4]
BERNHARDT, Sarah
(1844-1923) French actress, born in Paris, she made her debut at the age of 17. She became a great success & later made several tours of the U.S. She toured the World in many plays, & after the loss of a leg in an accident in 1914 she continued acting almost to the end of her life. [Redeem Time--16]
BETTELHEIM, Bruno
(1903-1990) Austrian psychologist known for his extensive work in treating & educating emotionally disturbed children, especially those who draw into their own fantasy worlds & shut out reality. [This n That--55]
BISMARCK, Prince Otto
(1815-1898) German statesman who devoted many years toward the establishment of Prussia (now East Germany) as a great German nation. He created the German Empire of his time & maintained it for nearly 20 years. [Redeem Time--71, Rel.w/People--105, Trials
--192]
BLAKE, William
(1757-1827) English poet, artist & visionary who believed that "only imagination is real" & that his task was to "open the mortal eyes of Man inwards into the Worlds of Thought." He himself saw visions from his earliest years. Angels had appeared to him in a hayfield, & monks in Westminster Abbey. Later he conversed with the Angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary & various historical figures. When asked by a lady where he saw such visions, he replied, "Here, madam," touching his forehead. [Churchianity--62, Creation--84, Love--228]
BOK, Edward
(1863-1930) American editor, born in Holland, who came to the U.S. at the age of 6. He became editor of "The Ladies' Home Journal" at the age of 26, making it a leading women's magazine in the U.S. He was later awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography. He established a bird sanctuary & the famous Bok Tower, with carillon, near Lake Wales, Florida, which Dad mentions: "Did you ever hear of the Bok Carillon Chimes Tower in Lake Wales, Florida? It's just absolutely a heavenly building & it has heavenly music & it's in a heavenly situation in a tropical paradise." (No. 1676:29) (See picture in GN 102!) [Rel.w/People--167]
BONAR, Horatius
(1808-1889) Scottish Presbyterian minister whose poems, hymns & religious tracts were very popular during the 19th century. He wrote over 600 hymns. [Com.w/God:Praise--57, Commitment--386, Faith--200, Honesty--16, Jesus--49, 108, 119, Peace--22, Trials--308]
BONAVENTURA
(1221-1274) Franciscan monk, a scholar who later became governor-general of the Franciscans. Many scholars of that time affirmed that the scholar should first decide what he ought to believe & then go to the Scriptures to confirm his judgement. Bonaventura believed that the Virgin Mary wrote the Book of Psalms, something quite off the track! [Hypocrisy--19]
BOOTH, William
(1829-1912) English evangelist. He got saved as a teen, at 15, & preached his first sermon on a street corner at 17, while working as a pawnbroker. He had a great burden for the poor of his country & "on Sundays he would round up rag-tag groups of drunkards & wife-beaters & bring them to the chapel, often leading many of them forward for prayer & repentance. But the elders of the chapel, repelled by the sight & smell of the products of his street evangelism, expelled him." He then tried the Methodists but ended up dropping out of the Methodists to found the Salvation Army. He organised his mission on military lines, with himself as general. He suffered a great deal of persecution because of his militant image & in one year alone more than 640 of his Salvation Army officers were assaulted & 60 of his buildings damaged. "General Booth was not any bum himself, he was an upper-class aristocrat of the Methodist church, but he had a great burden to reach the poor of London in that day when things were in a horrible mess. He started going down preaching to the bums & opening missions & found out that music would attract people to hear the Gospel out on the streets & the street corners. So there was a tremendous wave of revival under the Salvation Army in London in those days." (See the full story of the beginning of the Salvation Army in No.1648:25-30! See also Dad's story about Gen. Booth in No.143A: 138--A man with conviction!--And story about modern Salvation Army in WND 17, pg. 52.) When Booth died in 1912, the Salvation Army had ministries in 58 countries & was preaching the Gospel in 34 languages. [Commitment--293, Mark 16:15--42]
BORODIN, Mikhail
(1884-1951) Chief Russian agent in China in the 1920s, he built the unorganised Kuomintang of Sun Yat-Sen into a highly-centralised Communist organisation. He joined the Bolshevik Party in Russia in 1903. In 1906 he was arrested & exiled & emigrated to the U.S., where he attended university. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he returned to the Soviet Union & was dispatched as a Communist agent to Scandinavia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey & Great Britain, before being sent to China in 1923. In 1927 Borodin left China & returned to Moscow, where he served as a commissar, director of Tass News Agency & later editor of the Moscow Daily News, published in English. [Communism 52]
BRADLEY, Omar (Gen.)
(1893-1981) American World War 2 general. He was a corps commander under Patton in the North African & European campaigns & later became Chief of Staff of the Army (1948) & first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949. [Conviction--45, Science--24]
BRAILLE, Louis
(1809-1852) French educator & inventor of the Braille system of printing & writing for the blind. Blind himself from the age of 3, he spent years perfecting the Braille system. [Trials--536]
BRAINERD, David
(1717-1747) American missionary to the Red Indians of New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania, who died of tuberculosis at the age of only 30. [Com.w/God:Prayer--86, 294, 354, 413, Mark 16:15--296]
BRAY, Billy
(1794-1888) Converted Welsh miner who got on fire for God & became an evangelist.--Although he spent the first 29 years of his life as a foul-mouthed, drunken miner, of whom his friends testified, "His oaths must come from Hell, for they smell of sulphur!" He got saved after reading one of John Bunyan's books, & religion to him was not a duty to be done nor a privilege to be enjoyed in leisure hours, it was a life.--And he lived it to the full as he preached, raised money to build chapels, took orphans into his home & visited the sick. He even witnessed to the doctor on his deathbed: "After the doctor examined him, Billy said, 'Well, Doctor, how is it?' 'You are going to die.' Billy instantly shouted, 'Glory to God! Glory to God! I shall soon be in Heaven!' Then he added in a low tone, in his own peculiar way, 'When I get Up There, shall I give them your compliments, Doctor, & tell them you are coming too?'" [Trials--172]
BRIGGS, LeBaron Russell
(1855-1934) American educator. Appointed Dean of Harvard at the age of only 36, he revolutionised the teaching of English composition to students. He later served as President of Radcliffe College for 20 years & wrote books. [Trials--35]
BRISBANE, Arthur
(1864-1936) American journalist, born in New York. He began his career as a reporter at 19 & went on to become editor of the NY World, NY Evening Journal & writer of syndicated articles. Dad talks about him in "Details": "As the famous caustic columnist Arthur Brisbane ... used to indicate before he passed away in disillusionment, the U.S. Federal Government became a dictatorship when it assumed dictatorial powers over your bodies through the draft laws, over your incomes through the income taxes, & over your properties through the local property laws." (129:60) [Redeem Time--16, Rel.w/People--90, Trials--183]
BROOKS, Phillips
(1835-1893) American Protestant bishop of Massachusetts. Born in Boston of distinguished parents, he became an eloquent preacher & forceful community leader. Among his published works are Christmas & Easter carols, including "O Little Town of Bethlehem." [Faith--430]
BROWNING, Robert
(1812-1889) English poet, one of the greatest poets of the Victorian Age. His poetry is studied for its spiritual values as well as its beauty. It was Browning who wrote: "The work began when your first prayer was uttered. And God will finish what he has begun. If you will keep the incense burning there, His glory you will see sometime, somewhere." [Com.w/God:Prayer--176, Creation--119, Death--50, Testimonies--7]
BRUCE, Robert
(1274-1329) King of Scotland, descended from a follower of William the Conqueror. Scotland was formerly an English province & he fought great battles with the English, winning independence only a year before his death. [Creation--113, Trials--467]
BRYAN, William Jennings
(1860-1925) American political leader, a Christian, who ran for President 3 times but was defeated. Dad's Grandfather even campaigned for him for President!: "He helped campaign for President for William Jennings Bryan & Teddy Roosevelt. He got into politics & he helped to orate & campaign for these guys, sat on the same platform." (1265:38) He was a firm advocate of peace, not war. Shortly before his death he faced Clarence Darrow in the Scopes Monkey Trial against evolution. Dad said of him, "He was a great politician, as well as a Christian statesman. And he looked through the telescope at the stars of God's great Universe & he was just stunned to silence! He stopped talking & looked for quite some time, then he turned away & walked away silently for several minutes. He shook his head & said those famous words, 'I guess it really doesn't matter who wins the election after all!' And he lost it too, ha! But God's plan went on. I'm sure one reason he lost the election was because he was too good a man to win it, too honest, too Christian, too outspoken in his opposition to Evolution & the Devil & the anti-Christ spirit of the age." (1364:56,57,77) (One of Dad's counsellors!--See No.102:7) [Creation--66, 93, Mark 16:15--67, Rel.w/People--111]
BUFFALO BILL
(1846-1917) American scout & showman whose real name was William Cody. His nickname was coined when, at the age of 21, he carried out the supplying of 4,000 buffaloes as food to the employees on the Kansas Pacific Railway. He toured America & Europe with his famous "Wild West Show," 1883-1887. Dad's Grandfather was on the Chatauqua Circuit with Buffalo Bill & others! "They had these Chatauqua lectures where they'd have one speaker after another & different kinds of entertainment & music. It was really a road show, only it was supposed to be a better road show, more educational. They had fine speakers & politicians & good music & good plays & they travelled around." (1265:39) [Children--445]
BUNYAN, John
(1628-1688) Englishman. Author of Pilgrim's Progress, which he wrote while in prison for preaching about Jesus without a license! This Christian book has been translated into more than 100 languages & tells about a character whose name is Christian. It tells how Christian came to know the Lord & about his walk in the Christian life & his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City! (See GN 249, "The John Bunyan Revelation!") [Com.w/God:Word--16, Commitment--116, Criticism--128, Peace--14, Trials--366, 572, 697]
BURBANK, Luther
(1849-1926) American horticulturist. He became World famous through his experiments in cross breeding, which resulted in about 60 new varieties of plums & prunes, 10 new varieties of berries, & other fruit, vegetable & flower varieties. [Enthusiasm--3]
BURKE, Edmund
(1729-1797) English statesman, orator & writer. He entered Parliament in 1766 (at 37), where he became famous as an orator. He protested vigorously against the treatment of the American colonies by the King & still ranks among the foremost orators & statesmen of England. [Conviction--35, Shtick--18]
BURNS, George
(1896-1997) American comedian, born in New York City, who became involved in entertainment as a child. He became a dancer & performed in vaudeville acts, but didn't achieve success until 1923, when he teamed up with Gracie Allen, whom he later married. (See also WNE, pg. 753, & WND 5, pg. 18.) [Humour--67, Old Age--3, Sex--16]
BURNS, Robert
(1759-1796) Scottish national poet, the oldest of 7 children. He wrote humorous, playful poems about life in rural Scotland. He tried farming but didn't succeed very well & was often in debt, depressed & in ill health towards the end of his short life--37 years. He wrote more than 300 songs, including "Auld Lang Syne." He also wrote Dad's Grandfather's favourite grace:
Some ha' meat & canna eat,
And some ca' eat wha' lack it,
But we ha' meat, & we ca' eat,
And so the Lord be thankit! (640:7)
[Love--122, Rel.w/People--183]
BURR, Aaron
(1756-1836) Vice-President of the U.S. in 1800. He fought in the Revolutionary War but had to resign because of ill health. He later ran for President & received a tie vote in the Electoral College with Thomas Jefferson, so was made Vice President. He had a duel with Alexander Hamilton (Chief aide to Gen. George Washington & later Secretary of the Treasury) & fatally wounded him & was indicted for murder. He was acquitted in 1807, after a famous trial for treason. [Children--87]
BURROUGHS, William S.
(1914- ) American novelist, a grandson of the inventor of the Burroughs adding machine. He was a narcotics addict for at least 15 years & claimed to have gotten cured at the age of 45. His first novel was an attempt to examine the place of addicts in modern society. (See also WND 17, pg. 43.)
BUTLER, Samuel
(1835-1902) English author. His most famous work is The Way of All Flesh, a novel attacking Victorian traditions. [Education--36, War--37]
BUTLER, Smedley
(1881-1940) American Marine Corps general, whose outspoken comments often got him in trouble. He caused a sensation in 1930 when he charged that Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, had run down a child with his car. He was almost court-martialled & the U.S. formally apologised to Italy. At the start of WW II, Butler asserted that the U.S. should be neutral & should withdraw its forces from Hawaii. [Humour--53]
BYRON, John
(1692-1763) English poet & the inventor of a shorthand system. While in college he devised a system of shorthand which he later copyrighted. Unfortunately, it was too slow for use by professional stenographers. [Righteous.--24]
BYRON, George Gordon (Lord)
(1788-1824) English poet, born in London. He was lame from birth & sensitive about this defect. He travelled widely in Europe & began "Don Juan," his masterpiece, in Venice. He became interested in helping the Greeks in their struggles for independence, but he wasn't very strong, & after devoting himself to the cause for several months he became sick & died at the age of only 36. Although rich, powerful & famous, he said, "I have quaffed every cup of pleasure & drunk every drop of fame, & yet I die of thirst!"--Nothing satisfies but Jesus! [Paper Power--3, Trials--247, 389]
CAESAR, Julius
(100-44 B.C.) Greatest of all the Caesars, Roman statesman & general, whom many regard as the molder of the Roman Empire. As one of the leaders of Rome & commander of her armies, he subdued most of France & led the first invasion of Britain. In Egypt he got involved in a civil war between Cleopatra & her brother & managed to help Cleopatra win the throne. When he returned to Rome, he was made dictator for life, but was killed by some of his best friends soon afterwards. Dad said of Julius Caesar, " Caesar was killed by his dearest friend, his bosom friend Brutus! He was a good dictator--that really brought Rome together by his powerful rule, & then he was assassinated by his own friends, for fear of that very same power! 'Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me!' (Psa.41:9)" (12:11) [Anger--2, Faith--416]
CALVIN, John
(1509-1564) French Protestant Reformer whose doctrines of religion & civil liberty were to change the lives of half the World. Born in Picardy, he became a chaplain at the age of 12. Going to Paris to study, he met the teachings of Luther & had a "sudden conversion" at the age of 24 & allied himself with the Reformation, a growing movement against the traditions of the Roman Catholic church. To avoid persecution, he was forced to be constantly moving. Farel, the Reformer of Geneva, persuaded Calvin to help consolidate the Reformation there. In 1537 the townspeople were called upon to swear loyalty to a Protestant statement of belief. But he met such opposition that both he & Farel were expelled. He then went to Strasbourg & did a great deal of writing, before being invited back to Geneva in 1541. He then set about attaining his aim of building a mature church by preaching daily to the people! Luther strongly influenced Calvin's ideas. For Calvin, all knowledge of God & Man was to be found in the Word of God. "Calvin was a Frenchman who had to take refuge in Switzerland, where John Knox visited, studied under & became a follower of Calvin & then returned to Scotland & led the Reformation there, organising the Presbyterian church. So the modern-day Baptists & Presbyterians are usually considered descendants of the Calvinist movement of those days, although there were Anabaptists before that. They followed Calvin & were called Calvinists, & their major doctrine was called Calvinism, of which you & I are firm advocates!: Salvation by grace!--Eternal salvation!--Once saved, always saved! That was Calvin's strong doctrine: Salvation purely by grace, not by works. Because at the time of the Reformation, the Catholic church was strictly a religion of works & practices & church-going & ceremonies & all the rest." (1385:5-6) Calvin was also the most missionary-minded of all the Reformers. He not only sent dozens of evangelists back into his homeland of France, but also commissioned four missionaries to establish a colony & evangelise the Indians in Brazil. [Art--18, Conviction--5, 8, Patience--3]
CANUTE, King
(995-1035) King of England from 1017-1035 & King of Denmark, also known as Canute the Great. He played an important part in founding the English nation. [Humility--67]
CAREY, William
(1761-1834) An English Baptist, William Carey devoted most of his life to taking the Gospel to India. Starting life as a poor shoemaker, he later became a pastor &, from reading the Bible, became convinced that foreign missions were the main responsibility of the church. This was a radical concept at the time (And still is!), since most 18th century churchmen believed the Great Commission was given only to the Apostles & that converting "the heathen" was no concern of theirs. Carey was determined to become a missionary, even though his wife at first refused to come, but relented when he threatened to go with or without her! They sailed for India when Carey was just 31. It took him 7 years to baptize his first convert, but his motto was "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."--And he did! In the over 40 years he spent in India, he translated the New Testament into Bengali & supervised 6 complete & 24 partial translations of the Bible, as well as publishing several dictionaries & other books. Besides this, he was the key figure in setting up 126 mission schools. He & his missionaries lived together & kept all things in common, like the Apostles in the Book of Acts, & had a respect for the Indian culture. His goal was always to try to build an indigenous church "by means of native preachers" & getting out the Scriptures in the native tongue, & it was to this he dedicated his life. [Commitment--347, Mark 16:15--80, 227, 301, Trials--396, Vision--27]
CARGILL, Donald
(1619-1681) A leader of extreme Scottish religionists. In 1655 he was appointed minister to a parish in Glasgow, from which he was ejected 7 years later because he criticised the return of Charles II to the throne. He later continued his preaching in private houses & great field meetings. In 1680 he publicly excommunicated the King, the Duke of York & other officials. After avoiding arrest for months, he was captured & beheaded in 1681. [Persecution--1]
CARLYLE, Thomas
(1795-1881) Scottish historian & social critic. During his time England was going through the Industrial Revolution. Greatly influenced by his Calvinist upbringing & by idealism, Carlyle wrote about the social & spiritual upheavals of an age of declining religious faith, weakening social ties & unpredictable change. With the sternness of an Old Testament Prophet he preached renunciation (giving up worldly pleasures), duty, work & devotion to God. [Commitment--307, Conviction--56, Paper Power--8]
CARMICHAEL, Amy
(1867-1951) British missionary to Japan, Sri Lanka & India. At the age of 25 she sailed for Japan, but finding the language very difficult, she spent only a year there before going to Sri Lanka & then back to England. But less than a year later she sailed for India, where she stayed more than 55 years without a visit home & wrote more than 30 books on that field. Her ministry was with temple girls, girl children sold by their parents to the Hindu temples for various gods to become temple prostitutes. She risked her life & faced kidnapping charges many times to save these girls, over 130 in all. She & her workers all wore Indian dress, & the children were given Indian names, a practice unheard of in missionaries to India at the time. Foreign & Indian staff members also all lived communally. [Commitment--294]
CARNEGIE, Andrew
(1835-1919) The son of poor Scottish immigrants who brought him to the U.S. at the age of 13, he became one of America's greatest industrialists & manufacturers of steel. When he retired in 1901 he sold out all his stock for $250 million. But he believed that "a rich man dies disgraced" if he hasn't used his wealth & talent for the benefit of others. So he lived up to his motto, & by 1912 he had given away all but $25 million to various institutions & people! [Little Things--40, Rel.w/People--141]
CARUSO, Enrique
(1873-1921) Italian tenor, born in Naples. The World's greatest tenor of his day, he sang in over 50 different operas. His wonderfully rich, resonant voice can still be heard on some records today. [Love--250, Redeem Time--16, Trials--46]
CARVER, George Washington
(1864-1943) Famous Black American scientist, a former slave, who made many of his discoveries in response to prayer. Although he never went to the mission field, he personally witnessed to hundreds & always gave his testimony to the many famous men who came to visit him. [Com.w/ God:Prayer--228, Com.w/God:Word--83]
CATHERINE, St.
(Catherine of Siena) Alexandrian virgin & martyr who was tortured on the wheel for her religion, but miraculously saved. In prison she converted many to Christianity & was finally beheaded in 312 A.D. [Children--31]
CERVANTES, Miguel de
(1547-1616) Spanish novelist & poet. He spent his early life in adventure on the Mediterranean. He fought at the Battle of Lepanto, where he lost his left hand & was captured by the Turks, who sold him as a slave in Algiers, where he remained for 5 years, consoling himself with poetry. On returning to Madrid he continued writing but died in poverty, never receiving recognition for his works such as Don Quixote. Dad describes his life story in Don Quixote, talking about both him & his book: "Don Quixote was sort of a fictional characterisation of Cervantes' own colourful life, a young Spanish idealist who went from job to job & battle to battle & bad to worse in his financial, military & marital difficulties. With a household of women to support, including his sisters, nieces, wife, mistress & daughter, he was frequently imprisoned for his debts, & wrote Don Quixote while in jail, about 1603 when he was 53 years of age, received nearly nothing for it, & died in poverty & near disgrace!" (Read more of his exciting history in 198:3-5!) [Trials--621]
CHADWICK, Samuel
(1860-1932) One of Britain's greatest preachers. At the age of 8 he went to work in the cotton mills, & developed the discipline of early rising, a practice he continued throughout his life. He got saved at the age of 10 & became convicted to serve the Lord as a young teen, at the age of 15. He often worked up to 12 hours daily in the cotton mills before returning home to spend 4-5 hours studying the Bible. After several years he was ordained & sent to a chapel in Leeds, where he started tremendous revivals. There was a strong agnostic movement in Britain at that time, with "Secularist Societies" springing up in almost every city. One night the entire Secularist Society of Leeds filled the gallery of his church, hoping to disrupt the service. But that night their leader was converted, & within the next few weeks every single officer in the group was also saved. Chadwick later became principal of a Methodist college, where for 20 years he taught students how to pray, preach & win souls. [Giving--18]
CHAPMAN, J. Wilbur
(1859-1918) American evangelist won to the Lord by Dwight L. Moody. And later it was Moody again who personally encouraged Chapman, then a pastor, to enter evangelistic work. Chapman held four pastorates but devoted more than half his time to evangelism, which carried him to major American cities, Canada, the British Isles, Japan, China, Australia, & many other countries. He was also a firm believer in "the personal touch," one-on-one personal witnessing. [Temptation--9]
CHARLEMAGNE, or Charles the Great
(742-814) King of the Franks & founder of the Holy Roman Empire. On the death of his father in 768, the Kingdom of the Franks was divided, Charlemagne (then 24) getting the larger part & his brother the smaller part. On the death of his brother a few years later, Charlemagne became king. Nearly always successful in military campaigns, by 776 he was virtual master of Italy & by 781 his son was crowned King of Italy by the Pope. He waged continual warfare with the Saxons until he finally won in 804 & converted that pagan race to Christianity. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor of the West on Christmas day, 800, by the Pope. No other ruler before or after him gave as much stress to the copying & transmission of the Bible. He brought Christianity to vast portions of Europe & was the prime mover in the Carolingian Renaissance that encouraged learning & a wide variety of Christian activities. [Redeem Time--16, Testimonies--9]
CHIANG Kai-Shek
(1887-1975) Soldier & statesman, ruler of China from 1928 to 1949, & later head of a Chinese government in exile on Taiwan, where he died. Having been trained for the military, Chiang later joined Sun Yat-Sen, the head of the Nationalist Party, who was struggling to overthrow the warlords controlling China & to unify the country. By 1925 he was commander of the revolutionary army. In 1927 he staged a bloody coup & broke with the Communists, who were trying to gain control of his party & forces. But he conquered both warlords & Communists & won control of Peking in 1928. In 1930 he became a Christian through the influence of his second wife. But after World War 2, Chiang, whose government had become corrupt & fallen into decay, was again challenged by the Communists (1946), who drove him & his followers off the Chinese mainland to Taiwan in 1949. [Communism 76]
CHOPIN, Frederic
(1809-1849) Polish composer & pianist who first played in public at the age of 9. He became famous for his stirring patriotic music & the lyric beauty & romantic fire of his other compositions. Although plagued by bad health his entire life, he kept going. [Trials--621]
CHRYSLER, Walter
(1875-1940) American industrialist who established the Chrysler Corporation, one of the "Big Three" automakers in the U.S. He began his career as a railroad machinist, rising to become head of a locomotive factory & later vice president of General Motors. He resigned over a policy disagreement in 1920 & started the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. [Trials--698]
CHRYSOSTOM, St. John
(347-407) Christian Saint & preacher. Born in Antioch, Syria, he became Archbishop of Constantinople in 398. But he was banished in 403 because of his attacks on immorality. He wrote numerous sermons, letters & prayers. [Mark 16:15--38, Trials--247]
CHURCHILL, Winston
(1874-1965) Twice the Prime Minister of Great Britain & one of the great statesmen of history. His speeches & leadership rallied the free world at the start of World War 2. After the war he began to warn of the dangers of Soviet expansionism & he is the one who coined the phrase "The Iron Curtain" to describe Soviet secrecy. Ironically, Churchill is also one of the statesmen who gave Eastern Europe to the Soviets in the first place! As Dad explains, "After World War II when the winners began to divvy up the spoils & the countries, everybody learned then about the secret promises & treaties that had been made with Russia. Then Churchill had to come out & tell the World what he had promised to Stalin, along with Roosevelt, how much they would give Russia for helping them win the war.--All those so-called East Bloc, Eastern European countries. The U.S. & England promised Russia things that were not theirs to promise & didn't even belong to them ... in secret promises signed at Yalta & Potsdam, that they would give half of Europe to Russia if Russia would walk in & help them save the other half! Those were the World's greatest giveaways, greatest betrayals!" (1491:57,59) (See also WND 12, pg. 55.) [Children--256, Com.w/God:Prayer--439, Communism--78, Conviction--6, Greatness--24, Humility--157, Humour--58, Shtick--28, Trials--598, War--52]
CICERO
(106-42 B.C.) Roman orator, statesman & writer. He took a prominent part in Rome's public life as a senator & later became consul (one of the chief rulers of Rome). During his term of office he was exiled for his political scheming & later became head of the opposition to Julius Caesar. When Caesar was murdered in 44 B.C., he denounced Mark Anthony, was prosecuted & put to death. His prose style is still famous today & he is considered the master of Latin prose. [Devil--15]
CLAY, Henry
(1777-1852) American statesman & orator. He only got three years of schooling in a country school, but found employment in a court & worked his way up to lawyer, U.S. Senator & Secretary of State. He ran for President 3 times but was defeated. [Commitment--319]
CLEMENCEAU, Georges
(1841-1929) French statesman, premier of France from 1906-1909 & 1917-1920. An intense patriot, he agitated for military action against Germany in the years preceding 1914 with such vigor that he was known as "The Tiger." He was also responsible for many of the harsh terms forced on Germany at the end of World War 1 in the Treaty of Versailles. [Rel.w/People--127]
COLERIDGE, Samuel
(1772-1824) English poet, critic, lecturer & philosopher, the 13th son of an English clergyman. He was a child prodigy & always a brilliant thinker. In 1794 he met the poet Robert Southey & the two devised a scheme called "Pantisocracy," a new way of life which they proposed to establish on the banks of a river in Pennsylvania, but which never came to pass. [Art--15, Com.w/God: Word--2, Redeem Time--5]
CONFUCIUS
(551-479 B.C.) Chinese wise man & founder of a system of philosophy known as Confucianism, which stresses truth, hard work, justice, moderation & public duty. Tradition says he was born in the province of Lu, the son of an officer of good family. He was very poor in his early years & worked as a manual labourer. Later he began teaching & gathered a group of disciples. Nothing is said by Confucius or his early disciples about God or a future life. Dad said of Confucius & his doctrines, "Confucianism is one of the most ethical, moral types of philosophies. It's not really a religion, or it wasn't to begin with. They made it a religion. Confucius arose around the 5th to 6th century B.C. & I have always had the feeling that Confucianism was in a sense the Devil's own preparation for the coming teachings of Jesus, because Confucianism is the nearest Oriental counterfeit to Christianity there is in the East! It taught brotherly love & was sort of a...reactionary antiphonal type of religion in which it was sort of little Sir Echo, but just the opposite, almost meaning the same thing but from a negative standpoint. Here's a sample that just about sums up the philosophy of Confucius: 'Don't do unto others what you don't want them to do unto you!' Does that sound familiar? Jesus came along a few centuries later & taught what? 'Do unto others what you would have others do unto you.'--A positive religion! Confucianism, as my Mother used to say, was the closest thing she ever studied in philosophy to Christianity, but it was always from a rather opposite negative standpoint." (1283:108,110,113,116) (See also GN Book 14, pg. 186.) [Children--464]
CONWELL, Russell
(1843-1925) An atheist as a youth, he joined the Union Army at the age of 19 & marched off to fight in the Civil War, where he rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel. Wounded by an exploding shell, he got saved by a chaplain on his sickbed. After he recovered, he moved to Minneapolis & established a newspaper, lectured & worked in Sunday schools. His work involved trips to Europe, where he interviewed Gladstone, Tennyson, Bismarck & other great men. But after the death of his wife he gave it all up to become the preacher of a struggling Baptist church. He continued as both a preacher & a lecturer & one of his lectures, "Acres of Diamonds," was delivered more than 6,000 times. From the proceeds he helped educate 10,000 young men. Three giant hospitals were founded in relation to his church as well as Temple University, & he wrote dozens of books, including the biographies of six presidents. He earned millions of dollars through his writing & lecturing, but an accounting at the time of his death showed that he gave most of it away. [Riches--61]
COOLIDGE, Calvin
(1872-1933) American statesman, 30th President of the U.S. His decisive action as Governor of Massachusetts won him national recognition, resulting in his nomination for Vice President in 1920. He succeeded to the Presidency upon Pres. Harding's death in 1923. Although his term of office was beclouded by "oil scandals" & friction with Congress, he had the confidence of the people because of his homely virtues, his ideal of public responsibility & economy in government. During his term of office he reduced the national debt by 3/4's of a billion Dollars yearly, reduced interest rates & Federal taxes. [Rel.w/People--191]
COPLAND, Aaron
(1900-19??) American composer who became one of the most important writers of 20th century music. He has made frequent world tours as a conductor & successfully appeared in the USSR in 1960. He has also lectured extensively & written many articles & books about music. [Humility--36]
COUSTEAU, Jacques
(1910-1997) French naval officer & ocean explorer, known for his extensive underseas investigations. The inventor of the aqualung & a process for using television underwater, since 1957 he has headed experiments in which men live & work underwater for long periods of time. He has written & produced films about the oceans, which produced huge audiences both at the theatres & on TV. (See also WND 5 pg. 32; WND 6 pg. 50 & WND 38 pg. 52.) [This n That--34]
COWARD, Noel
(1899-1973) English playwright, actor, director & composer. His brilliant versatility brought him fame at the early age of 25 & he has written many plays, revues & operettas. [Redeem Time--16, Rel.w/People--92]
COWPER, William
(1731-1800) English poet & hymnist who became one of the greatest poets of his day. See his poem "Town & Country" at the end of Letter No. 898! [Com.w/God--11, [Com.w/God:Prayer--158, 183, 370, Creation--149, Love--159]
CROMWELL, Oliver
(1599-1658) Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England. At different times he was a soldier, rebel & benevolent dictator of England. He carried out reforms in the church, law, morals & education. As Dad said, he was "Britain's most famous violent revolutionary, heroic leader of her 17th century civil war against church domination, great hero of the common man, champion of simple faith, soldier of the Cross & Redeemer of the Land!" (No.65:8,11) [Faith--85, Little Things--22]
CRONIN, A.J.
