Billy Graham

Billy Graham
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Name	Billy Graham
Caption	Graham preaching in 1966
Birth name	William Franklin Graham Jr.
Birth date	7 November 1918
Birth place	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Death date	21 February 2018
Death place	Montreat, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Evangelist, ordained minister
Spouse	Ruth Bell, 1943, 2007
Children	5, including Franklin Graham and Anne Graham Lotz
Religion	Christianity
Church	Southern Baptist Convention
Education	Florida Bible Institute, Wheaton College

Billy Graham was an American evangelist and a prominent Protestant figure of the 20th century. His large-scale public events, known as crusades, were held globally for over six decades, reaching hundreds of millions in person and via broadcast media. Graham served as a spiritual advisor to multiple U.S. presidents and played a significant role in shaping modern evangelicalism.

Early life and education

William Franklin Graham Jr. was born on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina, to William Franklin Graham Sr. and Morrow Coffey Graham. His religious awakening began in 1934 after attending a series of revival meetings led by traveling evangelist Mordecai Ham. Following his graduation from Sharon High School, Graham enrolled at Bob Jones College but soon transferred to the Florida Bible Institute near Tampa. It was there he practiced preaching along the banks of the Hillsborough River and was ordained in 1939 by a church in the Southern Baptist Convention. He then pursued further theological training at Wheaton College in Illinois, where he graduated with a degree in anthropology in 1943.

Ministry and evangelistic career

Graham's national prominence began with his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, a tent revival whose scheduled run was dramatically extended due to overwhelming response, garnering attention from media magnate William Randolph Hearst. He co-founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950, which organized his worldwide crusades and produced programs like The Hour of Decision radio show. Major events included historic meetings in Madison Square Garden, London's Hyde Park, and behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary and Poland. Graham was a pioneer in using television and satellite technology for evangelism, culminating in global telecasts like Global Mission. He also founded the evangelical magazine Christianity Today in 1956 and frequently addressed issues of racial integration, notably desegregating his crusades and supporting Martin Luther King Jr..

Influence and legacy

Graham's influence extended deeply into American culture and politics, where he cultivated relationships with every U.S. president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama, most closely with Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. His ministry helped define post-war evangelicalism, fostering networks like the Lausanne Movement and inspiring subsequent generations of evangelists, including Billy Kim and Luis Palau. The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte serves as a museum and archive of his work. His approach, which combined a simple gospel message with mass media outreach and ecumenism, set a template for modern religious communication.

Personal life and family

In 1943, Graham married fellow Wheaton College student Ruth Bell, daughter of Presbyterian missionary surgeon L. Nelson Bell; the couple made their lifelong home in Montreat, North Carolina. They had five children: Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin, and Nelson Edman. Franklin Graham succeeded his father as president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and leads the international relief organization Samaritan's Purse. Ruth Bell Graham, a noted author and poet, died in 2007. Graham's later years were marked by health challenges, including hydrocephalus and Parkinson's disease.

Awards and honors

Throughout his life, Graham received numerous accolades, including the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was frequently listed on Gallup's list of most admired men and was awarded the Templeton Prize for progress in religion. He received the Big Brother Award for his service to youth and honorary knighthood from the United Kingdom. Many institutions bear his name, such as the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College and the Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte.

Category:American evangelists Category:20th-century Protestant religious leaders Category:Southern Baptist Convention