(1896-1981) English author, born of a poor family in Scotland. Aided by Carnegie Foundation scholarships, he became a doctor but later deserted medicine for writing. Many of his books have Christian themes & some, like The Keys of the Kingdom, were made into successful movies. [Trials--675]
CROSBY, Ernest H.
(1856-1907) American author & social reformer. From 1889 to 1894 he was a judge at the International Court in Egypt. During this time the reading of Count Tolstoy's work changed the course of his life. He resigned his position & visited Tolstoy in Russia on his way back to the U.S. He then devoted himself to various social movements, working against militarism & toward Tolstoy's ideal of universal peace. [Trials--805]
CROSBY, Fanny
(1820-1915) (Mrs. Van Alystne) American hymn writer & poet, blind from infancy; born in S.E. New York. Since she could not see to read the Bible, her Grandmother read to her & she soon knew many of the Psalms, Proverbs & other books by heart. She wrote more than 8,000 hymns before she died at the age of 95. (See also LWG Vol. 2, pg. 402.) [Jesus--120, Trials--310, Trials--546]
CROWELL, Grace
(1877-19??) American poet. A writer of verse since 1906 & the winner of numerous poetry prizes, in 1938 she was named by American publishers as one of the 10 outstanding women of the year. [Children--307]
CURIE, Pierre & Marie
(1859-1906) French physicists & pioneers in research on radioactivity. She received the Nobel Prize jointly with her husband in 1903 & for her own work in 1911, & was honoured by many countries. [Trials--537]
CURRAN, John Philpot
(1750-1817) Irish lawyer & statesman, remembered as a great advocate & champion of Irish liberties. Although handicapped by small stature & a speech impediment, he soon became known for his quick wit & courage in defending apparently hopeless causes. Though not a Roman Catholic himself, he fought in the Irish House of Commons for Roman Catholic freedom. [Beauty--6]
DANNEKER, Johann
(1758-1841) German sculptor. He was the son of a stablehand to the Duke of Wurttemburg, who later became his patron. Among his masterpieces is a statue of Christ, on which he laboured 8 years. [Commitment--52]
DANTE, Alighieri
(1265-1321) Great Italian poet, born in Florence, of good family. His most famous poem is called, "The Divine Comedy" & has three parts. It follows a dream journey in which someone guides him through Hell, Purgatory & Heaven. Dad talks about this in "Heaven & Hell & In Between!": "In Dante's vision of Hell & in the picture of Hell given in Isaiah & also in Ezekiel, as I recall, particularly Isaiah, we find out that some kings are in so-called Hell (Isa.14:9) but obviously not in the Lake of Fire, because they're on various levels & various states & conditions, just as Dante saw in his great vision of the infernal regions. It was not all Hellfire, only the very lowest level was Hellfire!" (1466:58) [Art--21, Conviction--32]
DARWIN, Charles
(1809-1882) British naturalist who proposed the Theory of Evolution, which is taught as fact today! But, as Dad has said many times, "There is no proof for evolution! It has to be believed, therefore it's a faith, therefore it's a religion! Even the high priest & founding father of this false faith, Charles Darwin himself, confessed that 'the belief (note the emphasis on "belief") in natural selection (evolution) must at present be grounded entirely on general considerations...When we descend to details, we can prove that no one species has changed...nor can we prove that the supposed changes are beneficial, which is the groundwork of the theory.'--Ha!" (1387:13) Darwinism is also mentioned in the "Protocols" as part of the program of the Antichrist! (See No.1342, Protocol 2.) Dad also mentioned Darwin in "Rape of England": "Charles Darwin probably had more to do with the destruction of Britain than any other one single individual, just as he is now having more to do with the destruction of America than any other one single individual because of his 'doctrine of devils.' In the de-Christianisation of the whole World after Christianity had finally conquered it, the Christian World turned around & denied its own faith & retreated from the Devil's attacks. The church itself lost its faith, its aim, its purpose & its reason for existence. We largely have Charles Darwin to thank for all this, as he was the Devil's tool to help bring it about. He finally gave the World the excuse it was looking for not to believe in God--a way to deny God's creation, the greatest proof of His existence!" (204:9,10) [Creation--43, 47, 71, 93]
DAVIES, William H.
(1871-1940) English poet & writer. Apprenticed to a picture-frame maker as a young man, he left this trade & for some 8 years was a peddler & street singer. Travelling on cattle boats, he made several visits to North America, gathering material which he used in his best-known book, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp. [Creation--140]
Da VINCI, Leonardo
(1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician & scientist, one of the most versatile men of the Renaissance. In Milan he served as court painter, director of public works, engineer of military & civil projects, organiser of festivals & pageants. He assisted in designing the Milan cathedral & directed the building of the Martesana Canal. His paintings at this time include the world-famous "Mona Lisa" as well as "The Last Supper." Besides being an artist, as an engineer & scientist he sketched ideas for manned flight, helicopters etc., hundreds of years before these things became a reality! Dad commented, "Jules Verne predicted almost every major invention that's been made, & H.G. Wells has predicted in his science fiction many things Man has done!--Also Leonardo da Vinci! So those guys were probably inspired of the Devil, or who knows?--Maybe the Lord! They're prophets in a way--they wrote predictions about the things they saw in the Future!" (1522:8) [Art--23, Love--4, Redeem Time--70, Sin--2]
DAVIS, Jefferson
(1808-1889) President of the Confederacy. Graduating from West Point at the age of 20, he became a soldier for a while before resigning to become a cotton planter. He was a Senator for several years but resigned in 1861 because of the secession of Mississippi from the Union. A strong defender of slavery, he was chosen as President of the Southern States. In May 1865, a month after Lee's surrender, he was captured & held for treason. Two years later he was released on bail & all charges against him were eventually dropped. [Rel.w/ People--8]
DAVY, Sir Humphry
(1778-1829) English chemist who discovered the properties of laughing gas. He also discovered the elements sodium & potassium. He invented the Davy safety lamp for miners, which saved the lives of thousands of men in the mines of Wales. [Vision--2]
DAWES, Charles
(1865-1951) American banker & statesman. Becoming first a banker, he rose to Vice President of the U.S. in 1924 & was later U.S. ambassador to Great Britain in 1929. He established a series of hotels in Chicago for impoverished men as well as a hotel for women. [Giving--3]
DEEMS, Charles
(1820-1893) American clergyman & writer. Becoming a Methodist minister, he was also for a time principal of a woman's college. He founded the American Institute of Christian Philosophy in 1881 & edited its journal, Christian Thought, as well as writing articles & poems. [Faith--199]
DEMOSTHENES
(384-322 B.C.) Greatest Athenian orator. He overcame speech defects by practicing with a pebble in his mouth & strengthened his voice by rehearsing on the seashore. He was a constant foe of Philip of Macedonia & later of his son, Alexander the Great, as a threat to the liberty of the city of Athens. After Alexander died, Demosthenes tried to stir Greece to revolt; failing, he took poison.
DICKENS, Charles
(1812-1870) English novelist who educated himself as a young boy, learning shorthand, & later became a reporter. Many of his books dealt with the poor social conditions of the day & aroused public sentiment & reform. Dad says of his writing, "Dickens' stuff was so morbid, such sad stories & sad endings about sad people & the horrible conditions of the England of his day, he just wrote the worst about England!" (1566:35) He also wrote A Christmas Carol about Scrooge & other religious works, declaring that "the New Testament is the very best Book that was or ever will be known in the World." [Beauty--1, Com.w/God:Word--2, Commitment--360, Conviction--41, Love--44, Testimonies--22]
DICKENSON, Emily
(1830-1886) American poet, born in Massachusetts, whose writings were published after her death. She withdrew from society before the age of 30 & published virtually nothing during her lifetime. No one knows just why she "dropped out"--some think it was so she could write about things better, back away from life. But generally she does seem to have been very much in need of real love. Dad quotes one of her poems in "Holy Holes": "I'm nobody!--Who are you?--Are you nobody too? Then there is a pair of us!--They'd banish us if they knew! How dreary to be somebody!--How public like a frog!--To tell your name the livelong day to an admiring bog!" (237:15) [Love--154]
DIOGENES
(412-323 B.C.) Greek philosopher. After being banished from his birthplace, he went to Athens, where he tried to live up to the Cynic standards of simplicity. Tradition says he slept in a tub & spent daylight going around with a lantern, looking for an honest man.
DISRAELI, Benjamin
(1804-1881) British statesman & author. The son of Jewish parents who converted to the Church of England, he was twice Prime Minister of England under Queen Victoria. He was distinguished for his aggressive foreign policy to build up the British Empire & his attempt to win the working class to the Tory Party. He is mentioned in the introduction to the "Protocols": "In the year 1844, on the eve of the Jewish Revolution of 1848, Benjamin Disraeli, whose real name was Israel, & who was a baptised Jew, published his novel, 'Coningsby', in which occurs this ominous passage: 'The World is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.'--And he went on to show that these personages were all Jews." (1342) [Jesus--6, Redeem Time--82, Rel.w/ People--61, Trials--698]
DIX, Dorothea
(1802-1887) American who led the drive to build state hospitals for the mentally ill in the U.S. She travelled throughout the U.S. & Europe for this cause until she was 80. During the U.S. Civil War she was Superintendent of Women's Nurses for the Union (North). [Commitment--58]
DOMINIC, Saint
(1170-1221) Spanish monk, founder of the Dominican Order of monks. In 1203, while with his bishop on a journey, he became horrified at the spread of heretical doctrines in France. For the next few years they travelled about Provence preaching Catholicism. By 1215 he had assembled a small group of associates & trained them as preachers, leading lives of self denial. They then travelled widely all over Europe, with the approval of the Pope, making many converts & drawing many to join the order, although suffering some persecution. "St. Dominic came into this town & he was preaching the Gospel & they grabbed him & they were going to kill him. They had false witnesses paid to testify against him & they accused him. But I would have to say to my enemies, like St. Dominic, 'Yes, you're right--I'm guilty of all these things! In fact, I'm much worse than you even think: I'm terrible! But look at the Lord; isn't He wonderful?'" (264:2; 1032:33,34) [Commitment--393]
DONATELLO
(1386-1466) Italian sculptor whose realism created beautiful human figures & who is known as the founder of modern sculpture. Among his masterpieces are statues of "David" & "St. George." [Trials--104]
DOUGLAS, Stephen A.
(1813-1861) American statesman, a U.S. Senator for 14 years. He debated Lincoln in a series of famous debates in 1858 & ran against him for President in 1860, but lost. [Trials--621]
DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan
(1859-1930) English novelist & spiritualist. As a young man he studied medicine & served as a physician in the Boer War. He is best known for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes & The Hound of the Baskervilles, popular detective stories. Dad mentions in "Influences!": "'Sherlock Holmes' was one of my favourites & I read a lot of the 'Sherlock Holmes' books by Arthur Conan Doyle." (1357:38) (See also WND 1, pg. 55.) [Trials--537]
DRUMMOND, Henry
(1851-1897) Scottish minister & author who tried to reconcile science & religion.
DRYDEN, John
(1631-1700) English poet, dramatist & critic. The greatest writer of the Restoration period & a worthy successor of Shakespeare & Milton. [Beauty--20, Creation--148]
DURANT, Will
(1885-1981) American author & Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles. [War--62]
DURER, Albrecht
(1471-1528) German engraver & artist. He is famous for his wood cuts, copper plates & paintings. He represents the high point of German Renaissance art & was a super-craftsman. [Love--10]
EDISON, Thomas A.
(1847-1931) Famous American inventor who held over 1,000 patents for his discoveries & inventions! He set up a laboratory in his father's basement when he was 10 years old & began experimenting even then. Although he had little formal education, he had tremendous genius. He invented the mimeograph, improved the typewriter & was the pioneer of the telephone, phonograph & motion picture machine. He also helped make television possible when he discovered the "Edison effect" by accident, which became the basis of the electron tube. His most important invention was the incandescent light.
[Children--3, 280, Enthusiasm--3, Humility--58, Little Things--34, Love--287, Redeem Time--17, 79, Shtick--24, Trials--382, 389, 621, World System--5]
EDWARDS, Jonathan
(1703-1758) The greatest theologian & philosopher of American Puritanism, he helped start the religious revival known as the Great Awakening (1740-1742) by his sermons, along with those of George Whitefield. Preaching slowly & with great conviction, he described the results of sin and the horrors of Hell. The harshness & appeal to religious fear in Edwards' most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," caused his congregation to rise weeping & moaning from their seats!--But hundreds were converted when they heard it, & it was this type of preaching that began the 18th century "Great Awakening" in America, a tremendous religious revival. His church gained many new members & he noticed that the unconverted members had a bad influence on the others. But when he tried to keep the unconverted from taking Communion, it created such a stir that he was forced from his church. He then became a missionary to the Indians & later became president of Princeton College, but died after only one month of smallpox. A good family man, he had 11 children & used to spend at least an hour each evening with his children before he went to bed. He was a courageous man who stood by his convictions even against great opposition. He encouraged revivals even though he knew there would be abuses. He would have enjoyed Billy Sunday's reply to the critic who said that revivals didn't last: "Neither does a bath," said Billy, "but it's good to have one once in awhile!" [Children--428, Sin--47, Testimonies--5]
EINSTEIN, Albert
(1879-1955) German-American physicist, of Jewish parentage, who became famous for his theory of relativity. His equation for nuclear reaction was basic in atom bomb experiments. "A lot of scientists today are saying, as Einstein was trying to prove, that there is another dimension--another World--which could be quite scientifically co-existent with this one, & even all around us!" (686:7)--The Spirit World! "Einstein was trying to explain time travel, he was working on it when he died, how about that! I guess he couldn't quite figure it out, so the Lord took him so He could show him how it worked! He was also investigating in the spiritual when he died, so now he knows!--GBH!" (1643:78) (See also WND 19, pg. 60 & WND, 32 pg. 53.) [Children--136, God--7, Humility--111, Love--41, Marriage--93, Science--1, Testimonies--16, Trials--537]
EISENHOWER, Dwight
(1890-1969) 34th President of the U.S. He served as Allied commander in Europe during World War 2 before becoming President in 1952. He served 2 terms, from 1953-1959. He said, "To read the Bible is to take a trip to a fair land where the spirit is strengthened & faith renewed." Dad said of him, "The last guy that balanced the U.S. budget was Eisenhower, & he never paid the past debt, he just insisted on running a tight ship & refusing to let the Government spend more money than it took in." (1347:74) (See also GN Book 14, pg. 171, & WND 43, pg. 35.) [Children--279, Rel.w/People--192]
ELIZABETH I
(1533-1603) Elizabeth was Queen of England from 1558 (when she was 25) to 1603, one of the most glorious periods of English history. A Protestant, she re-established the Anglican church in England, freeing it from Catholic control. England's future colonial empire was begun during these years & Elizabeth, beloved by her subjects, came to be affectionately known as "Good Queen Bess." "Britain began its empire under Elizabeth the 1st & reached its peak under Queen Victoria, & that was just in the past century. Just think of it!" (1767:91) "Queen Elizabeth the Great was a tremendous queen, the greatest queen that England ever had, who ruled England & brought it to its greatest power & gave it its greatest victories & peace, & do you know what one of her greatest powers was?--Sex! And she refused to marry any man! She was married to the throne!--She belonged to the crown & she refused to let any man share it with her. But she used her sex to appeal to great man after great general after great admiral after great leader, heads of countries & kingdoms who were practically grovelling at her feet & would have given her anything, & some did!" (1380:9-10) (See also No.1672:1.) [Commitment--53]
ELLIOT, Charlotte
(1789-1871) English hymn writer. A permanent invalid, she was among the foremost British women writers of hymns, over 150 of which are credited to her. [Com.w/God:Prayer--40, 200]
ELLIOT, Jim
(1900s) Jim Elliot was one of five Brethren missionaries involved in Operation Auca, an attempt to reach one of the most hostile Indian tribes in all of South America with the Gospel. For centuries the Aucas had been the subject of hair-raising stories & no outsider had ever been able to live in their part of Ecuador. Elliot & his men flew into Auca territory & established contact & things seemed to be going well, until suddenly radio contact was lost & their dead bodies were discovered by their plane.--Yet another reason to "go to the cities!" Although they knew the risks, Elliot was convinced that no risk was too great to take for God. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose," was his motto. [Commitment--425, Giving--89]
EMERSON, Ralph Waldo
(1803-1882) American writer, philosopher & poet; one time clergyman. His life was filled with difficulties, poverty & sickness. He tried to be a preacher but became dissatisfied & quit, but was still able to declare: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." (See also WND 34, pg. 30.) [Beauty--13, 21, Com.w/God:Word--208, Enthusiasm--1, Faith--337, Rel.w/People--4, Trials--44]
ENGELS, Friedrich
(1820-1895) German socialist. The son of a wealthy Rhineland cotton cloth manufacturer, he spent most of his adult life in England as manager of one of his family's factories. There he provided most of the support for the impoverished Karl Marx & was co-author of many of the latter's written works. He also wrote much Marxist literature on his own. [Communism--2]
EPICTETUS
(Lived around 100 A.D.) Greek philosopher who was taken to Rome as a slave in his youth. There he taught that the mind of man is self-contained & self-sufficient, enabling him to find complete contentment in any surroundings, however oppressive. He also believed that the World was governed by the thought of a God above all. He was later expelled from Rome by the Emperor Domitian. [Trials--247]
EPICURUS
(342-270 B.C.) Greek philosopher who believed that the chief good of life was pleasure, but the pleasure of philosophical thinking rather than the pursuit of any purely fleshly pleasure. His school became identified in popular thought with an excessive attention to fleshly delights. [Riches--19]
EUSEBIUS
(263-339) Church historian of the Early Church. Born in Palestine, he was later made Bishop of Caesarea & became a close friend of the Emperor Constantine. His political ideas helped create the Christian Empire of Byzantium. [Trials--425]
FABER, Frederick William
(1814-1863) British theologian (Roman Catholic), hymnist & founder of the Wilfridians, a religious society living communally without vows. [Com.w/God:Praise--61, Commitment--232, Trials--628]
FARADAY, Michael
(1791-1867) English scientist who was largely self-educated. He became famous for his discovery of magnetic induction & the study of the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy, which laid the foundations of modern electrical science. He has been called the greatest of experimental physicists. When Faraday was once questioned on his speculations of a life after death, he replied: "Speculations! I know nothing about speculations. I'm resting on certainties. I know that my Redeemer liveth, & because He lives, I shall live also." From the age of 50 he became a regular preacher. "His object seemed to be to make the most of the Words of Scripture," was the comment of one who heard him. [Vision--2]
FARRAR, Frederic William
(1831-1903) English clergyman & author. He was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1857 & served as dean, deacon or head master at various colleges. From 1890 till 1895 he acted as chaplain to the House of Commons. [Greatness--1]
FAWCETT, Henry
(1833-1884) English economist & public official. He began to study law in London, but was totally blinded in a hunting accident at the age of 25 & returned to university to study political economy. Despite his handicap, he was appointed a professor at Cambridge & two years later was elected to Parliament, of which he remained an influential member for the rest of his life. In 1880 Gladstone appointed him Postmaster General & he established the parcel post system & postal orders. [Trials--375]
FENELON, Francois
(1651-1715) French clergyman & author. In 1694 he became Archbishop of Cambrai. He wrote Education for Girls, advocating education for housewives, & Telemachus, a novel portraying a system of education for young men. Some of his views were controversial & he was condemned by both the Pope & the king in 1699. [Com.w/God--12, Com.w/God: Prayer--289, Peace--23]
FINNEY, Charles
(1792-1875) American lawyer who got saved at the age of 29 & went on to become a famous evangelist, professor, college president & pastor. When he was a lawyer, one of the most important things he learned was from a Supreme Court judge who told him, "Charlie, you win a legal case by telling it simply. Never read it. Repeat it many times, but tell it simply." He followed this advice & was a tremendous personal witness who started revivals practically wherever he went, from textile mills to lumber camps. One of his biographers wrote of Finney's witnessing, "Finney went up & down the village street, like a merchant, like a salesman searching for customers, conversing with any with whom he might meet. The 'slain of the Lord' fell as if machine-gunned on the village streets! Pious frauds, young Unitarian smart-alecks, the unsaved, scoffers--it made no difference who they were. A few words spoken to an individual would stick in his heart like an arrow. After one revival in Rochester, the courts had little to do, & the jail was nearly empty for years afterward." Today his lectures & memoirs are standard reading in evangelical schools. [Devil--4, Trials--618]
FLETCHER, Giles
(1588-1623) English poet. He entered the ministry following his graduation from Cambridge. [Jesus--54]
FLETCHER, John
(1886-1950) American poet, educated at Harvard & who later moved to England. Among his works are Selected Poems, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize.
FOCH, Marshall
(1851-1929) French general during World War 1. In 1918 he was named commander of the Allied forces & turned back a huge German attack at the Marne. He followed up with counterattacks that led to the German surrender later that year. [Faith--417, Love--91]
FORBES, Malcolm
Millionaire American publisher. (See also WND 43, pg. 29.) [Education--4]
FORD, Henry
(1863-1947) American industrialist & automobile manufacturer. In 1902 he designed a 4-cylinder car, which won all the races in which it was entered, & on the strength of its reputation founded the Ford Motor Company a year later at the age of 40. He perfected the standard Model T Ford car, 1909, of which 15 million were sold before it was superseded by the Model A in 1927. He introduced mass production, which kept his costs very low, & was in favour of short hours & high wages for his workmen. In 1915 he chartered a Peace Ship & took it to Europe in an attempt to stop World War 1. He was very interested in improving the status of factory workers as well as the plight of the farmer. Dad also calls him "one of the great men of God who were exposing the Jews in those days even when I was a child." (948:61) "The last I ever heard of Henry Ford, he was still fighting the Jews, he went down fighting! He still hated them & he still blasted them! Boy, they hated him! They were out to get him!" (1425:46) Fred Schultz was his cousin, a multi-millionaire & a man Dad often mentions in the Letters: "The only millionaire I really knew in my life besides my Grandfather was a close friend that we often visited & lived with & he visited us, & I've told you about Fred Schultz, the cousin of Henry Ford. He liked quotes & his favourite quote was, 'Anything wilfully wasted will be wilfully wanted!' And he was a multi-millionaire!" (See 1833:43-45 for more!) [Faith--239, Success--36, War--44]
FORREST, Edwin
(1806-1872) American actor. A very popular actor, he was accused of sparking off a riot at a performance of one of his rival actors at the New York Opera House. When the rioting could not be controlled, the militia fired & many casualties resulted. He continued to attract large audiences & increased his wealth until 1865, when he became lame. He left most of his estate to establish a home for aged actors. [Redeem Time--11]
FOSS, Sam
(1858-1911) American popular poet & journalist who wrote widely syndicated daily poems, 1887-1894. [Giving--6]
FRANCIS DE SALES, St.
(1567-1622) Roman Catholic preacher & writer, Bishop of Geneva from 1602-1622. Of noble descent, he entered the priesthood & converted many former Calvinists. While he was Bishop he pushed missionary efforts with great enthusiasm, & as a writer his popularity spread abroad. [Freedom--26, Greatness--25]
FRANCIS of Assissi
(1182-1226) Founder of the Franciscan Order of monks. Although he loved nature, his major concern was the growing cities, where he spent most of his time preaching the Gospel while living in utter poverty among ordinary people. The Crusades were going on at this time, & Francis proposed that the Muslims should be won by love instead of hate. His first two attempts to evangelise them were unsuccessful, but his third attempt in 1219 brought him into the presence of the Sultan of Egypt, to whom he was able to witness. He lived only 17 years as apostle to the poor & needy, but his saintly example made him one of the spiritual lights of the Dark Ages. Dad said, "His humble love, truth & honesty & passion for peace, poverty & the poor soon won his pitiful people the approval of the Pope & the permanent antipathy of the pompous, yet this flower unfolded the far-flung Franciscan Fathers of the future!" (225:11) Dad also said of him, "It is said that St. Francis could talk to the birds, & certainly God's creatures do have a language of their own that they speak with each other & which sometimes men who have become their friends & become very close, with great rapport with God's creatures, learn to understand." (1483:27) [Com.w/God:Prayer--151, Mark 16:15--76]
FRANKLIN, Benjamin
(1706-1790) American statesman, philosopher & author. America's first World citizen, he was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence & a leading organiser of the new American government. He proved the existence of electricity in lightning, invented the Franklin stove, bifocal spectacles & the lightning rod. His recipe for life: "Work as if you were to live 100 years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow." He also said, "Early to bed & early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy & wise!"--"And he ought to know because he was all three of them--healthy, wealthy & wise--& a good Jew at that, one of the good ones, God bless him! You'll find a lot of his good advice in his Poor Richard's Notebook." (No.1211:124) [Anger--15, Children--31, Criticism--112, Death--8, Greatness--26, Mark 16:15--59, Marriage--65, Redeem Time--9, Rel.w/People--96, Speech--46, Trials--360]
FREDERICK the Great
(1712-1786) King of Prussia who succeeded his father at the age of 28. He was a disciple of Voltaire & ruled as a benevolent dictator. He reorganised the army & in the Seven Years' Wars established Prussia as a leading European power. He regarded himself as "first servant of his people" & also promoted industry & agriculture & encouraged education. [Mark 16:15--19, Redeem Time--16, War--8]
FRERE, Sir Henry Bartle
(1815-1884) British administrator. From the age of 20 he held important posts in India & was later Governor of Bombay. In 1877 he was sent out as High Commissioner in an attempt to form a united South Africa. The disastrous Zulu war of 1879 was followed by a rising among the Boers, & Frere was recalled. [Com.w/God:Word--39]
FULLER, Buckminster
(1895-1983) (See GN 246, pg.17-20.) American inventor, scientist, engineer & Millennial Man! As Dad said of him, "He was a man above men, a revolutionary & a pioneer, ahead of his time! He had World vision! He was a Christian & he was gifted with all this knowledge of science & construction & how to build buildings & make cars, how to build them cheap & light. He's the one that designed a pyramidical city, like the Heavenly City, which he said would be so light it could fly, although his city was a mile high! He's probably up There right now helping the Lord plan the Millennium!" (2159:2,14,19) (See also GN Book 10, pg. 188, & WND 13, pg. 36.) [Beauty--15]
FULLER, Thomas
(1608-1661) English clergyman & historian. [God--19]
FULTON, Robert
(1756-1815) American engineer who invented one of the first submarines & also constructed the Clermont, the first ship to travel under steam power. [Children--159, Criticism--129]
GALILEO, Galilei
(1564-1642) Italian astronomer & physicist. In 1609 he constructed the first complete telescope & later concluded that the Earth revolved around the sun instead of being immovable, contrary to Catholic belief of the day. He came into conflict with the Inquisition because of this & lived under house arrest until the day of his death. "Galileo & his bunch were not the first ones to know that the World was round & that the planets moved around the Sun & all the rest! These scientists try to make you think they discovered all this & that it's only been very recently that anybody knew these things, but it was a re-discovery! Because the ancients knew these things for thousands of years, all about the planets!" (1309:42,43) [Children--120, Creation--26]
GALLUP, George
(1901-1984) American statistician who specialised in public opinion polls & business surveys. He had a reputation for accuracy & correctly predicted the outcome of some U.S. Presidential elections. [Creation--14, God--1]
GANDHI, Mahatma
(1869-1948) India's Hindu nationalist leader. He studied law & was admitted to the English bar. He went to South Africa to practice & became interested in social justice for Indian people in Africa. After World War I was over he returned to India & began to protest against the injustices of British rule in India. He advocated passive resistance to British authority, gaining a great following & was imprisoned by the British several times. He was active in the postwar negotiations which led to Indian independence in 1947. By personal tours & fasts he tried to put a stop to the violence between Hindus & Moslems. He was assassinated by a Hindu extremist in 1948. Dad said of him, "He really seemed to be Christian in all of his policies & conduct & his pronouncements, & he even recommended reading the New Testament, & you know how that must have infuriated demonic Hinduism. They said that was really why they finally shot him, because they said he was turning Christian!" (1566:5) [Communism--51, Conviction--55, Hypocrisy--5, Mark 16:15--79, Science--25, Unselfishness--16]
GEDDIE, John
(1800s) Canadian missionary. John Geddie was the first Protestant with staying power to enter the New Hebrides (in the South Pacific). In 1848 he & his wife sailed for Aneityum, one of the most southerly of the islands of the New Hebrides, & there they spent their lives translating Scripture, evangelising & training native workers. They were so effective that virtually the entire population of the island turned to Christianity. An inscription commemorating Geddie in one of the churches he established shows his powerful influence: "When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here; when he left in 1872 there were no heathen." [Mark 16:15--51]
GENGHIS KHAN
(1162-1227) Brilliant, ruthless conqueror whose name means "Greatest of All Rulers." Born in Mongolia, his father's death made him ruler at 13 of most of the region between the Amur River & the Great Wall of China. An illiterate, he led his Mongol hordes to mastery over much of the medieval World, from China all the way to Persia & across the Caucasus into Russia. On an expedition to Northwest China he died in battle. [Jesus--76]
GEORGE V
(1865-1936) King of Great Britain & Ireland & Emperor of India in the days when Britain still ruled the seas & had an empire. He was the first British monarch to visit his overseas possessions. He sat on the throne of England at the time of World War 1. [Com.w/God:Word--54, Commitment--311, Mark 16:15--263]
GERSHWIN, George
(1898-1937) American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York. He received some lessons, but was mainly self-taught. He wrote the scores for many musical comedies of the 1920s & 1930s as well as many orchestral pieces. He died in Hollywood at the age of 39 after a short illness. [Love--97]
GIBBON, Edward
(1737-1794) English historian. He visited Rome in 1764 & there conceived & began his life work, The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire. It became very popular, & remains one of the greatest histories of all times. [World System--21]
GLADSTONE, William
(1809-1898) English statesman & orator who served as Chancellor of Great Britain four times during his lifetime! A devout Christian & personal witness, he once said, "All that I think, all that I hope, all that I write, all that I live for, is based upon the divinity of Jesus Christ, the central joy of my poor, wayward life. I have known 95 of the World's greatest men in my life, & of these, 87 were followers of the Bible." (See also his illustrated witnessing adventure in KTK Book 3, "The Little Newsboy & the English Orator!") [Children--237, Com.w/God:Word--49, Mark 16:15--388, Redeem Time--14, Rel.w/People--51, Testimonies--17]
GOETHALS, George Washington
(1858-1928) U.S. Army Engineer who was chief engineer of the Panama Canal, one of the most massive engineering projects ever undertaken. Because of his efficient management, the Canal was finished ahead of schedule. With the help of Gen. William Gorgas, he was able to rid the Canal Zone of the plague of Yellow Fever, saving thousands of lives. Goethals was Governor of the Canal Zone from 1914-1916. [Criticism--25]
GOETHE, Johann
(1749-1832) German poet & dramatist. While still a student he acquired a deep love of Shakespeare & was determined to replace the cold formality of German literature of his time with a romantic naturalism. He became Germany's greatest writer & one of the most important European literary figures. His masterpiece, Faust, was published in 1831. Despite his brilliance as a writer, he once declared, "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in ever greater extent & depth, & the human mind widen itself as much as it desires!--Beyond the elevation & moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go!" [Sin--20, 38, Testimonies--29]
GOFORTH, Rosalind
(Late 1800s-early 1900s) Canadian poet & missionary to China! See her exciting biography in the WIM book reviews, Vol. 11, Page 277-278. Her husband was often described as "China's most outstanding evangelist." In the 1880s they sailed for China & began their ministry in the southern provinces, suffering a great deal of hardship. Five of their 11 children died in childhood, & in 1900 they had to flee more than 1,000 miles to escape the Boxer Rebellion. Goforth was a powerful evangelist, sometimes speaking to crowds of as many as 25,000. They had a unique method of witnessing, too. As foreigners in China, their home & its furnishings were subjects of intense curiosity to the Chinese people. So they opened their house to interested visitors, who came from miles around, once, more than 2,000 in one day, to tour the house in small groups. Before each tour began, Goforth gave a Gospel message, & sometimes visitors stayed on after the tour to hear more. He preached an average of 8 hours a day, & during a 5-month period some 25,000 people came to visit. Rosalind ministered to the women, sometimes speaking to as many as 50 at a time who were gathered in their yard. His revival ministry blossomed in 1907 when he swept Korea, later travelling to Manchuria, where more mighty revivals followed. At one point in 1918 he held a 2-week campaign with Chinese soldiers under the command of a Christian general, & at the end nearly 5,000 soldiers & officers were saved. Even after being stricken with blindness he continued his ministry with the aid of a Chinese assistant. At the age of 74 he returned to Canada, where he spent the last 18 months of his life travelling & speaking at nearly 500 meetings. [Commitment--149, Trials--80]
GOMPERS, Samuel
(1850-1924) American labour leader. Born in London, he emigrated to New York at the age of 13 & worked as a cigarmaker. In time he became president of a local union & helped found the AFL (American Federation of Labor) & became its president, & was re-elected for many years until his death. [Rel.w/People--62]
GOODRICH, Chauncey
(1836-1925) American missionary. He was ordained a Congregationalist minister in 1864 & the following year went to China, where he served as a missionary for 60 years & died near Peking. He was the leader of a group of scholars who translated the entire Bible into Mandarin. [Com.w/God:Prayer--131]
GORDON, Adoniram Judson
(1836-1895) American clergyman, hymn writer & author. His interest in missions led to his founding of the Boston Missionary Training School (now Gordon College & Divinity School). One of his better-known hymns is "My Jesus, I Love Thee." He was also a prolific author of religious books.
GORDON, Charles George
(1833-1885) Great British soldier & general. Saw service in the Crimean War, took part in the capture of Peking later & in 1863 was head of the Chinese army which suppressed rebellion at Taiping. The ruler of Egypt next borrowed his services to organise the Egyptian Sudan, where he was governor for 4 years. He resigned in 1880 but was later called back to lead Egyptian troops against the Moslem Mahdi, who was engaged in a crusade against Christians. He was besieged in Khartoum for almost a year & died just 2 days before the arrival of rescuing British troops. [Com.w/God: Prayer--122]
GRAHAM, Billy
(1918- ) Born on a farm in North Carolina, Billy was 17 when an ex-prizefighter turned evangelist came to Charlotte. Mordecai Ham was an old-fashioned, finger-pointing, fire-&-brimstone evangelist who made a frontal assault on sin. The church leaders there thought Mr. Ham too much of a disturbance, so they refused him permission to erect a tent. So with the help of laymen, he erected a tent just outside the city limits & held meetings for several weeks. When Billy attended he found the sermon quite unimpressive until Mordecai jabbed a finger in his direction & shouted, "You're a sinner!" He later got saved, became an evangelist himself, & has since preached to more than 20 million people in his campaigns. But as Dad says about him, "Billy Graham didn't catch the boat either. Although he came a little closer by being more charitable toward the long hairs, he was still a mass evangelist of the old school & a systematised conventional representative of the Churchianity System, & he had nothing to offer them after Christ but the dead stinking body of a decaying church system!" (155:36) (See also Dad's comments on Billy Graham in "Mass Evangelism!" No.1510:11-14, & numerous articles listed in the WNDex, pg. 1101.) [Com.w/God:Praise--86, Mark 16:15--15, 218]
GRANT, Ulysses S.
(1822-1885) American General, Commander of the Northern armies in the U.S. Civil War & 18th President of the U.S. He served two terms as President but with little success; his dishonest associates caused much public scandal & corruption. Still, he was a Christian, & once said, "To the influence of this Book we are indebted for the progress made in civilisation, & to this we must look as our guide in the future. The Bible is the sheet-anchor of our liberties." [Rel.w/People--150, 167, Speech--53, Trials--657]
GRAY, Horace
(1828-1902) American jurist. He was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1882 to 1902. [Judgement--2]
GREELEY, Horace
(1811-1872) American journalist & politician. After some years in journalism, he published The New Yorker & finally The New York Tribune, a daily paper, in which he wielded great influence in political questions. He opposed Grant in his election for a second term of office as President but was defeated. As an editor he crusaded for many causes, among them temperance (not drinking) & protective tariffs. Violently anti-slavery, he was one of the organisers & supporters of the Republican Party in the U.S. [Humility--2]
GRENFELL, Sir Wilfred
(1865-1940) British medical missionary. He fitted out the first hospital ship for the North Sea fisheries, making many cruises with the fishermen & establishing homes & missions on land for their use. He also built 5 hospitals, as well as nursing stations, orphanages & schools in Labrador & cruised annually along that dangerous coast in his hospital steamer, "taking risks," according to a biographer, "that would have made a professional sailor die of fright." He faced great opposition from the established Anglican church. "The church is dead," wrote Grenfell. "The Bishop dare not say anything against us, but he is not with us, & told a friend of mine here that our preaching the Gospel & people being converted was pulling down the work of the church!" But the Anglican church itself cared little for the destitute families out in the remote villages. Grenfell brought 300 reindeer from Lapland & transported Laps with them as herders so the people of Labrador could have food & clothing. He also spent a great deal of time travelling by dogsled over frozen ice to attend to the sick & needy. As he presented the needs of Labrador to audiences he often told them, "Following Christ has given me more fun & adventure than any other kind of life," & he urged them to do the same. [Com. w/God:Prayer--297, Mark 16:15--30, 338]
GUEST, Edgar
(1881-1959) American poet & writer; born in Birmingham, England. One of his favourite lines was, "It takes a heap o' living to make a house a home." He also said, "Building a Home, well, I reckon that's fun!--Because it's a job that you never get done!" (1069:36) He wrote about friendship, families, home etc. [Children--98, 290, 298, 333, 413, 427, 446, 447, Com.w/God:Praise--122, Faith--207, 237, 238, Honesty--1, Love--201, 329, Mark 16:15--299, Riches--15, Success--1, Trials--519, 520, 747, 789, 791, 803]
GUGGENHEIM, Peggy
American philanthropist who disliked America so much that she moved to Italy, where she died a few years ago. See also WNE, pg. 151. [World System--47]
GUYON, Jeanne Marie
(1648-1717) French mystic & writer whose religious teachings (which tended to exclude the church) caused her persecution & imprisonment. [Commitment--230, Trials--156, 215, 595]
HAGEDORN, Hermann
(1882-1964) American author who was a lifelong admirer of Teddy Roosevelt & wrote voluminously on him. [Love--230]
HALL, Robert
(1764-1831) English Baptist preacher. He entered the Baptist ministry after graduating from college, becoming in a few years not only the most prominent minister in his denomination but one of the foremost English pulpit orators. [Commitment--347]
HAM, Mordecai
(1878-1959) It was his father & grandfather who molded young Mordecai Ham. He related, "We had a family 'revival' every evening. Father (a preacher himself--pastoring as many as 6 Kentucky country churches at one time) would give us a Bible reading & a sermon, then ask his children to confess any ill conduct of which they had been guilty that day." Although he drifted away for a while, becoming a travelling salesman, prizefighter, etc., he began preaching at 22, & went on to win around 300,000 converts in 40 years of evangelism. He also sang quite a bit during his campaigns, as Dad recalls, "I remember a story about the famous singing evangelist Mordecai Ham, who worked with Dwight L. Moody for a while & later won Billy Graham to the Lord. (See the story in "Graham, Billy.") He smoked big fat cigars, but he said that every time he got down to pray, 'That big cigar would come up between me & God as big as a telephone pole! It condemned me & was coming between me & the Lord because I felt guilty about smoking.'--So he quit smoking! He was a very influential man, Moody's first assistant evangelist, so it probably did cause some weaker brethren to question it or stumble." (604:1,9) (See also Graham, Billy.) [Mark 16:15--15]
HAMMARSKJOLD, Dag
(1905-1961) Swedish statesman. As second Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953-1961) he travelled extensively, among many other places visiting Peking. He died in an airplane accident in Africa. [Com.w/God--16]
HAMMURABI
(2070-2020 B.C.) King of Babylon who was best known for formulating a code of laws, carved on a stone column which is now in Paris.
HANDEL
(1685-1759) Great German composer with strong faith in God. As Dad said, "The music of such wonderful spiritual men & believers like Handel & Mozart & some others was definitely inspired by the Lord! It was Handel who wrote the great 'Messiah,' that final, great triumphant march, the 'Hallelujah Chorus' hailing the 'King of kings & Lord of lords'--'And we shall reign forever & ever!'" (326:25, 185:52) (Handel is also mentioned in No.1410, "Spirits of the Past!" as a spirit helper of an English housewife who says she works regularly with about a dozen spirit composers!) [Trials--190]
HARRISON, Benjamin
(1833-1901) 23rd President of the U.S. Born in Ohio, he first became a lawyer, later served in the Civil War, returned to his law practice, & was elected Senator. In 1888 he was elected President & served one term. [Mark 16:15--251]
HAVERGAL, Frances
(1836-1879) American hymn writer & composer who wrote many well-known Sunday school & church songs. An unusual child, she was able to read when she was only 3 years old. At the age of 4 she was able to read the Bible, as well as many other books which belonged to her parents. Though she played with other children, most of her time was spent reading & writing poems & by the time she was 7 she had written a book of poems. She studied English, German, French, Hebrew & Latin at home & was able to read in all these languages. She got saved at 14 & dedicated her life to writing poems & hymns & directing choirs. She died at the age of only 42. [Commitment--102, 205, Mark 16:15--359, Peace--18, Special Days--1]
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel
(1804-1864) American novelist, a descendant of the early Puritan settlers. His masterpiece was The Scarlet Letter, 1850. [Love--101]
HAYDN, Franz Joseph
(1732-1809) Austrian composer who wrote over 100 symphonies & 100 string quartets & trios during his lifetime. His works are still popular today. [Com.w/God:Praise--62, Com.w/God: Prayer--43]
HAYES, Rutherford
(1822-1893) 19th President of the U.S. He fought in the Civil War & became President in 1877. In the face of opposition, he withdrew Federal soldiers from the Southern States, making possible a quicker return to normal conditions, & did much to eliminate corruption in government departments. [Little Things--22]
HEARN, Lafcadio
(1850-1904) American author, born in Greece of Irish-Greek parentage, & who emigrated to the U.S. & became a journalist. He went to Japan in 1890 & taught in the University of Tokyo, became a Japanese citizen & married a national. His later works were about Japanese life. [Love--196]
HEBER, Reginald
(1783-1826) English churchman, Bishop of Calcutta. He composed several familiar hymns, including, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!" [Com.w/God:Praise--102, Mark 16:15--54]
HENRY, Matthew
(1662-1714) British preacher & author. Son of a clergyman, he first studied law before turning to the ministry, although he could read the Bible by the age of 3 & was competent in Latin & Greek by the age of 9! He was a pastor for many years & author of a number of theological works. He was the originator of the phrase "creature comforts" as well as the saying, "All this & Heaven too!" On his deathbed he told a friend, "You have been asked to take notice of the sayings of dying men--this is mine: That a life spent in the service of God & communion with Him is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this World." [Anger--17, Com.w/God:Praise--22]
HENRY, Patrick
(1736-1799) American statesman & orator. He educated himself to be a lawyer & his speaking ability made him one of the greatest lawyers & speakers of his time. Dad uses his famous quote in "To the Media--from a Guru!": "If this be treason, make the most of it! Give me liberty or give me death!" (800:17) A Christian, he also said, "The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed." He was opposed to ratification of the new U.S. Constitution for fear that it would interfere with the rights of states & of individuals. He was one of those who worked to add to the Constitution the amendments known as the Bill of Rights. [Testimonies--10]
HENRY THE LION, Duke of Bavaria
(1129-1195) He developed the commercial life of N. Germany, expanding the ports & founding the city of Munich. He quarrelled with the Emperor & was twice banished, but made peace shortly before his death. [Commitment--69]
HERBERT, George
(1593-1633) English clergyman & poet, born in Montgomery Castle, Wales. He was a leading English poet of the 1600s, he spoke about God "like one who really believeth a God...heart-work & Heaven-work make up His Book." He gave up his career at court & Cambridge to become a devoted parish priest. [Com.w/God:Praise--42]
HERSCHEL, Sir William
(1738-1822) German-born astronomer, discoverer of the planet Uranus. A devout Christian, he said, "All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more & more strongly the truth contained in the Sacred Scriptures." [Creation--26]
HERZL, Theodor
(1860-1904) Founder of the Zionist movement. Born in Budapest, he was educated for the legal profession, which he forsook for journalism. In 1896 he published The Jewish State, which advocated a theory of Jewish nationalism & which later led to the Zionist movement. He was also a great admirer of Wagner & his music. See WNE, pg. 689. [This n That--19]
HILL, Rowland
(1744-1833) English popular preacher who began preaching while still a student at Cambridge. At the age of 29 he was ordained a curate in the Church of England, but they later refused to let him become a priest because of his preaching outside the churches. He attracted large crowds by the force & eloquence of his preaching & was also prominent in promoting missionary activities. He also published sermons & hymns. [Com.w/God:Prayer--51, Death--51]
HOBBES, Thomas
(1588-1679) English philosopher. He left England in 1640, his writings being unpopular there, & went to France. But he displeased churchmen with his attacks on the Pope, so at the end of 1651 returned to England. In 1666 the House of Commons passed a law against atheism & profanity in which one of his books was mentioned as a dandy bad example. The elderly philosopher hastily burned all his papers & could never again publish anything of an ethical nature. Nevertheless, he was famous throughout Europe & almost every distinguished foreigner who visited England came to see him. In ordinary life he was extremely timid & afraid of ghosts. [War--55]
HOLMES, Oliver Wendell
(1841-1935) Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. He was known as the "Great Dissenter" for his vigorous opinions in favor of human & civil rights. [Children--237, Criticism--33, Freedom--19, Rel.w/People--167]
HOOD, Thomas
(1799-1845) English poet who is best known for his humorous verses. He made great use of the pun (a play on words) in his poetry. [Riches--11]
HOOVER, Herbert
(1874-1964) 31st President of the United States. After World War 1 he organised the American Relief Administration, which saved the lives of millions of starving Europeans. His term as President saw the Crash of 1929 & the beginning of the nationwide Great Depression. He must have been quite an optimist, because right before the Depression, as Dad mentioned, he kept telling the people, "'Don't worry, prosperity is just around the next corner!'--And then came Black Monday & the Great Crash!--That's what was around the next corner!" (1276:87-88) He also said, "There is none other book so various as the Bible, nor one so full of concentrated wisdom. Whether it be of law, business, morals etc., he who seeks for guidance may look inside its covers & find illumination." [Peace--11, Trials--457]
HOOVER, J. Edgar
(1895-1972) American lawyer & director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) for over 40 years. Under his management the FBI broke up & brought to justice many notorious criminals. In "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" Dad says of Hoover, "When I asked the Lord why He had permitted him to remain in office so long, the Lord said that he had served Him well & faithfully as a Guardian Angel of America to preserve her from her enemies by the mercy of the Lord." (162:3) His passing point was a dangerous turning point in America's history, & she herself has passed the point of no return! (162:12) (See also Dad's comment about him in No.1214:22-23.) [Com.w/God:Prayer--97]
HOPKINS, Harry
(1890-1946) American social worker & politician. Beginning his career in social work, he served President Franklin D. Roosevelt for over 12 years. [Commitment--38]
HORACE
(65-8 B.C.) Roman poet. Throughout his work there runs a vein of tolerant philosophy & he is one of the most frequently quoted of Latin poets. [Art--17]
HOUDINI, Harry (Born Erich Weiss.)
(1873-1926) American master magician, writer & book collector. He began his career as a trapeze performer at the age of 9. He later made several World tours, performing before royalty & distinguished audiences his feats of escaping from handcuffs, strait jackets & submerged locked chests. He was the inventor of a diving suit as well as the first successful flier in Australia, 1910. He wrote many books & was the president of several film companies. (See "Houdini," FC TK Vol. 2.) [Death--60, 62]
HOUSMAN, Lawrence
(1865-1959) British writer & demonstrator. He published on an average more than one book a year during some 60 years of writing. He also wrote plays, but many were censored because they dealt with Bible characters & the royal family. [Jesus--67]
HOWELLS, William Dean
(1837-1920) American author of poems, critical reviews & novels. [Trials--367]
HUGO, Victor
(1802-1885) The greatest of French romantic authors. He went into exile for 18 years when Napoleon III seized power. He became the symbol of freedom to Frenchmen & had an enormous influence on all the younger European poets of his day. (Dad read Hugo's "Les Miserables" when a boy.--No.1715: Oct.27) [Arguments--25, Com.w/God:Prayer--443, Faith--195, Love--20, 223, Redeem Time--53]
HUNT, Nelson Bunker
Texas billionaire. (See WND article on him in WND 53, pg. 6.)
HUS, Jan
(1371-1415) Czech religious reformer. In 1410 the Archbishop ordered Hus excommunicated for his religious views, but his order of excommunication was ignored. Pope John XXII entered the fight the following year & placed Prague under an interdict. The King ordered it ignored, supporting Hus. Unfortunately, the King & Hus had a falling out & the King abandoned Hus. The papal interdict over Prague was renewed in 1412 & Hus fled the city, finding refuge in Bohemia, where he engaged in preaching & writing. When a general council was convened in 1414, he decided to accept the safe-conduct granted him by the Emperor & attended the council, but was imprisoned as soon as he arrived. It was demanded that he recant the beliefs which his enemies had charged him with (most of which were false), but he insisted on being allowed to state them correctly & to define them. This was denied him, he was sentenced to death by burning & executed the same day. His heroic death aroused the national feelings of the Czech people, who established the Hussite church in Bohemia until the Hapsburgs conquered in 1620 & restored the Roman Catholic church. [Testimonies--19]
HUXLEY, Thomas
(1825-1895) English biologist & author who wrote, "The Bible has been the Magna Carta of the poor & oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it." [Commitment--84]
HYDE, Praying
(1865-1912) American missionary to India who was famous for his powerful prayers & prayer life & often spent days praying. A preacher's son, he got the burden for India while in seminary & sailed for Bombay in 1892, at the age of 27. Handicapped with a slight deafness, he found language study difficult, & once on the mission field he found that he needed to know his Bible better "to teach the dark-minded natives of Christ." He became so frustrated over his handicaps that he tried to resign, but the villagers appealed to him, "If you never speak the language of our lips, you speak the language of our hearts." So he stuck, & his handicaps made him pray, & work all the harder as he became one of India's most famous pioneer soul-winners. [Com.w/God:Prayer--85, Mark 16:15--296]
IGNATIUS of Loyola, St.
(1491-1556) Spanish-born religious leader, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), an order vowing total obedience to the Pope. Born of noble parents, he grew up at court until at the age of 26 he left to enter the army. He was converted to Christianity while recovering from wounds a few years later. In 1534 he founded the Society of Jesus with six companions. A soldier himself, Ignatius founded the Jesuits on the same principles, requiring soldierly discipline, loyalty & ardour for the leader, Christ. He was very interested in the education of boys &, through his friendship with St. Francis Xavier, he became interested in foreign missions to China & the Indies. [Testimonies--20]
INGERSOLL, Robert Green
(1833-1899) American lawyer, lecturer & orator. The son of a minister, he served during the Civil War as a Colonel & later became Attorney General of Illinois. He attracted publicity as a lecturer against Christianity & his eloquence won him many followers & he had a strong influence on the thinking of his time. "There was a very famous atheist when my parents were younger whose name was Bob Ingersoll. My Father & another young man were listening to this famous atheist who attacked the Bible & God & tried to sweep it all away. They came out from this lecture & this young fellow said to him, 'Well, I guess he just swept it all away, didn't he? He just wiped it all out.' And my Father said, 'Yeah? Well, he didn't sweep away my mother & father's faith & the reality that I saw in their religion.'" (1682:89) [Com.w/God:Word--137, Creation--123, Faith--368, 430]
IRONSIDE, Harry
(1876-1951) At the age of 3 he began to memorise Scripture & by the time he was 14 he had completed his 14th reading of the Bible, though still not saved! He got saved shortly afterwards & wanted to start witnessing right away, so only 3 days later gave his testimony in a Salvation Army street meeting. He became a member of the Salvation Army for a while & was later pastor of the Moody Memorial Church for 18 years. After he retired he continued preaching tours & was the author of more than 60 books in his lifetime. Dad said of him, "He started out 'Holiness' & finally wound up a nervous wreck with TB & everything because he just couldn't stay good enough! He couldn't stay saved all the time. When he was in the TB Sanitarium he got time to read the Word & found out it was just by grace! So he wrote a book called, Grace Plus Faith Plus Nothing!" (No. 1000:21) [Jesus--63]
JACKSON, Stonewall
(1824-1863) One of the most outstanding commanders of the Confederate (Southern) Army in the U.S. Civil War. As commander of one of the Confederate Armies he won many dramatic victories before being accidentally shot by his own men at the age of only 39. [Com.w/God:Prayer--11, 12]
JAMES, William
(1842-1910) American psychologist & philosopher, brother of the writer Henry James. For more than 25 years he was professor of Philosophy at Harvard. He became one of the most influential thinkers of the day & his book Principles of Psychology was famous both in the U.S. & Europe.
JEFFERSON, Thomas
(1743-1826) 3rd President of the U.S. Jefferson was Secretary of State in Washington's first Cabinet. He ran several times in the Presidential elections & was eventually elected in 1801, being re-elected in 1804. Besides reducing the national debt & suppressing piracy, he took an important step by purchasing a million square miles of Western territory from Napoleon, who had taken it from Spain. This is known as the Louisiana Purchase. He is known as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence & once said, "I have always said that a studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make you better citizens, better fathers & better husbands." [Jesus--6, This n That--43]
JEROME, St.
(340-420) Born of Christian parents, he was educated in Rome, where he attended schools of philosophy. During a serious illness in Antioch in 373 he had a dream in which he saw Christ, who reproached him for caring more to be a pagan than a Christian. For 6 years he was a hermit, later travelling to Rome, where he devoted himself to writing, preaching & teaching Hebrew. In 384 he travelled to Bethlehem to preside over a monastery. [Commitment--411, Persecution--4]
JEROME, Jerome K.
(1859-1927) English novelist & playwright who was the author of the famous humorous novel, Three Men in a Boat, 1889. [Faith--347]
JOHN PAUL I, Pope
Pope for a very short period in the early 1980s, he died suddenly was succeeded by the present Pope, John Paul II. Dad said of him, while praying, "We don't understand exactly why Pope John Paul I died, but as Billy Graham said, there must be some message in it for the World! It seemed to me almost a warning to the World, as though perhaps this man was even too good for the World, too good for the Church. They really didn't even deserve him. He was too simple, too humble, too plain in his life & his faith & his believing. Perhaps he was just too good for this World, Lord, too good for the church, & it was too great a responsibility, too many problems, & You took him. We believe he's gone to be with Thee because of his simple faith in You, Jesus, regardless of whatever mistakes. We believe he seemed to have real faith in You. We thank You for it." (1240:49,50,51,52) [Com.w/God:Prayer--444]
JOHNSON, Andrew
(1808-1875) 17th President of the U.S., born of poor parents. He was elected Vice President in 1864 &, on Lincoln's assassination, became President in 1865. He granted an amnesty to Southern supporters who swore allegiance to the Union, a very controversial step. He was impeached because of his conciliatory attitude toward the recently recovered South, but escaped conviction by one vote. [Little Things--22, This n That--9]
JOHNSON, LYNDON B.
(1908-83) 36th President of the U.S., from 1963-1969. Elected Vice President of the U.S. in 1960, he had little influence during the administration of John F. Kennedy, from 1961-1963. He succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of Kennedy in his home state of Texas. He was elected in 1964 by an overwhelming majority, defeating Barry Goldwater. In 1965, despite public assurances to the contrary, he entered the civil war in Vietnam on a massive scale, acting alone without the approval of the Senate. He quickly lost popularity & by 1968 internal opposition to Johnson had become so widespread that he decided to retire rather than seek re-election. During his term in office Johnson was also the originator of the phrase "Great Society," of which Dad said, quoting the Warning Tract: "Be not deceived! Be prepared! And be not deceived by the Great Society!--This great Capitalistic Society of the World today that LBJ, President Johnson of the United States, even dubbed the 'Great Society' himself! The great Capitalistic Western society epitomised by the United States--the Great Society! It's already come to travail, believe it or not! It's already in trouble!" (1244:132) [This n' That--9]
JOHNSON, Samuel
(1709-1784) English author & writer of dictionaries. The son of a bookseller, he acquired much of his knowledge & love of language from books in his father's shop. His prose style became the model for many writers. Though poor in health & in fortune, he dominated the literary & artistic world of 18th century England & became a legend in his own time. [Humility--18, Riches--40]
JUDSON, Adoniram
(1788-1850) Pioneering American missionary to Burma. He holds the distinction of being one of America's first foreign missionaries. He faced many of the difficulties on the mission field which we do today: The Burmese tongue was difficult & the written language was a continual sequence of letters with no punctuation or capitals, & no divisions between words, sentences or paragraphs! (Despite this, Judson usually translated between 25-30 Old Testament verses daily, for years, from the original Hebrew into Burmese, two very complex languages!) And the realities of mission life were also discouraging sometimes. His wife Emily, a writer, was bothered by the "thousands & thousands of bats," but most of the other little creatures she took in stride: "We are blessed with our full share of cockroaches, beetles, lizards, ants, rats, mosquitoes & bed bugs. With the last the woodwork is all alive, & the ants troop over the house in great droves...Perhaps 20 have crossed my paper since I have been writing. Only one cockroach has paid me a visit, but the neglect of these gentlemen has been fully made up by a company of black bugs about the size of the end of your finger--nameless adventurers." Despite constant sickness & persecution, he spent over 30 years winning souls there, although it took 6 years to win the first one! He also completed the first Burmese Bible & most of the first Burmese dictionary. By 100 years after his death, there were over 200,000 Christians in Burma as a result of his faithfulness to begin preaching the Gospel there. (See also GN 157, pg. 14, for a more thorough biography!) [Com.w/God:Prayer--87, Com.w/God:Word--10, Mark 16:15--248, Testimonies--13, Trials--396, 413, 414, 415]
JULIAN of NORWICH, Lady
Late 14th-century writer of mystical religious works. [Trials--119]
JUNG, Karl Gustav
(1875-1961) Swiss physician & noted psychoanalyst. He left association with Freud to form a new school of therapy in Zurich. He differed from Freud in that he thought the true aim of the psychoanalyst was to direct the patient toward high ideals. [World System--9]
JUSTIN, St.
See "Martyr, Justin"
KAISER, Henry J.
(1882-1967) American industrialist. He worked in highway construction in British Colombia, Washington, California & Cuba from 1914-1930, help build large dams & bridges in the far west 1931-1939 & built prefabricated ships in World War 2. "The famous Henry J. Kaiser, head of the gigantic Kaiser Steel Corporation, made the Liberty Ships for the U.S. government during WW2 & made millions, in the days when millions were like billions! He didn't make good grades in school just because he wasn't interested in school. He was excellent in mathematics, he was a genius at invention, but he wasn't interested in school because he was too busy out building boats! There was nothing dumb about him, he just didn't like all the rest of that crap that he figured wouldn't be of any practical use to anybody, & most of it wasn't! They said, 'Well, how come you're able to run this huge steel empire & ship-building business & everything & you never even finished high school? It looks like you should have had some doctorates in engineering or PhD's in this, that or the other!' He used to laugh & say, 'I never finished high school, I never got a high school diploma, but all those guys who did are now working for me!" (1832:10; 1891:23) [Trials--514]
KELLER, Helen
(1880-1968) American writer who, though blind, deaf & dumb from infancy, was taught to read & write & graduated from college with distinction. She published several books & was a tremendous sample in overcoming her handicaps. As Dad said in "The Advantage of a Handicap": "Helen Keller became a great minister of encouragement & example to those who were both deaf, dumb & blind! She could not hear nor see, & for years she couldn't even speak. Yet she became a very great writer & World-famous! She did learn to speak, although she couldn't even hear her own voice except its vibration in her head. And she learned to write & read Braille & had a tremendous ministry to encourage millions of deaf & dumb & blind throughout the World that they didn't have to be useless, they didn't have to be discouraged & just give up because they had such severe handicaps." (1937:15,16) [Trials--710]
KELLY, Howard A.
(1858-1943) American surgeon. He was gynecological surgeon at John Hopkins Hospital from 1899-1919 & helped to give the Medical School of John Hopkins University its international reputation. [Com.w/God:Word--130]
KEMPIS, Thomas a
See "Thomas a Kempis"
KENNEDY, JOHN F.
(1917-1963) 35th President of the U.S., from 1961-1963. In 1960 he ran for the presidency, narrowly defeating Richard Nixon. His administration began on a note of youthful optimism & confidence. The main accomplishments of his term in office were: The Alliance for Progress with Latin America, the Peace Corps, his bold stand by which he forced the Soviet Union to withdraw its missiles from Cuba, the negotiation of a limited nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union & advances in civil rights laws. In 1963, while riding in a car in Dallas, Texas, he was assassinated by a sniper. Dad dedicated an entire Letter to Kennedy, saying: "It is generally recognised that Kennedy was one of the greatest presidents America has had. He was a good friend of the poor man, a friend of the Russians, a socialist & a peacemaker. He avoided one of the greatest dangers of a missile war the U.S. ever had in the Cuban Missile Crisis. He did it by a personal private talk with Khrushchev. He died a martyr for his convictions & his cause. A...magazine article confirmed that Kennedy was assassinated by U.S. fascists because he was on too friendly relations with Russia. He was trying to make peace with Russia & came closest to doing it of any man yet!" (288: 2,10,11) [Mark 16:15--257, This n That--9, War--39]
KEPLER, Johannes
(1571-1630) German astronomer, known for his three laws of planetary action. One of the early Protestants, he said, "Let my name perish if only the name of God the Father is thereby elevated." [Faith--424]
KERENSKY, Alexander
(1881-1970) Moderate Socialist revolutionary who served as head of the Russian provisional government from July to October 1917. Despite his efforts to unite all the factions, he soon alienated the moderates & military by dismissing his Commander in Chief, Gen. Kornilov, & replacing him. He also lost the confidence of the left wing by refusing to implement their radical programs & by apparently planning to personally assume dictatorial powers. So when the Bolsheviks seized power in October, Kerensky was unable to gather forces to defend his government. He escaped to Western Europe in 1918 & emigrated to the U.S. in 1940, where he worked as a lecturer & wrote books on his revolutionary experiences. Dad said of him, "In 1917 the first ones to take over Russia were the moderates (Kerenskys), put in by the rich to appease the starving Russian working class. The West, because of its territorial designs, helped the Communists to try to divide & weaken Russia: In 1917 the Germans shipped Lenin into Russia to lead the revolt against the moderate Kerensky regime & set up Communism." (L:8) [Communism 75]
KHRUSHCHEV, Nikita
(1894-1971) Russian political leader, the son of a coal miner who worked himself up to Premier of the USSR. Beginning in 1955 the Soviet government began to improve relations with the West & in 1956 Khrushchev startled the Communist World by a denunciation of Stalin as someone who had done harm to his country--a complete reversal of the former position that Stalin had been practically infallible. He was Premier of Russia from 1958 to 1964, when he was suddenly deposed by Leonid Brezhnev, who reversed much of Khrushchev's liberalism. Dad said of Khrushchev while in the Spirit: "They said Khrushchev was crazy because he loved Jesus, & they deposed him! You know what? He memorised all four Gospels & could recite them by heart! So when he became old he turned to Jesus--& they didn't like that, because he might have even turned America to Jesus--but America didn't want Jesus! (Maria: Did Khrushchev get to know Jesus while still in his high office?) Yes, of course! That's why they kicked him out! He was trying to warn America, & he pounded on the desk with his shoe, like the warning of the Prophet of God to warn America for her sins--and she didn't listen!" (No. 111:12-17) [Communism--36, World System--4]
KIPLING, Rudyard
(1865-1936) English novelist, poet & short story writer; born in Bombay, India. He spoke Hindustani before he spoke English. He wrote many works about India, & won England's first Nobel Prize in 1907. From Dad's 1935 Diary, when he was 16 years old: "Read The Man Who Was by Rudyard Kipling--excellent! He & Scott (Sir Walter) are my favourite authors!" (1365:Mar-1) He's the one who wrote, "If you can meet success & failure & treat these two impostors the same, then you'll be a man, my son!" He also wrote about the cruel Afghanis of his day.--See No.908:13-14. [Rel.w/People--139, Success--43, Trials--548]
KNOX, John
(1513-1572) Scottish priest who became one of the first Reformers. After several years as a priest, he saw how corrupt the Roman Catholic church of his day was & renounced it & declared himself a reformer, one of the earliest Protestants. He suffered great persecution & had to flee Great Britain several times, preaching in France & Switzerland. Dad calls him one of the "God-fearing, courageous reformers & those seeking to return the church to the ways of God & the Bible." (E:27) [Com.w/God: Prayer--130, Commitment--156]
LaGUARDIA, Fiorello
(1882-1947) American politician & mayor of New York City. A member of Congress for 10 years, he was elected mayor of New York City in 1934 & re-elected in 1937 & 1941. [Giving--36]
LARCOM, Lucy
(1826-1893) American poet. She worked in the cotton mills at Lowell & contributed to the paper for mill workers. She attracted the attention of poet John Greenleaf Whittier & collaborated with him on several books of poetry. [Trials--113]
LEE, Robert E.
(1807-1870) American soldier, Confederate General. In 1861 he was offered the field command of the U.S. Army by Lincoln but he refused, saying that he could not take part in an invasion of his native state. Though opposed to secession, he was determined not to fight against the South. He resigned & was made commander of the Confederate forces. He was a military genius with bold tactics who was able to arouse fanatical devotion among his soldiers. He is generally considered the greatest leader on either side of the war. After the war he accepted the presidency of Washington College, now Washington & Lee University, & was able to say, "In all my perplexities & distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light & strength." Dad's own Grandmother, Nina Lee Marquis, was a direct descendant of Lighthorse Harry Lee of the Robert E. Lee's of Virginia, of Civil War fame. (172:30) [Mark 16:15--259, Rel.w/People--8]
LENIN, Nikolai
(1870-1924) Founder of the USSR & Bolshevist leader. As a student he became a follower of Marxism & was exiled to Siberia because of his revolutionary activities. He later went to Switzerland &, in 1917 after the revolution, he returned to Russia in a sealed boxcar to place himself as head of the Bolshevists. He quickly overthrew the Kerensky government & set up the new Communist government. (See also GN 42, pg. 18.) [Children--129, Communism--8, 34, 56, 68]
LeTOURNEAU, Robert G.
"He was a big giant of a man, a huge monster about seven feet tall & a rough, tough, burly fellow. He was the World's first manufacturer of large, heavy-duty earth-moving equipment. Virtually everything that Caterpillar has, they stole from him. They just copied his stuff & he was too Christian to go into years in court to fight it. He was the first man to put those huge 10-foot rubber tires on bulldozers out in the desert so they wouldn't sink in the sand. Up to that time they had never used rubber tires on earth-moving equipment at all. Any kind of big equipment like that had huge steel wheels on'm. He'd gotten saved after a terrible accident in which he was nearly killed, & he joined the Christian & Missionary Alliance, which was about the best there was then until we came along! He wasn't a heavy giver or tither, but his business was going bankrupt & he prayed, 'Lord, if You'll save my business, give me some kind of big order that'll keep it going, I promise You I'll start tithing 10% of everything on it.'--And his next order was for $100,000! As soon as the Lord blessed him that way, he started giving 20%. By 20 years or so later he was giving 90% of his income to the Lord's work & missions & missionaries & he & his family were living on the other 10%! We heard his testimony in Tekoa Falls just shortly before I got married. So that's the true story of the life of R.G. LeTourneau. He was a veritable giant of a man & he was a giant of faith, too! It shows that tithing works & dedication works & prayer works! PTL!"--Dad (12/82) LeTourneau gave funds to a number of missionary projects & was the one, in the 1930s, to furnish most of the funding to set up Radio Station HCJB ("Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings") in Quito, Ecuador. He built the original 10,000-watt transmitter at his Peoria plant &, when in operation outside Quito, it carried the Gospel further than any other transmitter in the World. LeTourneau tried to interest others in setting up radio stations in the East to reach the Orient & Philippines, but World War 2 put a temporary stop to this. [Commitment--11]
LEWIS, Clive Staples (C.S.)
(1898-1963) British scholar & author. Lewis was best known for his books on religion. The most popular of these books was The Screwtape Letters (1942), a satirical set of directions from one demon to another on how to lead men to Hell. He also wrote books for children (including Tales of Narnia, an allegory of the Bible) & science fiction. But keep in mind Dad's warning about some of these books: "Just because we quote somebody like Toynbee or C.S. Lewis, that doesn't mean we recommend everything they ever wrote. Even though Lewis' work, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, was a correct allegory & the lion was a type of Christ & triumphed over the witch, it's still pretty weird. It is also one of his Tales of Narnia that was very popular with the hippies & many people who were into spiritism. (Maria: So just because somebody writes about Christianity even favourably & positively, that doesn't mean they're an actual born-again Christian?)--No. He could have been. I don't know. It seemed he was definitely into spiritism & his wife also wrote books on spiritism & the works of the Devil, supposedly against the Devil." [Christianity--35, Education--78, God--6, Science--14]
LINCOLN, Abraham
(1809-1865) 16th President of the U.S., born in a log cabin in Kentucky. From a poor family, he had little chance to attend school, & educated himself by candlelight at night. He became a lawyer & later President shortly before the U.S. Civil War broke out. He denied the right of the Southern states to secede & called for military action to preserve the Union at all costs. Modern history calls him a hero, & although apparently a Christian who talked a lot about prayer & faith, Dad said, "He was a monster, a tyrant! He killed the South & started the Civil War. In tyranny he crushed the South by the Civil War." (574:17) He was killed only 5 days after the Southern armies surrendered. (See also WNE, pg. 269, & WND 32, pg. 16.) [Commitment--367, Criticism--146, Rel.w/People--126, 139, 150, Shtick--15, 25, This n That--9, Trials--133, 630, 698]
LIND, Jenny
(1820-1887) Famous soprano, "The Swedish Nightingale." She made her first appearance at the Stockholm Opera House at the age of only 18 & sang in many operas until the age of 29. At the age of 30 she toured the U.S. with P.T. Barnum (of the Barnum & Bailey Circus) & when she returned to England she only sang in concerts & oratorios. [Commitment--229, Trials--101]
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
(1902-1974) American aviator who won great fame by his solo flight across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in 1927 in 33-1/2 hours. Suffering the loss of a baby son through kidnapping, in 1935 he went to live in England. He returned to the U.S. in 1939 to become an advisor to the U.S. government. He opposed U.S. entry into World War II & his speeches were called pro-Nazi. He was associated with Henry Ford in 1942 in war production. He was an outspoken public figure at the time, a critic of the government's economic policies. He opposed the creation of the Federal Reserve System, saying, "This Act establishes the most gigantic Trust on Earth. ... The new law will create inflation when the Trust wants inflation. ... From now on, depressions will be scientifically created." (867:13) (See also WNE, pg. 576, & WND 29, pg. 19.) [Science--7, Testimonies--4]
LIVINGSTONE, David
(1813-1873) Scottish pioneer missionary & explorer of Africa who spent more than 37 years of his life living & working there. It was Livingstone who said, "You cannot outgive God!" He said, "I never made a sacrifice! No matter how much I gave, God always gave me back more!" (See also LWG Vol. 2, pg. 358.) [Commitment--22, 55, 196, 289, Faith--10, Mark 16:15--1, 228, 266, Trials--589, Vision--19]
LLOYD GEORGE, David
(1863-1945) British statesman. From the age of 21 to 27, when he was elected Member of Parliament, he worked as a lawyer. He later became head of the British government during World War 1 (from 1916-1922) & was one of the outstanding figures at the Peace Conference. [Children--281, Rel.w/People--127, Testimonies--24, This n That--16]
LONGFELLOW, Henry Wadsworth
(1807-1882) American poet, born in Maine. He was the most famous & most popular American poet of the 1800s. He studied languages, taught in Harvard & travelled Europe. [Art--2, 24, Beauty--16, Creation--101, 133, Greatness--31, Love--25, 48, 330, Old Age--20, Rel.w/ People--167, Trials--707]
LOVELACE, Richard
(1618-1658) English poet who was imprisoned by the English Parliamentarians in 1642. His best-known poem, "To Althea from Prison," was written then. His poems are philosophical in style & sometimes obscure & elaborate. [Trials--756]
LOVEMAN, Robert
(1864-1923) American poet who travelled & studied abroad a great deal. He was a frequent contributor to magazines & his poetry is marked by simplicity & earnestness. [Trials--550]
LOWELL, James Russell
(1819-1891) American poet. During his lifetime he was known for his poems but he was also an editor, teacher, social reformer & diplomat. [Creation--104]
LUDWIG, Emil
(1881-1948) German man of letters. For 12 years he wrote plays, mostly in verse form. He later began his "humanised biographies" which made him an internationally known figure in literature. He wrote of the past in such a way as to make it come alive & to portray the human side of the people he wrote about. [Redeem Time--16, War--1]
LUTHER, Martin
(1483-1546) Born in Germany to a poor family, he went on to become a lawyer at the age of 19. After the death of a friend, he became a monk. During a pilgrimage to Rome he got saved & immediately proclaimed, "The just shall live by faith!" He preached boldly against "works" & suffered great persecution from the Catholic church, but his stand on salvation by grace set Europe afire with the Reformation, a great religious revival. (See also LWG Vol. 2, pg. 319 & see the FN Encyclopedia, pg. 1184, for Luther's opinions on the Jews!--And various news articles in: WNE, pgs. 172, 184 & 603; GN Book 14, pg. 178; WND 4, pg. 40; WND 5, pg. 18; WND 16, pg. 54.) [Children--275, 390, Com.w/God: Prayer--130, Com.w/God:Word--33, 195, Commitment--56, 133, 332, 374, 430, Faith--86, 222, 223, Hate--13, Humility--45, 146, Jesus--63, 126, Little Things--39, Mark 16:15--44, 256, 296, 302, Peace--24, Sin--9, 60, Trials--219, 370, 570, 597, World System--24]
MacARTHUR, Douglas
(1880-1964) American general & organiser of post-war Japan, Maria's new spirit helper! See GN 246! (See also No. 579:21-23,26,27 about the Bataan Death March & MacArthur's return!) [Com.w/God:Prayer--400, Com.w/God:Word--189, Communism--71, Conviction--42, Old Age--2, This n That--54, Trials--632, War--49, 59]
MacDONALD, George
(1824-1905) Scottish novelist, poet & writer of Christian stories of Man's pilgrimage back to God. [Beauty--22, Children--147, Commitment--186]
MacFADDEN, Bernarr
(1868-1955) American physical culturist & publisher. Born in Missouri, he became a teacher & lecturer on physical training & published a multitude of periodicals. [Giving--80]
MACKAY, Alexander (of Uganda)
(1850-1890) Mackay was a well-educated Scot, an engineer by profession but a jack of all trades with a keen mind for languages & the Bible. At the age of 26 he answered Stanley's rousing challenge to the Christian world that King Mtesa of Uganda had requested missionaries. He led a team of 8 missionaries there, but 5 of them died within the first year & by the end of the second, he was the only one left. Mtesa himself was an unsavory character who almost daily executed his subjects for minor offenses & allegedly had the largest store of wives of any man in history. But Mackay found his people lovable & eager to learn, & he was always surrounded by children as he taught & translated the Bible into the local language. He suffered numerous attempts on his life by both Muslim & Roman Catholic missionaries, & they finally convinced the king to expel him. He moved to a nearby country where he continued translating & teaching until he died of malaria at the age of only 40.
MACKAY, Charles
(1814-1889) British poet & journalist. He lectured in the U.S. from 1857-1858 & was a special correspondent of the London "Times" in New York during the Civil War (1862-1865). Mackay was famous for his songs, some of which he set to music of his own. [Trials--661, 750, Creation--67]
MacKENZIE, John
Nineteenth century missionary to Botswana & the South African region. [Mark 16:15--296]
MAINTENON, MADAME DE
(1635-1719) Second wife & untitled queen of Louis XIV of France. Born into a poor family, she married an author at the age of 16 & was widowed at 25. She met Louis XIV when she was governess for his illegitimate children (at the age of 34) & rose in his favour. She became Louis' secret wife some time after 1683 & had some political influence on him after 1700. She encouraged an atmosphere of dignity & reverence for God at court & established a school for poor girls at Saint Cyr. [This n That--10]
MALLOCH, Douglas
(1877-1938) American poet, born in Muskegon, Michigan. [Com.w/God:Praise--110, Trials--602]
MAO TSE-TUNG
(1893-1976) Chinese Communist leader. Born of peasant parents, he studied Marxism in his youth. One of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, he headed the peasant section of the Party. In 1927 when the alliance between the Communists & Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party broke up, Mao formed a revolutionary government among the peasants in Hunan Province & defied Chiang's authority. In 1931 he became unquestioned leader of the Chinese Communist Party. On the so-called "Long March" (6,000 miles) in 1934-1935, he transferred the Communist Army from southeast China to the far North. (Of the 90,000 men & women who made the march, less than half survived.) From his headquarters in the North he directed the Civil War against Chiang & later the Japanese armies which occupied China during World War 2. In 1946 Chiang was overthrown & he became effective ruler of China. He completely revolutionised Chinese society, destroying the Confucianist system which had prevailed for 2,000 years & stamping out individuality & dissent. Originally allied to the USSR & hostile to the U.S., he eventually reversed his policy toward the Soviet Union, regarding both nations with impartial antagonism. Dad talks about Mao & the effect of his words in "Wonder Working Words" (207:18-19) & about him personally in "The End of Allende": "Mao was both a successful revolutionary, led a successful revolution, & leads a successful Communist government, having established a successful form of Communism. Mao's also a lot more up-to-date: His revolutionary Communism is only half as old as Russia's! He has also been a lot more insistent about the people studying & memorising his words & works & implanting them in their hearts & minds to thoroughly communise them. Because unless you change hearts, you haven't changed anything!" (272:80) [Communism--37]
MARKHAM, Edwin
(1852-1940) American poet, born in Oregon. When five years old he moved with his widowed mother to California, where he spent his boyhood in farm work. He appealed for brotherhood & compassion in such powerful poems as "The Man With the Hoe," & was a founder of the Poetry Society of America. [Love--339]
MARSHALL, Peter
Chaplain to the U.S. Senate for a number of years in this century & subject of the movie, "A Man Called Peter," his life story. [Faith--259]
MARTYN, Henry
(1781-1812) British scholar & chaplain to India who translated the New Testament into Hindustani, as well as supervising translations into Persian & Arabic. As a chaplain for the British East India Company, his main responsibilities were to the employees & families of the Company, but his heart was in missions, & he was thrilled with the opportunity to make the New Testament available to millions of Asians. His greatest desire was to take a Persian New Testament to the Persians. Although suffering with advanced tuberculosis, he gave the last year of his life to negotiating with Persian leaders. His last two months were spent in making a difficult journey to give his Persian New Testament to the British ambassador, who in turn gave it to the Shah of Persia. He died in Persia after only 6 years of missionary work. [Art--7, Com.w/God:Prayer--85, Commitment--166, Mark 16:15--296]
MARTYR, Justin (Saint)
(Lived around 100-165) Justin was a young Roman philosopher of the 2nd century who had been searching since his childhood. He had inherited a sizable fortune which financed his travels throughout the Roman Empire. He became a familiar traveller along the trade routes. Wherever he went in his search for knowledge & truth, he saw the persistent faith of the despised Christians. When he himself got saved & came to believe that Christianity was the only true philosophy, he set out to tell other philosophers about Christ. He became a wandering teacher & visited early Christian communities in places such as Ephesus, Alexandria & Rome. He took up his pen to challenge the critics & persecutors of Christianity. Today his "Apologies" are regarded as classics in Christian literature. Justin himself is looked on as one of the greatest early defenders of the faith. It was inevitable that he would clash with the Romans & be arrested for his teaching. In 165 A.D. when he & several other Christians were brought before the prefect of Rome, they freely confessed their faith & refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods, & were beheaded. After his death he became known as Justin the Martyr. [Persecution--6]
MARX, Karl
(1818-1893) 19th century German philosopher & economist whose revolutionary theories were the basis of Communism. In 1843 (at the age of 25) Marx went from Germany to Paris, where, with Engels (a rich man's son), he did much theoretical work on the principles of socialism. He later founded the Communist League & issued the Communist Manifesto. During the German Revolution of 1848 he was editor of a revolutionary paper. He was subsequently banished & went to London in 1849, where he continued his studies despite poverty. He published the first volume of "Das Kapital" in 1867. [Communism--2, 44, 72]
MASSILLON, Jean Baptiste
(1663-1742) French preacher. He became famous for the eloquence of his sermons & funeral orations. Often quoted are the opening words of his oration at the funeral of Louis XIV of France: "God alone is great." [Mark 16:15--27]
MATHESON, George
(1842-1906) American hymn writer. See Dad's inspiring comment about him & one of his songs in "Mo's Music," No. 399:55-58. [Com.w/God: Praise--23, Commitment--90, Faith--196, Trials--705]
MAYO, Charles
(1865-1939) & William James 1861-1939) American surgeons who founded the Mayo Clinic, of worldwide fame. Dr. Charles Mayo was one of those who worked on Grandmother after her accident: "My Mother's back was operated on by Dr. Still, the founder of Osteopathy, & Dr. Charles Mayo, founder of the World-famed Mayo Clinic, with 19 other consulting surgeons in attendance, removing eight inches of the dorsal vertebrae of her spinal column in an attempt to relieve the paralysis. But she became even worse." (172:49) [Trials--696]
McAULEY, Jeremiah
(1839-1884) His father had been a counterfeiter. At 13 Jerry took his first lessons in crime & by 19 he was a river thief & the terror of the New York waterfront. Soon after he was caught & sentenced to 15 years hard labor in Sing Sing prison. He got saved in prison &, after praying in the middle of the night, jumped up shouting "Praise God!" He witnessed to many prisoners before the Governor granted him a pardon & he walked out a free man. Although he fell back into his old habits for a while, he later set up a mission in one of the worst parts of New York & won many down-&-outers to the Lord. He inspired other Christians to start missions across America & one of his converts started 62 missions himself. [Alcohol--13, Mark 16:15--265]
McKINLEY, William
(1843-1901) 25th President of the U.S. After fighting in the Civil War, he became a prominent member of the Republican Party, entering Congress in 1876. In 1896 he ran for President & won, defeating William Jennings Bryan. The year 1898 saw the U.S. declare war on Spain, fighting the Spanish-American War. In 1900 he was re-elected, again defeating Bryan. In 1901 he was shot & mortally wounded by a Polish anarchist. [Unselfishness--2]
MEDICI, Catherine de
(1519-1589) A member of the Medici clan of Italy, which included several Italian popes & scholars, she became queen of France. "On St. Bartholomew's Eve in 1572 the Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, ordered every Catholic to attack every Protestant everywhere, & some 200,000 men, women & children were murdered. Boy, she's really burning in Hell for that!" (1239:45) [Redeem Time--16]
MENDELSSOHN, Felix
(1809-1847) German composer, born of Jewish parents converted to Christianity. He made his debut as a pianist before he was 12 years old & later often conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra. [Children--237]
MEREDITH, Burgess
(1908- ) Modern American actor. See also WND 40, pg. 13. [Sex--3, 20]
MICHELANGELO, Buonarroti
(1475-1564) Italian artist, sculptor, painter, architect & poet. He was one of the greatest geniuses of the Italian Renaissance. Before dying he said, "I die for the faith of Jesus Christ, & in the firm hope of a better life." "I think God gave some of those guys like Michelangelo visions of those beautiful art masterpieces! You'll notice that on a vast number of them they had halos!" (1876:4) Dad talks about him & our present art ministry: "All these great big names, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Hoffman & God knows how many other famous artists painted everything you could imagine about the Bible, scenes in the Bible, the people in the Bible, nearly everything in the Bible has been painted or drawn or sketched!--Except the Holy City! And it just hit me--Boom!--just as clear as I ever heard from the Lord: 'Because I have reserved this for you!'" (1578:13,14) [Art--11, Children--346, Commitment--93, Humility--9, Jesus--44, Success--35, Trials--89, Vision--1, 3]
MICHELSON, A.U.
Dad worked for him for some time (see the full story in No.897:116-122) & described him as "one of the greatest saints of God I have ever known, this nation's most famous missionary to the Jews, himself a converted Jewish judge, & founder of the World's first Hebrew-Christian synagogue & a Gospel programme for Jews, which is still heard on hundreds of stations around the World." (87:7) [Trials--644]
MIKOLAJCZYK, Stanislaw
(1901-1966) Polish statesman who tried to establish a non-Soviet regime in Poland after WW2. Organiser & leader of the Peasant Party, Mikolajczyk fled to London after the German invasion of Poland in 1939. There he became Prime Minister in exile. In 1945 he returned to Poland & joined the Communist-dominated provisional government. But Peasant Party members, as the only organised non-Communist opposition, suffered great persecution. When the manipulated 1947 elections foreshadowed a Stalinist takeover, he fled to England & then to the U.S. [Communism--35]
MILLAY, Edna St. Vincent
(1892-1950) American poet & Pulitzer Prize winner. [Commitment--86]
MILLER, Joaquin
(1841-1913) (Cincinnatus H. Miller) Born in Liberty, Indiana, this American poet once wrote an article in defense of the Mexican bandit, Joaquin Murietta, hence his pen name. At 15 he ran away from his home in Oregon to live in mining & Indian camps. He married a chief's daughter, but after her death he returned to Oregon & became a lawyer & spent his time writing. [Children--321, Trials--261]
MILLIKAN, Robert
(1868-1953) American physicist & Nobel Prize winner. He is famous for his research on electrons & for discovering cosmic rays. [Creation--94, 143]
MILNE, A.A.
(1882-1956) English humorist, poet & playwright. [Com.w/God:Praise--93]
MILTON, John
(1608-1674) English poet & essayist who became blind during his later life. He was born in London & lived during the time of Cromwell (he was Cromwell's Latin secretary) & wrote some articles for him. He was married three times but had an explosive temper. According to legend, Milton dictated the famous poem "Paradise Lost" to his daughters to write down while he was blind. [Persecution--7, Protection--6, Trials--247, 268, 621]
MOFFAT, Robert
(1795-1883) English pioneer missionary to Africa who spent 52 years of his life there & set the pattern for mission work throughout Africa. He was the first to translate & print Christian literature for Africans in their own tongues. His testimonies of Africa set David Livingstone on fire, who later married Moffat's daughter & opened up vast areas of Africa to Christianity. (See LWG Vol. 2, pg. 359.) Livingstone built upon the foundation that Moffat had laid, but, incredibly, Moffat outlived him by 10 years. [Mark 16:15--266, Trials--440]
MONOD, Theodore
(1802-1856) A French Protestant, he founded several churches & was considered one of the foremost Protestant preachers of his time. He published sermons for which he was famous, as well as for the way he delivered them. [Faith--106]
MONTGOMERY, James
(1771-1854) British poet & journalist. The son of a Moravian preacher, he was educated for the ministry but chose to become a bookseller instead, later becoming editor & publisher of a liberal paper. The publication of a liberal paper at that time was a dangerous business. He was twice arrested for trivial offenses & condemned on the first occasion to 3 months in prison & on the second to 6 months in prison. He composed a volume of poems while in prison & wrote more than 100 hymns during his life. [Com.w/God:Praise--98, Com.w/God:Prayer--201]
MOODY, Dwight L.
(1837-1899) American shoe salesman turned evangelist. It's hard to imagine anyone who seemed less likely to succeed as an evangelist than Dwight L. Moody: He only had a 6th grade education, he was "unseemly in appearance" (short & weighed nearly 300 pounds), was unconventional (refused ordination), unpolished & ungrammatical (his words rushed from his bearded face like a torrent, often 230 words per minute, with many "aints"), yet he became one of America's greatest evangelists & soul-winners, preaching to over 50 million people in the course of 40 years! At the age of 23 he founded his own Sunday School in Chicago & filled it from his own witnessing. He later established his own church & became an internationally famous evangelist, sometimes preaching to crowds of as many as 50,000 people at once. A tremendous witness & soul-winner, he said, "The only Bible the World reads is the one bound in shoe leather!"--You & me! "Dwight L. Moody ...started out as nothing but an ignorant shoe salesman who hadn't even finished school, could hardly read & write, but he was on-fire for the Lord & a fireball personal witness & soul-winner after Charles Varley led him to the Lord in the back of his shoe shop. Within a few short days or weeks, Dwight L. Moody had won more souls to the Lord than Charles Varley could ever think about!--As ignorant, uneducated & poor as he was, but on-fire for the Lord & full of the Love of the Lord & leading people to the Lord right & left!" (1725:6) His Moody Bible Institute is still active in sending out missionaries today, & one out of every 18 North American missionaries in the World today (excluding the Family, of course) is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute. [Com.w/God:Praise--53, Com.w/God:Prayer--297, Com.w/God:Word--44, 96, 208, Commitment--2, 65, 185, 397, Criticism--67, Death--2, 34, Faith--29, Giving--86, Heaven--16, Humility--37, 159, Jealousy--1, Love--33, Mark 16:15--15, 25, 28, 36, 214, 269, 296, Redeem Time--31, Trials--30, 442, 449, 781]
MOORE, David H. (Bishop)
(1838-1915) American Methodist Episcopal Bishop. Although ordained in 1860, he fought in the Civil War. He later became a college president & Bishop.
MORE, Hannah
(1745-1833) An English evangelical leader in education before the turn of the century (1900). She was also a patron of the Sunday school movement & wrote many religious tracts for mass distribution. The upper classes read some of these, as well as those of William Wilberforce (see biography), & her writings helped improve social conditions of the time. Cockfighting died out & "dirty book" stores closed for lack of customers. [Love--255]
MORGAN, Campbell
(1864-1945) British preacher. The son of a Baptist preacher, Morgan himself had no formal training in either college or seminary. He tried to get ordained by the Methodists, who rejected him, & was finally ordained by the Congregationalists at the age of 26. He pastored small churches before being discovered by D.L. Moody. Then Moody took him under his wing & he became an internationally-known preacher, crossing the Atlantic over 50 times to preach or pastor in the U.S. He was especially known as a Bible teacher. Morgan began his Bible study early in the morning & permitted no interruptions until lunch time. And, unlike many preachers of the day, he did not preach about the Bible; he preached the Bible. [Com.w/God--1]
MORRISON, Robert
(1782-1834) British. Presbyterian minister & the first Protestant missionary to go to China! The British East India Company was almost the sole link to most of the East & Orient in those days & they refused to take missionaries on their ships because they were afraid the missionaries would hinder their commercial ventures. He finally went to America & obtained passage to China from there. It was there a ship owner asked him, "Mr. Morrison, do you really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire?" Morrison responded, "No, sir, but I expect God will!" When he reached Canton he was under the constant scrutiny of the East India Company, which prohibited any activity that in the least way bordered on evangelism of the Chinese. It was difficult for those he attempted to reach, too. He found two Roman Catholic converts who were willing to tutor him in Chinese, but they were so fearful of the authorities that they carried lethal poison with them in order to end their lives quickly & avoid the torture they would surely suffer if they were found out. Despite this, he finished translating the New Testament into Chinese in 1815 & persevered in China for 25 years. [Children--367, Commitment--357, Mark 16:15--55]
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
(1756-1791) Austrian composer, born in Salzburg, the son of a musician. At 3 he was learning the harpsichord & by 5 had actually written pieces for it. At 6 he was taken on a concert tour & played before the Emperor & other royalty. At 7 he was taken to Paris & Versailles & continued on a European tour, where he received great honours. In Italy he received the Order of the Golden Spur from the Pope. His reception as an adult was different, & although he produced some of his greatest works after he married, he was buried in a pauper's grave when he died of typhus at the age of only 35. [Enthusiasm--32]
MUELLER, George
(1805-1895) German who began life as a thief & never saw a Christian kneel in prayer until the age of 21. But after his salvation he moved to England, where he became known as "The Man of Faith." One of the early members of the Brethren, he founded 5 orphan's homes in Bristol with shelter for 2,000 children. During his lifetime he cared for almost 10,000 orphans & received 1-&-1/2 million dollars by faith alone. Before his death he estimated he had received 50,000 specific answers to prayer. [Com.w/God:Prayer--110, 130, 221, Faith--193, Riches--24]
MURILLO, Bartolome
(1617-1682) Spanish painter, born in Seville. Orphaned, he at first earned a living by painting cheap religious pictures. He later studied at Madrid & returned to Seville to paint religious subjects & a few portraits & pictures of common life. [Little Things--43]
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
(1769-1821) Emperor of France for 10 years, he conquered large parts of Europe & North Africa before being defeated by the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo. He wrote, "The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it . ... Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne & I myself have founded empires, but upon what do these creations of our genius depend?--Upon force! Jesus alone founded His empire upon Love, & to this very day millions would die for Him." (Also, it was Napoleon who once said, "Every army travels on its stomach!"--1677:28) [Com.w/God: Prayer--407, Commitment--45, Love--136, Paper Power--9, Rel.w/People--110, 138, Testimonies--2, 28, Trials--33, 247]
NEALE, John M.
(1818-1866) English clergyman & writer of hymns. He is said to have known something of 20 languages & his great work with hymns lay chiefly in his translations of Greek & Latin Christian hymns. [Trials--779]
NEE, Watchman
Chinese evangelical of the 1960s who was imprisoned for a time in Red China on false charges. Later released, he became a well-known church Christian & author. He was fairly revolutionary & preached at the churches, trying to get them under conviction for their neglect of the lost & their failure to evangelise the World. [Humility--14]
NEWTON, John
(1725-1807) He made several voyages with his father before 1742, when he was impressed into the British Navy. Because of ill treatment he deserted & for four years was captain of a slave ship, once almost thrown overboard for his cursing & atheism. He was later converted & became a minister. An outstanding preacher, he also wrote such popular hymns as "Amazing Grace." He was a friend of William Cowper, the poet, & they published a book of hymns. [Com.w/God:Prayer--370, Com.w/God:Word--202, Testimonies--25]
NEWTON, Sir Isaac
(1642-1727) Considered by many the father of modern science, he was one of the greatest physicists the World has ever known, discoverer of the force of gravity. At the age of only 27 he was called an "unparalleled genius." Yet he himself claimed that he made all his discoveries in answer to prayer! [Com.w/God:Prayer--76, 102, Com.w/ God:Word--38, Creation--26, Endtime--5, Science--15, Testimonies--23]
NICHOLAS II, Czar
(1868-1918) Last of the Romanov line, which had ruled Russia since 1613, he was unable to introduce social reforms & was forced to abdicate in 1917. Rasputin had prophesied that if the royal family had any part in his death, they would die soon afterwards. This prophecy was fulfilled when some of the nobility killed Rasputin & they were themselves swept away only a few years later. The Czar was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in 1918. (See also "Rasputin!" No.1118.) [Love--104]
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich
(1844-1900) German philosopher, the son of a pastor. At 24 he became a Professor of Greek, retiring because of poor health 10 years later. For 10 more years he fought pain & sickness, writing a great deal before he fell victim in 1888 to complete insanity, which lasted until his death. The main point of his philosophy was the evolution of a small group of strong dominant characters, the "Supermen," who by right should impose their will upon the weak unthinking mob. He rejected Christianity as the religion of the feeble, its teaching of humility being opposed to his beliefs. Dad mentions him several times in the Letters: "I am convinced that both Nietzsche & Freud were absolutely demonically demon-possessed!" (776:13) (See article on his insanity & Dad's comments in the WNE, pg. 37.) [God--11]
NIGHTINGALE, Florence
(1820-1910) English philanthropist & founder of scientific nursing. A fighter for her beliefs, she succeeded in improving the horrible hospital conditions of her time. Most professions of her day were dominated by men, & even Christian service was considered a male job. Florence above all else wanted to serve God in a Christian ministry, but there were no opportunities. "I would have given her (the church) my head, my hand, my heart. She would not have them." So she became a nurse instead, & took care of the poor & suffering. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." (Mat.25:40) [Commitment--1]
OSLER, Sir William
(1849-1919) Canadian physician who became a medical writer of international fame. He was made a baron in 1911. [Faith--280, Redeem Time--16]
OXENHAM, John
(1852-1941) English publisher, poet & novelist. Born in Manchester, England. [Choice--11, Death--19, Jesus--69, Love--155, 248]
PADEREWSKI, Jan
(1860-1941) Polish Jew, a famous pianist & statesman. Beginning as an internationally famous pianist, he raised great sums for the aid of his country during World War 1. His efforts were rewarded in 1919 when he was made Prime Minister of Poland. Unable to unite the various factions, he resigned after only a few months & returned to concert playing. He said about his practicing that if he missed one day, he knew it. If he missed practicing two days, his friends knew it; if he missed three days practice, the whole World knew it! [Commitment--60, Humility--53, Love--99]
PAGANINI, Nicolo
(1782-1840) Italian violinist, now almost legendary. His father taught him the violin & he first performed in public at the age of 9. In 1827 he was honoured by the Pope & in 1831 appeared for the first time in Paris & London, where he created an enormous stir. [Commitment--74]
PAINE, Thomas
(1737-1809), English-American writer & radical of his day. In 1776 he published "Common Sense," a pamphlet urging complete American independence from Great Britain, which had a tremendous circulation & is considered a major cause of the Declaration of Independence only 6 months later! In 1787 he went to London, where he had to flee because of his support for the French Revolution. Moving to Paris, he escaped the guillotine there only by accident & returned to the U.S. There he was reviled for his unconventional religious beliefs & died in poverty. [Faith--353, Jesus--6]
PALEY, William
(1743-1805) English theologian & philosopher. His views may be summed up in his own words: Christian virtue is "the doing good to mankind in obedience to the Will of God, & for the sake of everlasting happiness." [Creation--141]
PALMERSTON, Lord
(1784-1865) English statesman who was Prime Minister of England from 1855-1865. He held the conviction that Britain's interests were best served by peace rather than war & his statesmanship in 1830-1832 brought modern Belgium into being & probably prevented a European war. He also helped to keep Britain neutral during the U.S. Civil War. [Love--29]
PARKER, Francis Wayland
(1837-1902) American educator. A teacher from the age of 16, he served through the Civil War in the Union (Northern) Army, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. He continued to teach after the war until 1872, when he went to Germany to study the newer methods of education. He returned to the U.S. to emphasise more informal methods of teaching & "learning by doing" (the clinical method). He was a strong influence in changing traditional methods of teaching. [Children--127]
PASCAL, Blaise
(1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist, philosopher & writer. Deprived of his mother at the age of three, Pascal was brought up & educated by his father, a highly educated man. Gifted with great curiosity, he showed an early inclination toward math, but his father refused to teach him this until he had mastered Latin & Greek. It is said that the 12-year-old boy got impatient & discovered by himself the theorems of geometry. At 18 he invented a calculating machine & together with Pierre de Fermat he invented the calculus of probabilities. Some people also credit Pascal with having created the first wristwatch, & having set up the first bus route in Paris. In his mid-twenties he suddenly realised that "the Christian religion obliges us to live only for God, & to have no other aim than Him." So he gave up all his studies & worldly endeavours & withdrew to a convent to devote his remaining days to the task of refuting the lies of the atheists. [Happiness--6]
PASTEUR, Louis
(1822-1895) French chemist, one of the greatest chemists in history.--Although when he took the exam in chemistry for entrance to the University, his paper was returned with the word "mediocre" (average) written on it! He revealed the world of bacteria for the first time & did extensive work in the investigation & cure of many diseases. [Creation--5, 87]
PATON, John G.
(1824-1907) Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides Islands (South Pacific) who learned the language, translated the Bible & converted many of the natives from cannibalism to Christianity. He suffered great hardship & persecution but was a real sample of "shticking" to his job. [Creation--43, Faith--229, 369]
PEARSE, Mark Guy
(1842-1930) English clergyman & author, he was a prolific writer, mainly on religious themes.
PENN, William
(1644-1718) English Quaker, founder of Pennsylvania. He received his early education surrounded by the influences of Puritanism, which were becoming dominant in England. He spent his teen years in Ireland on his father's estate, an admiral, which Oliver Cromwell had granted him for his services. At the age of 33 he became converted & cast in his lot with the Society of Friends (Quakers), which was much despised at the time. He began to work on writing & preaching for his faith & 2 years later was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his beliefs. When informed that he would be freed if he recanted (denied his beliefs), he declared: "My prison will be my grave before I shall budge a jot, for I owe my conscience to no mortal man." While in the Tower he composed & published the first version of his greatest book, No Cross, No Crown. Released from the Tower, he continued to speak out for religious liberty. He threw himself into the religious pamphlet wars of the time, turning out over 40 controversial tracts in the 1670s. After William's father died, King Charles II was willing to cancel an old debt owed to William's father by granting William a huge tract of land in North America. Despairing of any real freedom in England, Penn looked across the Atlantic to America. "There may be room there, though not here," he wrote a friend, "for a holy experiment." So in 1681 he became proprietor of Pennsylvania, one of the most successful American colonies, which was marked by its peaceful relations with the Indians. [Testimonies--11]
PENNEY, J.C.
(1875-1971) U.S. merchant & millionaire who founded a series of chain stores in America. Despite his success, he said, "I would rather be known as a Christian than a merchant." [Children--268, Little Things--14, Rel.w/People--195]
PERSHING, John Joseph
(1860-1948) U.S. General & commander of U.S. forces in Europe in World War 1. He fought in the Indian Wars of 1886-91 & in the Spanish-American War in 1898. He commanded an expedition against the Moros in the Philippines in 1902 & became governor of Moro province there for a time. In 1914 he was appointed head of the American army in France & promoted in 1916 to General of the Army, the 4th officer to have that rank since Washington. A devout Christian, he once said, "I have known Jesus Christ now for 47 years, & I could not face life without Him. I commend such a Saviour to you." [Testimonies--3]
PETER THE GREAT
(1672-1725) Russian Czar. Impressed with Western civilization & anxious to advance Russia, he travelled through Europe to learn technical science & ship building. He introduced many changes in Russia, reorganising industry, education, the army, navy & the Russian church. He founded St. Petersburg to replace the old capital at Moscow & carried through his revolutionary reforms in spite of much opposition & was ruthless in his power. [Creation--54, Humility--64, Redeem Time--67]
PHELPS, William Lyon
(1865-1943) American educator, he was an instructor of English at Harvard before moving to Yale. The author of more than 25 books & many essays, he was also a popular lecturer. [Testimonies--26]
PHILLIPS, Wendell
(1811-1884) American orator & reformer, one of the finest speakers of the century. He was the most famous speaker in favour of the abolition of slavery & was also a fighter for many other reforms, many considered extremely radical at the time. He supported the causes of the Irish, Indians, & other minorities, the vote for women, prison reform etc. [Paper Power--6]
PICCARD, Jacques
(1922- ) Swiss underwater explorer from a family of noted scholars, scientists & explorers. He pioneered in building bathyscaphes (deep sea exploration vessels), some of which have gone as deep as 10,000 meters in the Pacific (7 miles!) [This n That--34]
PITTACUS
(650-569 B.C.) Statesman & sage who is known as one of the Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece. [Rel.w/People--187]
PIUS XI, Pope
(1857-1939) Pope from 1922-1939. His time as Pope witnessed the rise to power of Benito Mussolini, who signed with him the Lateran Treaty that allowed the existence of the independent Vatican City state, over which the pope ruled. He surpassed his predecessors in support of overseas missions, requiring every Catholic order to actively engage in this work, with the result that missionaries doubled their number during his pontificate. [Communism--38, 74]
PLATO
(428-348 B.C.) Greek philosopher, born at Athens of one of the most distinguished families of the city. In early life a pupil of Socrates, he set up his own school of philosophy in 387 B.C. Plato's philosophy was idealism, the belief that ideas, rather than matter, are the true reality, from which all life & creation stem. Plato glorified the rational soul as immortal & superior to the body. [Jesus--24, Truth--17]
PLUTARCH
(46-120 A.D.) Greek author who wrote the Parallel Lives of prominent Greeks & Romans (100 A.D.). They are arranged in pairs, a Greek & a Roman, with an essay comparing each pair.
POLYCARP
(75-166) Bishop of Smyrna (Turkey), & one of the Apostolic Fathers who was martyred for his faith. He was a disciple of John the Beloved. He had a thriving ministry in Smyrna & he was so forceful in his witnessing & preaching that he was denounced throughout all of Asia Minor as "the atheist," "the destroyer of our gods." In the eyes of the pagans & idol worshippers of his day he was glorifying a dead man (Jesus), & his stirring sermons on the teachings & miracles of Jesus, which he had been told firsthand by John, were especially upsetting. At the age of 86 the local Roman governor arrested him & ordered him to recant. When he wouldn't, he was burned at the stake.
POPE, Alexander
(1688-1744) English poet & translator, son of a prosperous linen merchant. He wrote in poetic form from a very early age. He is especially noted for his translation of Homer's Iliad, the Odyssey & an edition of Shakespeare. [Trials--247, 621]
PRIESTLEY, J.B.
(1894-1984), English novelist & critic. His early novels were fantasies. His later long novels, dealing in detail with the lives of average Englishmen, brought him fame. [Commitment--389]
PROCTER, Adelaide
(1825-1864) English poet. She wrote poetry at an early age, her first verses being published when she was 18. Her work is marked by deep feeling & tenderness. Many of her poems have been set to music, the most famous being "The Lost Chord." [Trials--221]
RADER, Paul
Another great man who was kicked out by the Christian Missionary Alliance!: "Paul Rader, Oswald Smith, my Mother & a whole lot of others came out of the Christian Missionary Alliance because it was too small-minded & too little to hold them!" (332A:12) "My Mother once asked the great evangelist, Paul Rader, 'Why are the labourers always so few?' And he answered wisely, 'I guess God can't break them fast enough.' How true! God only uses broken men & women!" (48:41) [Children--418]
RAIKES, Robert
(1736-1811) A Gloucester newspaper publisher who originated the idea of Sunday school. A man with great concern for children, he organised schools to give religious & moral training to poor youngsters. Before his time only charity schools took poor students, but they couldn't handle the vast numbers who wanted to come. So most poor children received no schooling. In his schools students learned to read the Bible & often received lessons in arithmetic as well. By the time he died, 31 years after the first school was opened, about 1/2 million poor students were attending Sunday schools. [Mark 16:15--311]
RALEIGH, Sir Walter
(1552-1618) English soldier, author & explorer. After experience as a soldier, he entered the court of Queen Elizabeth & became a great favourite of the Queen, who heaped honours & riches upon him. In 1584 he sent an expedition to America which explored the coast from Florida to North Carolina. The potato & tobacco were discovered & introduced to England. After King James 1 took power he fell into disfavour, was accused of plotting to kill the king & sent to the Tower of London. After 13 years he was released to head a gold-hunting expedition in Venezuela, but the expedition failed & upon his return he was executed under the old charge of treason. [Com.w/God:Prayer--94, Trials--697]
RAPHAEL
(1483-1520) Italian Renaissance painter, one of the greatest artists of his time. An associate of both Michelangelo & Leonardo da Vinci, he decorated a number of rooms in the Vatican & did frescoes & paintings throughout Italy. No painter in the World has had wider popularity. [Churchianity--44, Jesus--44]
RENAN, Ernest
(1823-1892) French philologist (one who studies languages) & philosopher. Educated for the priesthood, he was diverted to the study of Oriental languages. A scientific mission to Syria resulted in his chief work, The Life of Jesus. A rationalistic (unbelieving) approach to the study of Jesus' life, this book aroused hostility among orthodox believers. [Jesus--6]
RENOIR, Pierre
(1841-1919) French painter, he excelled in paintings of the nude, drawing flesh tones & textures with remarkable skill. Many of his subjects were from French life of the day & his paintings are known for their gaiety of colour. [Trials--530]
REYNOLDS, Sir Joshua
(1723-1792) Generally regarded as the greatest of English portrait painters. He was first President of the Royal Academy, 1768, & an intimate friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson & his circle of associates. [Commitment--390]
RICE, John R.
(1895-1980) American evangelist, writer & editor of a 16-page weekly soul-winning magazine entitled The Sword of the Lord, which is read by many Christians around the World. [Mark 16:15--46]
RICE, Helen Steiner
Modern American poet who has written many Christian poems. [Children--161, Com. w/God:Prayer--182, Commitment--231, Love--247]
RICHARD THE LIONHEARTED
(1157-1199) King of England. He revolted against his father, & on inheriting the English throne in 1189 led the Third Crusade, 1190, conquering Cyprus & Acre. While returning to England, Richard was captured by the Duke of Austria & imprisoned. He was ransomed for 150,000 marks 3 years later, & on his return to England pardoned his brother, John, for his plot with Phillip II of France to prolong Richard's captivity. He left for Normandy to defend his French possessions, fought & defeated King Phillip of France, but was mortally wounded in battle in 1199. [Love--85]
RILEY, James Whitcomb
(1853-1916) American poet who wrote of the common people & for them. He also wrote many children's verses & his work became very popular. For 10 years he travelled about the Ohio Valley as an itinerant sign painter, learning the Hoosier dialect & way of the people. His clever signs on farm buildings & fences attracted wide attention & praise. He led this carefree existence until his early 30s, when he joined a newspaper & began writing poems. He never married, but lived in hotels & lodging houses until 1893, when he took up residence in a house in Indianapolis. He was a personal friend of Dad's Grandfather, who lectured with him on the Chautauqua Circuit. Grandmother (Dad's mother) "used to sit on his lap & he'd tell her these stories that he always told, these famous poems." (1265:40) [Children--477, Criticism--72, Love--342, Special Days--9, Trials--214, 785]
ROCKEFELLER, John D. (Sr.)
(1839-1937) American financier & multi-millionaire. After a few years as an assistant bookkeeper, at 19 he bought a share in a firm. Then he & a partner invested $4,000 in support of a new oil-refining process, which proved tremendously successful. Their business spread over the whole field of the oil industry. In 1881 he formed the Standard Oil Company, the first organisation of its kind. He swallowed up many smaller oil companies & competitors by hook or crook, which was standard practice at the time, but was subjected to much criticism. In 1911 he resigned the presidency of the Standard Oil Company & after his retirement gave away an estimated $600 million to various charities. Although the Rockefeller sons have been linked to the Illuminati, Dad says of John D., the father: "I believe old John D. himself was a sincere Christian, I met him. He's the one that really started the family from poor boy on up & became the leader of Standard Oil, one of the richest men in the World!" (948:20) (See also "The Billionaire," LWG Vol. 2.) [Giving--37]
ROOSEVELT, Franklin D.
(1882-1945) 32nd President of the U.S., a distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt. Elected President 4 times, he guided the U.S. through World War 2 &, as Dad said, was probably the greatest President the U.S. ever had, but "He was really almost communising America. I believe what the Roosevelts would have done would have been to take America right into the Communist orbit & would have made good friends with Russia. From 1918-1932 the U.S. refused to recognise the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. FDR was the one who for the first time after World War 1 insisted upon recognising the Communists upon his election." (288:4-6) Of course he was also a Jew, as Dad commented in "From Whence Come Wars": "By the time WW 2 began, America had a Jewish president, Franlin Delano Rosenfelt! That was his original name, his family name, but they streamlined & modernised it. It's a typical German Jewish name."--And he was so determined to go to war to save the Jews, that he allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbour, even though he had advance information about the attack, "because he knew that was the only thing that would make the American people mad enough to go to war!" (601:52, 64-69) (See also GN 39, pg. 54, "The Zionist Connection.") [Churchianity--34, Commitment--38, Trials--621]
ROOSEVELT, Theodore
(1858-1919) 26th President of the USA, who believed that the USA should play a leading, aggressive role in international affairs. As Dad said in "Late News": "Teddy Roosevelt believed in walking softly but carrying a big stick, which he used frequently with the U.S. Marines to grab off South American & Latin American countries & banana republics & make them be good boys & behave & support the United States." (596:98) Roosevelt said, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education." Nevertheless, Dad said of him while in the spirit: "Teddy Roosevelt was a man of war, & that was all the big trouble! And Woodrow Wilson was a man of peace. Woodrow Wilson ask for peace, but bad spirits of Teddy Roosevelt ask for war. So you have lots of wars 'cause that's what Man wants, big wars, no peace! Teddy Roosevelt sowed big wars & they reject man of peace, so they get big wars. All the sons of Teddy Roosevelt are men of war! Poor Woodrow Wilson, he had so few sons of peace!" (1404:1,2,3) [Commitment--310, 358, Faith--312, Love--198, 283, Redeem Time--16, Rel.w/People--129, 186, Trials--366, 621, 698, War--40]
ROSSETTI, Christina Georgina
(1830-1894) English poet, born in London. Many of her poems are melancholy & deal with symbolic religious themes. She wrote in an exciting, fast-paced style that makes the poem especially effective when read aloud. [Creation--108, Love--341]
ROTHSCHILDS
A Jewish banking family founded by Mayer Anselm Rothschild at Frankfurt around 1780. While his eldest son continued the Frankfurt establishment, the other four sons opened branches at Vienna, London, Paris & Naples. Through their international cooperation & the increasing business of the new century, they built up a vast business & fortune. The Letter "Why the Crash" also mentions this Jewish banking family, who Dad calls "the Jews who run Europe": "The most important discovery in the history of banking came when bankers realised that even kings & governments ran short of money occasionally. One of the first bankers to loan money to the government was a German who became known as Rothschild (so named for the 'red shield' that he hung over his door) who started lending to the prince in power in the late 1700s & who soon found himself a part of the national finance business. To cover his loans to the government in the event that the prince in power was killed or decided not to pay back, he would also loan money to an opposing king to whom he could call for help if need be. To further protect himself, he convinced the prince to give him control over the banking of the nation. He said, 'Give me control over the nation's currency & I care not who makes the laws'. These banks that loaned to the government became known as central banks. Rothschild then sent his sons to the major cities of Italy, Austria, France & England to set up similar banks, which soon became powerful in the same manner, all the while cooperating with each other & not divulging their business secrets to outsiders." (867:8-10) Dad said, "I'm sure that the Protocols are still being run by the Elders of Zion in Israel! It was rumoured that 12 men are at the top ruling the World & one of them was the banker Rothschild, another was the Governor of New York, Rockefeller, & later we found out both Rockefeller & Rothschild are members of the witches that are running the World!" (1340:60) [Commitment--355, Trials--679]
ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques
(1712-1778) French writer, forerunner with Voltaire of the French Revolution. Born in Geneva, he ran away from home at 16 because of ill treatment & spent his early years wandering around Italy, France & Switzerland. In 1762 his most famous work appeared, a revolutionary pamphlet which had an enormous influence on the subsequent French Revolution. Rousseau was compelled to flee, first to Switzerland, then to England. His last years were harassed by his fear of persecution & he continually fled from place to place. He died in France 11 years before the Revolution began. [Jesus--6, Testimonies--27]
RUBINSTEIN, Anton
(1829-1894) Pianist whose fame during his lifetime was exceeded only by that of Liszt. Born in Russia, he appeared in his first Moscow concert at the age of 9. At 11 he was taken to Paris, where his playing impressed Liszt & Chopin. He founded the Conservatory of St. Petersburg in 1862. In 1867 he conducted tours through Europe & the U.S., meeting with great success & commanding large fees. [Love--99]
RUSKIN, John
(1819-1900) English author & critic, born in London. At 7 he wrote poetry & prose notable for its rhythm, a feature which marked his later style. His first essays were on the arts, but he later turned to political science, education & religion, & his essays on these subjects became very popular. [Art--2, 13, Trials--712]
RYLE, Bishop John Charles
(1816-1900) Anglican Bishop. The Church of England, to which Ryle belonged, was not very united. For years there had been a high church faction that promoted ceremonies & seemed to be drifting closer to Catholicism; a broad church group that was more tolerant but not too enthusiastic for the Gospel, & then the low church segment, known as the Evangelicals. It was to this latter group that Bishop Ryle belonged. He became Bishop of Liverpool in 1880 &, in restoring his old church, he had the workmen carve on the pulpit, "Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel!" When the workmen had finished, he took a tool & underlined the word "not" with a deep groove. Instead of using the funds available to him to build an ornate cathedral, he built 90 other places of worship & staffed them with over 130 ministers. [Criticism--67]
SAND, George
Pen name of Amandine Lucile Aurore Dudevant (1804-1876), French novelist. She was separated from her husband at the age of 27 & entered into many friendships with famous men of her time. Chopin was among her lovers.
SANDBURG, Carl
Dad mentions him in one of the Letters: "As that famous poet once said--the famous Swedish poet who played the guitar, Carl Sandburg, wrote in his famous poem, 'But death & suffering & pain go over the gates & over the walls & enter those homes!'" 1198:123)--Referring to the rich, who can't shut out fear & sickness & disease with their high walls!
SANKEY, Ira D.
(1840-1908) An American who is best known for having written so many Gospel songs & hymns, including one of Dad's favourites, "The Ninety & Nine," which he got in Scotland in the midst of an evangelistic campaign with Moody. He is also known because he was the song leader for the D.L. Moody evangelistic meetings. While a young man he began working for the YMCA & attended one of D.L. Moody's prayer meetings, where he sang. Moody asked him what type of work he was in, & when Sankey replied that he was a government employee, Mr. Moody told him, "You will have to give it up. I've been looking for you for 8 years!" He wasn't sure if he would or not. Then Mr. Moody asked him to meet him on a certain street corner, where he set a box before Sankey & told him to sing. In a short time there was a crowd, so Moody began to preach & then led them to the Opera building, where the meeting continued, to a packed house. Before long, Sankey had decided to drop out & become Mr. Moody's song leader. Fanny Crosby was one of his close friends & he often put her words to song. (See also LWG Vol. 2, pgs. 412-414, & LIN 27.) The demands for his music in printed form were so great that Sankey compiled his famous Gospel Hymns & Sacred Songs & Solos, of which over 50 million copies were sold around the World. [Love--33, Redeem Time--31]
SANTAYANA, George
(1863-1952), Spanish-American philosopher, writer & poet. Born in Madrid, he was educated at Harvard & a teacher at the Sorbonne, Paris. He lived in Italy after 1912 & spent his retirement years in a convent. [Christianity--28]
SARTRE, Jean Paul
(1905-1980) French philosopher & author who was the founder of the philosophy of existentialism (an atheistic belief that Man is alone in the Universe) [Peace--5]
SCHWAB, Charles
(1862-1939) American industrialist. He first drove a mail coach & then worked in a grocery store before beginning to work for Andrew Carnegie. He worked his way up to president of the Carnegie Company by the time he was 35. He later became head of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which he developed into one of the greatest industrial companies in the World. [Rel.w/People--142, 161]
SCHWEITZER, Albert
(1875-1965) Born in Germany, at the age of 8 he learned to play the organ & became a well-known musician, theologian & author of several important books. He played the organ in the great cathedrals of Europe, & not only knew how to play organs but how to build them. At the age of 30 he decided to devote his life to some direct service to Mankind & returned to medical school, then spent most of his next 50 years in Africa at his hospital. [Children--108]
SCOTT, Sir Walter
(1771-1832) Scottish novelist & poet who wrote many novels about the romantic days of valiant knights & ladies in England. One of the greatest of British writers, even though sometimes afflicted with strokes that left him partially paralysed. Dad often read his books when young. "I read every one of Sir Walter Scott's books, all 16 heavy tomes, as well as many other famed volumes on the knights & their crusades of those dark Middle Ages!" (400:1) [Children--31, Com.w/God:Word--48, Love--122, Trials--247, 389, 697]
SEEGER, Alan
(1888-1916) American poet. After graduating from Harvard he did a little writing before he went to Paris in 1912, where he continued his writing & attended classes in painting. At the outbreak of World War I he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion as a private. He was killed in action during the War at the early age of 28. His best-known poem is "I Have a Rendezvous with Death." [War--13]
SELFRIDGE, Henry Gordon
(1864-1947) American merchant. He became partner & general manager of the Marshall Field Co. in Chicago, but in 1904 he sold his interests & struck out for himself. He started a firm in Chicago under the name of Selfridge & later established Selfridge in London, which is now one of the largest stores in Europe. [Rel.w/People--57]
SENECA, Lucius
(4 B.C.-65 A.D.) Roman Philosopher & dramatist. He was banished by the emperor Claudius, & though recalled by Agrippina 8 years later & made tutor to Nero, he was later ordered by his former pupil to end his life. [Anger--19, Freedom--6]
SENNACHERIB
(705-680 B.C.) King of Assyria & son of Sargon II. He is famous mainly by reason of the Scriptural story of the Angelic destruction of the army he led against Hezekiah, King of Judah. (See 2Kings 18-19.) [Com.w/God:Prayer--2]
SHACKLETON, Sir Ernest
(1874-1922), English Arctic explorer. He joined Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition in 1901 but was obliged to return because of illness. He commanded the Antarctic expeditions of 1908-1909 & 1914-1917. In 1921 he started on a further expedition but died in 1922. [Mark 16:15--48]
SHAKESPEARE, William
(1564-1616) The greatest English poet, writer & dramatist. His plays are still famous today & he probably assisted in the translation of the King James Bible. His plays have many quotations from the Bible in them. "Shakespeare is a marvellous illustration of using word pictures. So many of his quotes are used, or used to be used, when people knew Shakespeare & knew his writings & appreciated good literature like that. They were remarkably descriptive & illustrative of the thoughts he was trying to bring out, & the plays he wrote particularly illustrated the truths & messages he was trying to get across to the people.--Most of which were very good & very needed, in which he quoted so much Bible that someone has said, that even if all the Bibles were burned, you could restore much of the Bible from the writings of Shakespeare himself!" (1317:70,71) Dad also said of Shakespeare, "I must have an old English Spirit Helper!--Maybe Shakespeare? Some old English bard gave me that poem 'Spirit Tree'!--Was it Shakespeare? Surely Shakespeare wouldn't give me something like that! But I saw him & it looked like Shakespeare with that ruffle 'round his neck.--He's bald-headed too, big eyes!" (536:19,74) (See also WND 50, pg. 8.) [Children--31, 376, Faith--413, Jealousy--15, 41, Patience--14, Testimonies--1, Trials--247]
SHAW, George Bernard
(1856-1950) Irish author & dramatist. As a speaker, book reviewer, music critic & dramatic critic, he established a reputation for outspokenness & bluntness. He once said, "There is nothing wrong with Christianity--just so few have ever tried it! He's really terrific!--As Jewish, of course, as he could be!" (42:30; 1283:141) [Children--456, Commitment--89, Communism--48, Education--44, Redeem Time--16, Trials--811]
SHELDON, Charles Monroe
(1857-1946), American Congregationalist pastor & author. He held a pastorate in Topeka, Kansas, 1886-1900, when he became editor of the Christian Herald. He is known chiefly for the stress he laid on the importance of following the teachings of Jesus in daily life. [Mark 16:15--277]
SHELLEY, Percy B.
(1792-1822), English poet. A brilliant poet of his day, he first achieved fame at Oxford while, as a student, he published his Necessity of Atheism, which was banned by the authorities. He died in an accident at the age of 30, as he drowned when a sailboat capsized in Italy. [Trials--127]
SIMPSON, A.B.
(1844-19??) American preacher & evangelist who founded the Christian & Missionary Alliance. He began as a Presbyterian minister, but after 2 years at a great Presbyterian church in New York he told the congregation, "You want a conventional church for respectable Christians. I want a multitude of publicans & sinners." Whereupon he resigned, rented a hall in a needy section of town, & began preaching to publicans & sinners. From this group grew the Christian & Missionary Alliance, of which Dad said, "This narrow-minded little denomination once had the faith, under its great founder, Dr. A.B. Simpson, to send over 2,000 missionaries to the field, but by the time I came along, as one of their young pastors, they were telling us we should close down some of our Bible schools for prospective young missionaries, because the field was no longer able to absorb the number of missionaries we were already producing in these schools!" (176:6) In "My Yoke Is Easy" Dad called him "that grand old man of faith," who said, "You cannot do the Master's Work without the Master's power!" (169:3) [Commitment--394, Trials--306, 679]
SIMPSON, Sir James
(1811-1870) Scottish obstetrician & developer of anesthesia. He entered Edinburgh University at 14 & became a doctor at 21. When he was 29 he was appointed professor of midwifery & wanted to ease the pain of women in childbirth. He established the usefulness of chloroform for this, although he met with much opposition. His support for the use of anesthetics in childbirth was helped when he was appointed personal surgeon to Queen Victoria in 1846 & treated her in childbirth. When asked once at a great public meeting what his greatest discovery had been, he replied without hesitation, "That I have a Saviour." [Testimonies--14]
SINGH, Sadhu Sundar
(1889-1933)--An Indian Sikh turned Christian! See his exciting biography in the WIM book reviews, Vol. 11, Page 274-275 & 278-279! [Mark 16:15--75, Trials--434]
SLESSOR, Mary
(1848-1915) Scottish pioneer missionary in Africa; often barefooted, scantily-clad & red-haired, who lived African style in a mud hut. The second of seven children, she had a hard childhood. Her alcoholic father often threw her out in the street when he came home drunk. By the time she was 14 she was working 10-hour days in the mills to support her family. She got saved as a teenager & started teaching Sunday school as well as working with a local mission. At the age of 26 she decided to become a missionary & sailed for Calabar (present-day Nigeria), known for its slave trade & unhealthy environment. She felt uncomfortable in the mission compound there & uneasy with the rich lifestyle of the missionaries stationed there. After a bout of malaria & a furlough back to England, she managed to get an appointment further out in the bush, where she was both freer & happier. For almost the next 40 years she would continue to pioneer missions in areas in which no white man had been able to survive previously. She supervised schools, dispensed medication, mediated disputes & mothered unwanted children, acquiring seven of them. At the age of 44 she was appointed vice-consul for her area, the first female vice-consul in the British Empire, in recognition of her work. Although she suffered recurring attacks of malaria & endured painful boils, she kept surprisingly healthy & vigorous for a middle-aged woman & died at the age of 66 in her mud hut.
SMITH, Gypsy (Rodney)
(1860-1947) His father, Cornelius, got converted when Rodney was 16, after he read part of "Pilgrim's Progress" & attended a Gospel meeting. Noticing the change in his father's life, Rodney got saved too & a few years later declared, "God has called me to preach!" In the year 1876 he taught himself to read with a Bible & an English dictionary. He practiced preaching in a turnip patch. Today he is remembered as a world-famous evangelist who shook two continents for Christ! He was a powerful & persuasive preacher, & with his gypsy love of music & a beautiful voice, he literally "sang sinners into Heaven." His services were informal, no order of a meeting was ever followed, as Smith remarked: "I always say, I shall be stiff enough in my coffin." And "I was born in a field, & you can't cram me into a flower pot." He could be quite cutting in his speech. A woman said to him once, "I don't believe in revivals," to which Gypsy snapped back, "No, Madam, the Devil doesn't either!" Dad mentions him in one of the Letters on Al Capone: "In 1909...the reformers were trying to clean up Chicago, led by the English evangelist, world-famous Gypsy Smith, who was often accompanied by Salvation Army bands & thousands of parishioners in his protest marches down the streets of the Levee singing hymns. These crusades against crime soon resulted in the formation of the Chicago Vice Commission & were joined by the newspapers in cries for reform." (1422:24) [Com.w/God:Prayer--276, Com.w/ God:Word--63, Heaven--1, Mark 16:15--20, 260]
SMITH, Hannah Whitehall
(1832-1911) American Quaker & philanthropist. She conducted Bible classes for women at her home in Philadelphia, & later, in England with her husband, she conducted a series of religious meetings. She was also an author & ardent worker for temperance (not drinking) & the vote for women. [Faith--16]
SMITH, Oswald J.
Dad describes him as "One of the greatest men I ever knew personally, pastor of the greatest missionary church in the World, supporting more missionaries than any other church in the World, over 500, People's Tabernacle, Toronto, Canada, a man who'd lived in our home & we in his, & the author of some of the most revolutionary New Testament missionary doctrine, whose writings, songs & sermons have inspired millions!" (52:20) He said something which Dad often repeats, "Those who can't make it at home will never make it on the mission field!--But if you can't be a missionary, then support a missionary!" (669:1; 1243:16) [Trials--312]
SMUTS, Jan C.
(1870-1950) South African soldier statesman. In 1900 he joined the Boer troops against the British, but later worked for peace & friendship with the British. He became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa in 1919 & was internationally known. But due to internal opposition in S. Africa was forced to step down in 1924. In 1933 the economic situation of South Africa grew so serious that he entered a coalition govt., becoming first Deputy Premier & later Premier from 1939-1948. [War--28]
SOCRATES
(468-399 B.C.) Athenian philosopher who some claim was a Christian before Christ. His chief religious innovation, & one for which he was finally tried & condemned to death, was his claim that he received guidance from a spirit within him. He was charged with casting doubt on the old gods & corrupting the minds of Athenian youth & condemned to die. [Children--8, Commitment--50, Jesus--24, Mark 16:15--60, Rel.w/People--58]
SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander
(1918- ) Soviet novelist & Nobel Prize Winner who achieved international fame in the early 1960s with the publication of The Gulag Archipelago, describing life in a labour camp in the Stalin era.--A life he experienced himself. He fought in World War 2 & rose to the rank of captain. But in 1945 he was arrested for writing a letter in which he criticised Stalin, & was imprisoned for 8 years, after which he spent 3 more years in a detention camp. After publishing some of his controversial writings inside Russia & working on behalf of other dissidents, he was attacked in the Soviet press, charged with treason in 1974 & exiled from Russia the day after his trial. He first settled in Switzerland before moving to the U.S. [Communism 46, 50, 58, 73]
SOPHOCLES
(496-405 B.C.) A Greek playwright, one of the most famous writers of Greek tragedies. He was one of the men who made Athens in the 5th century before Christ the center of one of the most brilliant civilisations in the history of ancient Europe. [Truth--3]
SPENSER, Edmund
(1552-1599) English poet. His greatest work was The Faerie Queene, published in several volumes. [Jealousy--39]
SPOCK, Benjamin
American author who wrote many books on babycare & childcare, who was against discipline because he felt it would "harm a child's development." "Now 30 years too late Dr. Spock is coming out with new books saying he was sorry he made a mistake & that some children do need disciplining & so on. After he's already ruined a whole generation, Americans particularly, he comes out & says I'm sorry, after they've already all become criminals & incorrigibles & whatnot! Well, you've got to hand it to him, at least he was honest & confessed." (606:70,71) (See also WND 22, pg. 60.) [Children--14]
SPURGEON, Charles
(1834-1892) English Baptist preacher who got saved at 15, became a pastor at 17 & by 21 was known as "the boy wonder of England." He founded a college for preachers, an orphanage & even a Gospel paper. His sermons were even published by American newspapers & many believe him to have been the greatest preacher since the Apostle Paul, as he organised his church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London, into the greatest soul-winning church of his time. (Grandmother had an 1853 edition of Spurgeon's Sermons in her library!--No.1715: Nov.1) No other preacher (except for Dad, of course) has had more messages published in the English language, numbering about 100 volumes, plus many tracts & leaflets. [Com.w/God:Prayer--221, 282, Faith--178, 188, Humility--26, Mark 16:15--12, 13, 174, 178, 183, 243, 297, 310, Righteous.--13, Testimonies--6, Trials--620, 787]
STALIN, Joseph
(1879-1953) Head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, for 25 years he dictatorially ruled the country & transformed it into a major World power. Originally trained for the priesthood, he joined an underground revolutionary group in 1900 & the Bolsheviks in 1903. After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin seized control & began a massive industrialisation program that was often brutal & bloody. In 1941 he directed the Soviet armies that threw back the German invaders & occupied the Eastern European countries, which were given to him by the U.S. & allies. As Dad commented in No.868:41: "The United States & her allies just signed private secret agreements with Russia at Yalta & Potsdam during the War in super-secret meetings with FDR, Truman, Churchill & Stalin, agreeing to give all those Eastern European countries to Russia, if Russia would just stay out of Western Europe! They did it because they were scared to death that Russia was going to keep right on marching into Paris & London!--After all, they weren't very far away!" [Communism 45, 72, World System--62]
STANLEY, Sir Henry Morton
(1841-1904), English explorer. He went to New Orleans at the age of 18 & enlisted in the service of the Confederate States. In the next few years he travelled to the West Indies & the Mediterranean. After visiting Palestine & India, he set out to look for Livingstone, & reached Zanzibar in 1871. On meeting him they explored Lake Tanganyika together & Stanley later declared that he had been converted by Livingstone's sample & influence! After his four months in Africa & after completing his hastily written best seller, How I Found Livingstone, Stanley made plans for his own expedition to Africa, which he began a year after Livingstone's death. Stanley regarded himself as a missionary as well as an explorer, & when he arrived in Uganda he tried his hand at Bible translation work for a time. But his greatest contribution to missionary work was his writing. He did more for the cause of missions in one emotional letter (published in the "Daily Telegraph") than many missionaries have done in a lifetime, as he passionately pleaded for missionary volunteers! In 1879 he helped to found the Congo Free State, later making the first complete crossing of Africa from West to East. [Mark 16:15--1]
STEINMETZ, Charles P.
(1865-1923) American scientist who made many discoveries in the field of electricity, although suffering from severe physical handicaps. He held over 200 patents for inventions & was the first to produce "man-made lightning." [Education--40, Rel.w/People--145, Trials--698]
STEVENSON, Robert Louis
(1850-1894) Scottish essayist, poet & novelist; born in Edinburgh. He wrote romantic adventures & mystery stories, especially popular among the young. He was ill much of his life. He spent the last 5 years of his life in Samoa as a planter. (Dad read some of his books when a teenager!--See No.1714:Nov.25) [Shtick--32, Trials--390]
STOWE, Harriet Beecher
(1811-1896) American writer, the sister of Henry Ward Beecher. She wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851, a direct attack on slavery. Although vividly done, it was not a true picture of conditions in the South & painted the slave masters as cruel tyrants. Nevertheless, in 5 years over half a million copies of the book were sold in the United States & it helped to liberate the slaves. [Redeem Time--16]
STRADIVARIUS, Antonio
(1644-1737), Italian maker of violins. A pupil of Amanti, who taught him the art, which he himself perfected. His violins are recognised as the finest ever made, some of which are still in existence. [Commitment--404, 405]
STRAUSS, Johann
(1825-1899) Famous as the "Waltz King," Strauss elevated the concert waltz to the highest level of elegance & charm it ever achieved. The son of a composer, he began composing music by the time he was 7, & was conducting in public before he was 19. For many years he led the summer concerts in St. Petersburg, Russia, before returning to Vienna, where he was appointed conductor of the court balls. Strauss was an international favourite, & his tours included a visit to the U.S. in 1872, where he led several orchestras & as many as 20,000 singers at one time. Dad said of him in "Currents 31": "Johann Strauss' music, now that is real music! That is what I call music, Heavenly music! We're going to have that kind of entertainment in Heaven! (Referring to beautiful dancers & beautiful gowns, waltzing, concerts, balls, ballets & symphonies!)" (No. 2183:19) [Redeem Time--16]
STUDD, Charles. T.
An outstanding pioneer missionary, he was also one of the greatest cricket players England ever produced. As a student at Cambridge, he was preparing to become a lawyer when his wealthy father got converted after an evangelistic campaign by Moody & Sankey. His father got him saved too & he decided that his life now belonged to God & that in the future he would become a missionary. He went to Hudson Taylor to offer his services as a missionary to China & persuaded 6 of his Cambridge friends to follow him, turning their backs on their wealth & sailing to China. While there his father died, leaving him 100,000 English pounds (worth about a million dollars at today's rates). He gave almost all of it away, a large amount to Moody, who used it to begin the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Returning to England for the sake of his health, he later went to South India & started a work there, & then later to Africa at the age of 50, even though he was old, sickly & without any financial backing! He began his 18-year venture to the Belgian Congo even though his wife had heart problems, & when he returned in 1916 (his only furlough), he found her better than ever. He was a dedicated man, who sacrificed everything for Africa, & he expected his fellow missionaries to do the same. He often worked 18-hour days with no let-up, & his missionaries were expected to live African style, avoiding any appearance of affluent European lifestyles. He created great controversy with one of the booklets he wrote, entitled DCD. In response to the lethargy he found amongst Christians, Studd said, "I want to be one of those who doesn't care a damn except to give my life for Jesus & souls." "DCD" (Don't Care a Damn) was the expression of his commitment, & his language shocked & offended many churchy Christians. It was in Africa that both he & his wife died in 1916. [Commitment--218, 254, Death--20, Mark 16:15--270]
SULLIVAN, Sir Arthur
(1842-1900) English composer of numerous light operas & songs, with the aid of Gilbert. His one opera produced independently of Gilbert was a flop. [Trials--531]
SULZBERGERS
A Jewish merchant & newspaper family, active in the U.S. in the early 1900s. Arthur Sulzberger became publisher of the New York Times in 1935. [Children--453]
SUNDAY, Billy
(1863-1935) American professional baseball player who got saved after hearing a Salvation Army Gospel team one afternoon while drunk, & later became an evangelist. By the time he died in 1935, the number of converts from his ministry had reached an estimated 1 million, with another 100 million who had heard him preach! He preached Jesus & didn't believe in getting side-tracked. Dad describes an example of this once when a guy tried to argue with Billy half the night about all kinds of things: "Finally Billy said, 'Listen, Buddy, do you want Jesus or don't you?--If not, go to Hell!'" (154:39) Sometimes accused of "rubbing the fur the wrong way," he replied, "I don't! Let the cats turn 'round!" He was sensational in his preaching. As an actor, he made scenes & people live. He was Naaman, the leper, sticking his big toe in the river & stubbing it against a big rock & screaming out, "Ouch!" As an acrobat he raced back & forth across the platform (one editor estimated he travelled a mile in every sermon). Billy broke chairs, stood on the pulpit, jumped from the platform into the pews to preach to one man to get saved. As an athlete he slid across the platform face first, depicting a former ball-playing friend getting called "out" at Heaven by God, the Umpire. And one of his sermons was so vivid & forceful until he toned it down a little, that it had a 10-minute period in which anywhere from 2-12 men fainted every time he preached it! [Churchianity--32, Com.w/God:Prayer--103, Mark 16:15--15, 74, Trials--596]
SUN Yat-Sen
(1866-1925) Leader of the Chinese Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), he is known as the father of modern China. Influential in overthrowing the Manchu dynasty, he served as first president of the Republic of China (1911-1912). As a youth he lived in Hawaii, where he became acquainted with Christianity & Western culture. Afterwards he studied medicine in Hong Kong & Canton, where he tried to provoke an uprising. Having failed, he spent the next 16 years working from exile, & returned in 1911 in the course of the revolution that overthrew the Manchus. Considered too radical by some of his colleagues, he resigned after a few months. But in 1923 he gained actual control of the country, installing himself as generalissimo with Russian assistance. During his two-year rule, which lasted until his death, he reorganised the Kuomintang on the model of the Soviet Communist Party. [Communism 76]
SWIFT, Jonathan
(1667-1745) British satirist who wrote Gulliver's Travels. [Creation--17, Old Age--21]
TABB, John Banister
(1845-1909) American poet & priest. He served during the Civil War on Confederate ships engaged in blockade running & was held prisoner for a short time. Converted to Catholicism in 1872, he decided to become a priest. He began writing poetry while in Confederate service but did not receive wide recognition as a poet until 1894. [Jesus--96]
TALLEYRAND, Charles Maurice de
(1754-1838), French statesman, who as a young man entered the church & in 1789 became bishop of Autun. He represented the clergy at a meeting with the French revolutionists in 1789 & sided with the Revolutionists. He proposed to raise funds by confiscation of church property. He was excommunicated by the Pope two years later. He later became Foreign Minister & then Prime Minister during the era of Napoleon. [Christianity--1]
TALMAGE, Thomas DeWitt
(1832-1902) American Presbyterian clergyman & writer. For 30 years his sermons were printed weekly in religious & secular papers, & in 1901 it was estimated that they were published in 3,600 newspapers in various languages. He also appeared weekly for many years as a lyceum lecturer, & over 50 volumes of his books were circulated across the U.S.--Yet the president of his seminary when he was a young student had doubts that he would ever make a preacher at all, & told him bluntly, "Talmage, frankly, & in all kindness, I must tell you that I solemnly think you have made a mistake in your calling. Get a position selling goods behind a dry goods counter or take a clerkship in a law office, or, if necessary, follow the plow, but do not think of becoming pastor of a church. You are not fitted for it at all. It is a great mistake for you to waste your time."--An observation which was obviously lacking discernment! [Faith--67, Mark 16:15--243]
TAYLOR, J. Hudson
(1832-1905) English missionary who, when he was only 5 years old, decided he wanted to become a missionary to China. When he was a teenager, he borrowed a book on China from a minister in town, who asked him how he proposed to go to China. Taylor replied that, like the Apostles of old, he intended to trust God for all his needs. "Ah, my boy, as you grow older," said the minister, "you will get wiser than that." Despite this disbelieving churchman, Taylor started preparing to go at the age of 17 & arrived there at the age of 21, after a 5-1/2 month ship voyage. There was civil war when he landed at Shanghai, rebels holding the city, & many other fearsome circumstances to overcome. Despite many hardships he founded the China Inland Mission, which was responsible for putting thousands of missionaries on needy fields. In a radical departure from the churches of the day, he accepted missionary candidates who had no college training & required his missionaries to identify with the Chinese by wearing Chinese dress. Becoming Chinese was a complicated process for the blue-eyed, blond-haired Englishman. The baggy pants "two feet too wide around the waist" & the "flat-soled shoes" with turned-up toes would have been trial enough, but to blend in with the Chinese people, black hair & a pigtail were essential. So he gave up most of his hair to the barber, died the remainder & plaited a pigtail, & wore Chinese spectacles, really becoming one. The more he travelled China, the greater became his burden for the souls there. His vision was to muster up 1,000 evangelists, who he hoped could reach 250 people a day with the Gospel, thus evangelising all of China in a little over 3 years. He never reached his goal, but by 1895, 30 years after its founding, the China Inland Mission had more than 640 missionaries investing their lives in China. Before he died, Taylor said, "Had I a thousand lives, China would claim every one." [Com.w/God: Word--6, Commitment--25, Faith--3, Mark 16:15--127, 209]
TAYLOR, Jane
(1783-1824) English poet, author of children's poems. Born in London. [Little Things--27]
TAYLOR, Jeremy
(1613-1667) English bishop & author. He was made chaplain to King Charles I. During Cromwell's reign he was imprisoned & afterwards retired to write. [Righteous.--19]
TENNYSON, Alfred
(1809-1892) English poet who was the representative poet of the Victorian era. Upon the death of Wordsworth, Tennyson became the Poet Laureat of England, a title given to the state poet of Great Britain, the official poet of the king or queen. In 1884 Tennyson was made a Baron. As a child he was gifted, but hated formal school. He once wrote, "Bible reading is an education in itself." [Children--31, 237]
TERTULLIAN
(160-245 A.D.) Roman Christian author who was, along with Augustine, the greatest of the early Christian writers in Latin. [Com.w/God:Prayer--320]
THEMISTOCLES
(514-449 B.C.) Athenian statesman & soldier. He commanded the Athenian fleet against Xerxes & won the Battle of Salamis, 480 B.C.. Although he was largely responsible for the rehabilitation of Athens, he was accused of corruption & ostracised. [Children--235]
THOMAS a KEMPIS
(1380-1471) German priest & writer. He was educated by the Brothers of the Common Life, a religious order of men who passed their existence transcribing manuscripts & compiling & writing religious books of various sorts. At the age of 19 he entered a monastery and was ordained a priest. He loved to transcribe the Scriptures, & the fame of his eloquence & zeal was spread abroad. He owes his present fame to his treatise "In Imitation of Christ," which has been translated into every language in Christendom. [God--17, Habits--9, Mark 16:15--296, Peace--20]
THORWALDSEN, Albert
(1770-1844) Danish sculptor, born in Copenhagen. He went to Rome at the age of 27 & became one of the leading neoclassicists (sculptors who make statues in the ancient Greek & Roman style). [Commitment--359]
TITO, MARSHALL
(1892-1980) Original name Josip Broz, Yugoslav statesman. Originally a mechanic, he served in the Austro-Hungarian army in WW1. Captured by the Russians, he joined the Red Army & returned to Yugoslavia to work with the Yugoslav Communist Party. He spent some time in Moscow for training before becoming secretary-general of the Yugoslav Party in 1937. After the partition of Yugoslavia by the Germans in WW2, Tito, with the help of veterans of the Spanish Civil War, was able to defeat another resistance army & by 1943 controlled a large part of the country. With the support of both the U.S. & Russia he became the head of government. In 1945 he ran for president, unopposed, & won an 80% majority, & in 1963 was made president for life. He adopted a policy independent of both the Soviet & Western blocs & established ties with other nonaligned nations in Africa, Asia & Latin America. Dad said of Tito in one Letter, "Every now & then, along comes a very big strong dictator. He & his country are more powerful than the clay countries, so these iron countries will just take over the clay countries--like Stalin did & Hitler did & Mussolini did & lots of great dictators have done, Franco, Tito, etc." (975:114) [Communism--39]
TOLSTOY, Leo
(1828-1910) Russian novelist & philosopher, he was of noble birth & fought in the Crimean War. He later wrote War & Peace, an epic novel of Russian resistance to Napoleon's invasion. As Dad talks about in "War & Peace": "In War & Peace Tolstoy is looking for an answer. It's a picture of the human soul searching for an answer. Did he ever find it? It's summed up like this: His answer to Man is Man, not God. If Man could get it together he could solve his own problems. It's literally a masterpiece & by a mastermind like Tolstoy, who however eventually did find his answer in simple faith in God!" (255:1,6,7,21) After 1876 he renounced orthodox Christianity & became converted to a personal faith, based on an extremely simple life, brotherly love, nonviolence & nonresistance to evil. He put his faith into practice by dressing & living like a peasant, founding schools & giving away all his earthly goods. He once wrote: "To understand the whole work of the Master is not in my power; but to do His Will, written in my conscience, that is in my power, & that I know without a doubt. And when I do this, then undoubtedly I am at peace." [Conviction--4, Love--73]
TORREY, Reuben A.
(1856-1928) American evangelist. After hearing Moody preach, he asked him how to win people to Christ. Moody replied, "Go at it. That's the best way to learn," & he did, beginning that same day with a girlfriend he'd been taking to dances. "The first time I saw her after my conversion, I commenced to reason with her out of the Scriptures. It took two hours of talking to her, but she accepted Christ," he testified. After a time as superintendent at Moody Bible Institute he began a round-the-World evangelistic campaign, winning 20,000 souls in Australia, New Zealand & India. In Great Britain alone he won 75,000 souls. During his British campaign he told one audience, "I would rather win souls than be the greatest king or emperor on Earth; I would rather win souls than be the greatest general that ever commanded an army...My one ambition in life is to win as many as possible. It is the only thing worth doing, to save souls; and men & women, we can all do it." Dad said of him, "One of Moody's disciples, R.A. Torrey, was also on fire for the Lord & wrote books on the subject (of personal witnessing). He was a student under Dwight L. Moody & finally went to Los Angeles & established the great Torrey Bible Institute, its main purpose being to teach the average Christian how to witness & win souls!" (1725:7) Torrey also led young Oswald J. Smith to the Lord at the age of 16, who would one day organise the People's Church in Toronto. (See Smith, Oswald.) [Children--478, Com.w/God:Prayer--26, Commitment--18, Mark 16:15--41]
TOSCANINI, Arturo
(1867-1957) Italian orchestra conductor. A dynamic, tempestuous personality, he achieved tremendous fame in the concert hall & from radio & TV programs that presented the best of classical music. He conducted in the U.S. for many years & was conductor of the NBC Symphony orchestra from 1937-1954. [Trials--698]
TOYNBEE, Arnold
(1889-1975) English historian whose Study of History provoked much discussion. The idea for A Study of History came to him in 1921, he began work on it in 1927 & between 1934 & 1961 he published its 12 volumes. A prolific writer, he continued to write books on world religions, Western civilisation, classical history & World travel throughout the 1950s & 1960s. Dad often quotes his famous words: "The only thing we ever learn from history is that we never learn from history!" Toynbee also talked about what curses cities were, describing them as "festering sores on the body politic!" (See also Dad's comment on Toynbee & his writings at the end of "Lewis, Clive Staples.") [Endtime--14, Enthusiasm--41]
TRENCH, Richard C.
(1807-1886) Poet & philologist (one who studies languages), Dean of Westminster (1856) & Archbishop of Dublin (1864). He published three volumes of poems, much influenced by Wordsworth, as well as other books on language.
TROTSKY, Leon
(1879-1940) Russian revolutionary, first arrested for his activities at the age of 19. Four years later he made his way to England & lived in various European countries, where he was arrested & expelled for political writings. He reached New York in 1916 but returned to Russia in 1917 & took part in the October Revolution of 1917. "Marx, Lenin, Trotsky & nearly all the creators of Communism were Jewish! Trotsky wanted Russia to immediately extend the revolution throughout the World, overthrow Capitalism instantly, immediately!--And if they had tried to do that, Communism would have been destroyed long ago & there would be no Communist Russia today." (379:14; 939;37) Stalin exiled him in 1928 & he travelled through many countries before settling in Mexico in 1936. He was assassinated there in 1940. [Mark 16:15--32]
TWAIN, Mark
(Pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910), American humorist, born in Missouri. He spent his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, where he worked as a printer & later became a Mississippi River pilot of steamboats. He went to Nevada & at the age of 27 became a newspaper reporter using the pen name Mark Twain (Term used by river leadsmen for a sounding two fathoms deep). Dad says of some of his books, "Even when I was a kid I thought Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn were horrible! They were terrible, terrible kids! I think they're really corruptive for children or young people to read or watch those stories. I mean, it really teaches kids to lie & steal & disobey & even get violent! Terrible! I think that dear Jew Mark Twain was up to trying to corrupt the Christians by corrupting their youth." (1566:35) (See also WND 36, pg. 60.) [Children--445, Greatness--19, Marriage--12, Rel.w/People--100, Trials--367, War--2]
Van DYKE, Henry
(1852-1933) American clergyman & writer. He wrote in many forms, especially short stories, essays & poems. In one passage he wrote, "Born in the East & clothed in Oriental form & imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the World with familiar feet & enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. Children listen to its stories with wonder & delight, & wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked & the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded & penitent it has a mother's voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams, so that Love, Friendship, Sympathy, Devotion, Memory, Hope, put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own." [Com.w/God--6, Com.w/God:Praise--44]
VERNE, JULES
(1828-1905) French novelist, the author of a number of early science fiction books, many of whose fantastic creations have come to pass! His books include Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea & Around the World in Eighty Days. In NHC 32, "Paradise," Dad talks about him: "Jules Verne wrote a lot of things about the future. He wrote of a lot of things that hadn't happened in his day, but have happened since then. So he was really kind of a prophet! He was the first one to write about a submarine that went down under water. He also wrote about a flying ship & he even wrote about rockets flying to the Moon! He lived way back a hundred years ago, yet he wrote about all these things that hadn't happened yet & now have happened, so he was really a prophet." (2281:6,7) [This n That--11]
VICTORIA, Queen
(1819-1901) Queen of Great Britain & Empress of India, she took the throne at the age of 18 & ruled for 64 years, & gave rise to many royal descendants throughout Europe. She once said of the Bible, "That Book accounts for the supremacy of England. England has become great & happy by the knowledge of the true God through Jesus Christ." (See also WND 16, pg. 62.) [Children--123, Com.w/God: Word--52, 95, Trials--575]
VOLTAIRE, Jean Francois
(1694-1778) French author & philosopher. He was born in Paris & educated at the Jesuit College. He early gained fame for his wit & writings & became involved in politics in Paris. For this he was banished in 1715 & imprisoned in 1717 & repeatedly exiled for his satires & anti-System stance. He was considered an atheist & an infidel in his day, but Dad said, "They thought Voltaire was an atheist, an infidel, but if you actually read his writings he talks quite a bit about God! Voltaire's hatred was mostly for the church system because he could see its sins & its wickedness in its heyday in France & how it was bringing France to its ruin!" (See No.1257:40-48.) [Com.w/God:Word--38, 137, Endtime--5, Redeem Time--15, Rel.w/People--162]
VON BRAUN, Wernher
(1912-1977) German space scientist who developed the V2 rocket for Germany during World War 2, but was sent to the U.S. after the war & helped pioneer America's space program. Even though a well-known scientist, he became an active Christian & declared, "When Mankind was given the opportunity to know Christ almost 2,000 years ago, the World was turned upside down through the widespread witness of His followers. The same thing could happen today." Dad said, "If it had not been for the German scientists, America would never have been able to develop its present space program, its present missile program & all the rest. They got it all from the Germans. Wernher von Braun, a more brilliant scientific mind than even America had, shot for the stars & almost succeeded!" (1066:80) [Children--4, Death--3, Science--3]
WAGNER, Wilhelm Richard
(1813-1883) Famous German composer who was well-known for his offensive personality & questionable sense of values as well as his music. Dad describes his music in "Almond Tree": "...the pagan music of the demon-possessed Wagner, whom Hitler also loved & sought after. Hitler said Wagner was the heart of Germany!" (158:3) (See also WNE, pg. 1003.)
WALEWSKI, Marie
Polish countess who became a lover of Napoleon & bore him a son. [Love--279]
WANAMAKER, John
(1838-1922) American merchant. The retail clothing business which he established with his brother became the largest in Pennsylvania, & he opened a skyscraper department store in 1903. He was Postmaster General for 4 years, founder of Bethany Sunday School & President of the YMCA. He was the originator of free delivery & the slogan, "the customer is always right." From his first store he delivered goods personally to customers in a wheelbarrow. [Com.w/God:Word--1, Rel.w/People--166]
WASHINGTON, Booker T.
(1858-1915), American Negro educator. Born a slave in Virginia, he worked his way through an agricultural institute & later attended Wayland Seminary. In 1881 he organised the Tuskegee Normal & Industrial Institute, to which he devoted the rest of his life. [Love--198]
WASHINGTON, George
(1732-1799) American soldier & statesman, first president of the U.S. At the outbreak of the war with Great Britain he was appointed commander-in-chief of the American army. In the confusion of unorganised troops & poor discipline, he displayed great organisational ability & strength of character. His judgement was called "common sense lifted to the level of genius." For 3-4 years he fought the British, until the moment when, with 6,000 trained men, he marched 400 miles to help the French forces at Yorktown, forcing the British commander to surrender. Unanimously chosen president of the new government, he served two terms, refusing a third. He lived for 3 years in retirement & died at his estate, as he wished, "amid the mild concerns of ordinary life." He once said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the World without God & the Bible." Dad said of him, "That verse is on Washington's tomb, 'He that believeth on Me shall never die!' (Jn.11:26) God bless him! I expect to see that old Jew Up There." (1717:2) (See also WNE, pg. 769.) [Children--31, Love--34, Rel.w/People--117, Testimonies--8, 30, Trials--311, 698, War--45]
WATSON, Thomas
(1874-1956) American industrialist. He began his business career at 17 as a store clerk in Painted Post, New York, & worked his way up to President of IBM at the age of 40. Originally "The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company," IBM changed under his leadership to manufacture business machines of all types, up to today's mammoth computers. He created IBM's famous watchword, "Think!" & actively promoted World trade as well as being a warm friend of the United Nations & other international groups.
WATTS, Isaac
(1674-1748) English minister & well-known hymn writer. He was a pastor in London until 1712. A distinguished preacher & author of popular religious works, he is now remembered mainly for his poetry. [Commitment--292, Love--24, Protection--4]
WEBSTER, Daniel
(1782-1852) American orator & Secretary of State for 3 Presidents. He gained great fame as a constitutional lawyer before the Supreme Court & a defender of a strong American Union. He felt the country was more important than what he regarded as the disruptive issue of abolition (of slavery). A devout Christian, he said, "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures." [Com.w/God:Word--2, 47, Testimonies--15]
WEBSTER, H(arold) T(ucker)
(1885-1952) American cartoonist. At the age of 7 he began to draw, & when he was about 12 he sold his first cartoon. He began his career as a newspaper cartoonist, working for some of the leading papers in the U.S. In 1931 he began to draw for the New York Herald Tribune, & eventually his work was syndicated in over 120 North American papers. [Humility--65]
WEBSTER, Noah
(1758-1843) American lexicographer (dictionary editor). He graduated from Yale, was a lawyer, journalist, judge & later member of the legislature in Connecticut. His Elementary Spelling Book became an indispensable textbook of pioneers in new settlements. Income from its sale enabled him to devote his entire time to the preparation of his dictionary. The American Dictionary of the English Language was first published in 1828 & has been updated & published many times since then.
WEIZMANN, Chaim
(1874-1952) Scientist & Zionist leader, first president of Israel. Born in Russia, he taught chemistry in Switzerland & England before becoming a British citizen in 1910. He helped secure the Balfour Declaration, favouring a Jewish homeland in Palestine, after his research work for the British during the war. He was the first president of Israel, 1948-1952. [This n That--16]
WELLINGTON, Duke of
(1769-1852) Beginning as a British administrator in India, he returned to England & fought Napoleon & the French armies for over 7 years in various parts of Europe before giving him his most famous defeat at Waterloo in 1815. He later became Prime Minister of England, but was more successful as a soldier than a politician. [Commitment--98, Love--123, Mark 16:15--250]
WELLS, Herbert George
(1866-1946) British novelist & popularizer of learning, he wrote the best-selling "Outline of History" as well as fantasies predicting future scientific developments, many of which have come true! He wrote The Time Machine, War of the Worlds & The Invisible Man, among others. [Testimonies--18]
WESLEY, Charles
(1707-1788) Younger brother & helper of John Wesley. At college he gathered about him a group of strict churchmen who came to be known as "Methodists." He was a powerful preacher & wrote over 6,000 hymns for the new sect, including "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" & "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing." [Com.w/God:Praise--71, Jesus--117, Trials--674]
WESLEY, John
(1703-1791) Born in Lincolnshire, England, the 15th of 19 children, Wesley was ordained an Anglican priest. In 1735 he & his brother Charles went as missionaries to the British frontier colony of Georgia, USA, to preach to the Indians. John lasted the longest, but after a love affair, had to leave heartsick because of his failure. But on May 24, 1738, Wesley got saved while listening to a preface to the Epistle to the Romans, written by Luther. He said a great spiritual change happened within himself. Inspired by the Moravian Brotherhood, he thought to start a religious order within the church rather than break with it, but he soon differed with them & dropped out & began the Methodist church. He travelled at least 4,000 miles on horseback & preached over 40,000 sermons, sometimes to crowds of 100,000 people out in the open in the famous Welsh revival. And as Dad mentioned in No. 318C:26, he always preached to the children so all could understand! "There'd been a great wave (of revival) under the Methodists when they were still young & on fire under John Wesley. But by the time General William Booth came along, they'd solidified & iced into cold formal churches--everything that Wesley had preached against! He preached against church buildings, hierarchies, denominations, Church of England, Catholic church & all that, & they just had their little meetings in homes & halls & places like that." (1648:27) But although Wesley preached against the church & tradition, he had a few odd doctrines of his own, as Dad explains: "Sometimes I wonder about John Wesley--the Devil up to his old tricks. Under King Henry VIII, the Church of England had already split off from Roman Catholicism, but 200 years later, Wesley spilt off from the Church of England & began the Methodist church. And although he supposedly preached grace, his major doctrine was so-called 'Holiness', a strong religion of works rather than grace.--You had to be holy, good, perfect & not sin!--Or you could lose your salvation every time you had a bad thought! All the varieties of Methodists & 'Holiness' denominations came from the Wesleyan Methodists, including all the various Pentecostal denominations! Luther, Calvin, Knox & virtually all the early Reformers were grace people, & this swing-back to works didn't come until the days of Wesley when he began to promote works & piety & self-righteousness!" (1385:9,10) By Wesley's death there were more than 125,000 Methodists & 1,500 preachers. [Change--1, 31, 128, Com.w/God: Prayer--130, Commitment--420, Criticism--53, Enthusiasm--4, Faith--130, 279, 408, Giving--5, Love--83, Mark 16:15--49, 83, 182, Old Age--6, Rel.w/People--10, 155, Riches--26, Sin--59, Trials--17, 343, 407]
WHITE, William
(1868-1944), American journalist. Born in Emporia, Kansas, he became owner & editor of the "Emporia Daily Gazette" at the age of 27. Because of his vigorous personality & editorial writing, the paper came to be nationally read. He represented the American Red Cross in Russia during the First World War & went to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. [Speech--6]
WHITEFIELD, George
(1714-1770) English evangelist (Methodist) who was a close friend of John Wesley. After leading revivals in America, he returned to England, where the state church locked its doors to him. So he took to the fields, preaching to crowds of 30,000 or more. He later returned to America & was so fruitful that Ben Franklin declared, "It seems as if all the World is growing religious." He & Franklin developed a lasting friendship, & Franklin describes his reaction to one of Whitefield's sermons: "... I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, & I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, & five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, & concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, & determined me to give the silver, & he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold & all." Whitefield preached from 40-60 hours a week, a total of more than 18,000 sermons during 34 years of public ministry. "I would rather wear out than rust out," he told a friend who protested that he preached too often. He often quoted the adage, "We are immortal until our work is done." When you realise that he was not a healthy man, that he often had severe spells of vomiting, & that he arose each morning at 4:00 am, this record becomes even more amazing! [Com.w/God:Prayer--85, Humility--98, Mark 16:15--59, 281, 296]
WHITMAN, Walt
(1819-1892), American poet. After being a printer, teacher & journalist, he published his first poems, "Leaves of Grass," in 1855. This created a sensation by its style & subject matter. He expressed his unconventional opinions in free verse. During the Civil War he acted as a journalist, clerk & nurse. [Children--124, This n That--29]
WHITTIER, John Greenleaf
(1807-1892) American poet, a Quaker, who wrote many popular ballads. He was strongly anti-slavery & wrote many articles against it. [Com.w/God:Word--42, Jesus--73, Love--227, Trials--153, 574]
WHITTLE, David W.
(1840-1901) Nineteenth century hymn writer who contributed some hymns to Moody & Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos, a hymnal which grew from a sixpenny pamphlet to a book of over 1200 hymns! [Trials--568]
WILBERFORCE, William
(1759-1833) English Member of Parliament who helped abolish the slave trade in England after his conversion. He also helped open India to missionaries in 1813 & protected travelling evangelists in Britain from government interference. [Trials--590, 591]
WILCOX, Ella Wheeler
(1855-1919), American poet. She became a writer of verse at an early age & published Poems of Passion in 1883, which met with great popularity. Her work was syndicated & published in many newspapers & magazines. [Trials--303]
WILLARD, Emma
(1787-1870) American educator, writer & poet. She did a great deal for women's education in the U.S., introducing mathematics & philosophy, subjects unheard of for women of the day, who weren't considered capable of mastering such things! She worked out new methods of teaching geography & history, trained hundreds of teachers & wrote textbooks which won immediate fame. She opened the way for high schools for girls & women's colleges.
WILLKIE, Wendell
(1892-1944) U.S. Republican Presidential candidate who tried to unseat Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was running for his third term, in 1940. He lost by a large majority. [Commitment--38]
WILSON, Harold
(1916- ) British statesman who was elected to Parliament at the age of 29. He went on to become Prime Minister of Britain for the first time in 1964. (See also WND 51, pg. 10.)
WILSON, Woodrow
(1856-1924) 28th President of the U.S. He had a distinguished scholastic career & became Professor of Law & later head of Princeton University. In 1910 he became Governor of New Jersey before being nominated for President in 1912. Because of a split in the Republican Party, he was elected. On the outbreak of the World War, Wilson, who wanted peace, stood by the American policy of non-interference in Europe & refused to enter the war. But his position was complicated by actions such as blockades & the sinking of the Lusitania that indirectly involved the U.S. in the struggle. He was re-elected President in 1916 on a platform to keep the U.S. out of the war. But in 1917, following atrocities on American shipping by German submarines, war was declared on Germany. After the war he went to Europe to try to gain support for his League of Nations, but lukewarm support there as well as opposition at home killed the idea. This opposition ended in a physical breakdown & he retired from public life in 1920. (See also Roosevelt, Theodore.) A firm Christian, he once said, "A man has deprived himself of the best there is in the World who has deprived himself of a knowledge of the Bible." Dad called him "a man of peace" in "The Ashraf, Roosevelt, Wilson Revelation!": "Woodrow Wilson was a man of peace. Spirits of Woodrow Wilson ask for peace, but bad spirits of Teddy Roosevelt ask for war. You reap what you sow! Teddy Roosevelt sowed big wars & they reject man of peace, so they get big wars. That's that. So sad, so plain, so simple. Poor Woodrow Wilson, he had so few sons of peace!" (1404:1-3) (See also WND 46, pg. 7.) [Mark 16:15--269]
WINROD, Gerald B.
An ardent antagonist of Communism who blamed its American inroads on its Jewish leadership. "Because we had the Rev. Winrod speak in our church in Jewish-dominated Miami, Florida, the Jews picketed & demonstrated against our church, threatened our lives, kidnapped my Mother, cut off her hair at gunpoint & nearly killed her! The man himself left town under police guard due to these Jewish Communist threats!" (1221:17-18) [Faith--418]
WITHERSPOON, John
(1723-1794) American Presbyterian clergyman, educator & patriot. A leader of the conservative group of the Presbyterian church, he became president of Princeton at the age of 45 & held that position until his death. He was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence & during the American Revolutionary War he performed many useful tasks. After the war he went back to his efforts to organise the Presbyterian church in the U.S. [World System--55]
WOOLWORTH, Frank
(1852-1919) American merchant. At the age of 27, on small funds, he opened a "5-&-10 cent store" in New York & Pennsylvania. Soon after he opened one in New York City. The chain spread over the U.S. & abroad. By 1919 between 1000-1500 stores were managed by the Woolworth Company. The Woolworth Building in New York City, 760 feet high, was the highest building in the U.S. when it was built in 1912. [Rel.w/People--168]
WORDSWORTH, William
(1770-1850) English Poet Laureate with great faith in God. He once wrote, "There is never sorrow of heart, that shall lack a timely end, if but to God we turn, & ask of Him to be our Friend!" "As Wordsworth said, 'The World is too much with us!'--And if we can just get away from it for a while & sit in quietness & confidence & relax in peace...that's a step in the right direction." (1852:9) [Creation--109, Death--26, Trials--611]
WURMBRAND, Richard
A Rumanian Jew who was converted to Christianity & became a well-known preacher in Bucharest, Rumania, continuing to witness both through the Nazi era & after the Communist takeover in 1944. He converted 2 rooms of his 3-room apartment into a chapel, usually preaching to groups of 200 at a time, while another 200 waited their turn in the yard. He continued to preach openly despite persecution, often with a group of his congregation surrounding him to fight off Communist gangs who would try to hit him, or throw things. He & his family also witnessed individually to the Russian soldiers occupying Rumania & published a number of underground tracts, pamphlets etc., as well as holding supposedly secret mass meetings. "Richard Wurmbrand was a militant Christian who suffered persecution because he refused to conform, he refused to obey the rules & he refused to stay in church...he kept working underground & publishing pamphlets underground...so he spent several years in prison." (1779:37,38) (See also No.1815:44-45.) In 1965 Christians abroad raised $10,000 & paid for visas for Wurmbrand & his family & they were allowed to leave Rumania. [Giving--53]
WYATT, Thomas
(1503-1542) English poet. He found employment at the court of King Henry VIII & went on many missions for him. In 1527 he was sent to Italy, where the Spanish captured him & held him for ransom, but he managed his own escape. He later officiated at the marriage of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn, whom he may have known most of his life & whose lover he was reputed to be. He served on a special mission to France & the Netherlands in 1539. His enemies plotted his downfall the following year on charges of treason, but his honesty, courage & eloquence won. He wrote out a dramatic defense & circulated it & his accusers were put to shame. New honours were bestowed upon him, & he was on a special mission to escort Spanish envoys when he caught fever & died at the age of 39. He was the author of one of Dad's favourite poems, "Beaten Paths Are for Beaten Men!" (328B:31) [Faith--171, Vision--8]
ZIEGFELD, Florenz
(1869-1932) American producer of musical comedies & annual revues, called "Ziegfeld Follies." He was widely acclaimed for the magnificence of the costumes & scenery & the beauty of the chorus girls. [Death--60, Faith--299]
ZWEMER, Samuel
(1867-19??) American missionary to the Islamic world. The 13th of 15 children of a pastor, he became a missionary in his late teens, as did 4 of his brothers & 1 of his sisters. He had a burden for Saudi Arabia, & since no mission board would support him (they considered it "impractical"), he raised his own support to go there, leaving at the age of 23. After 7 years he moved to Bahrain to work with the Muslims there, finding it a difficult field. The heat was almost unbearable & 2 of his little daughters, ages 4 & 7, died within 8 days of each other. He continued witnessing, but actual converts were rare, although he was becoming famous in the Christian world for his witnessing activities. In 1912 he was asked to relocate in Cairo & coordinate the missionary work to the entire Islamic world. He did so, finding Cairo more open, but still suffering intense opposition from devout Muslims. During his time in Cairo he wrote hundreds of tracts & nearly 50 books, but his converts were few--only about a dozen for nearly 40 years of service. [Com. w/God:Word--208]
ZWINGLI, Huldreich
(1484-1531) The Reformer of Switzerland, who died in battle against the Catholics. As a young priest he became disillusioned with the church & wailed, "If I can't trust the church, who can I trust?" His teacher replied, "You can trust Christ. He alone bore your sins." Later as a priest in Zurich, he lectured on the New Testament & began to reform Zurich, working with the city council. He rejected much of Catholicism because of the abuses of the church & took a stand, winning debates with the Catholic bishop. His preaching influenced Luther, who also took a stand in Germany. Thirteen years later John Calvin made known his convictions on salvation by grace. Two years after that, Menno Simons joined the ranks of the Reformers. Then came John Knox, his convictions also tempered by the writings of Zwingli, who had a great impact upon the age. [Humility--45]