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This is the day that … Ira David Sankey was born in Pennsylvania, in 1840. His father was a prominent man, a state senator, banker and editor. He was under appointment by Abraham Lincoln to collect internal revenue.
Young David displayed a fondness for music and developed an excellent singing voice.
In his early years he [...]

This is the day that … Samuel H. Hadley was born in 1842, in Morgan County, Ohio, USA.
Sam Hadley was brought up in a log cabin. “In our log cabin,” he later wrote, “I could lie on my bed and see the stars through the cracks in the roof and feel the snow sifting down [...]

This is the day that … The Reverend Adam Clarke died in 1832.
Born 1760 or 1762, in the little village of Moybeg, county of Londonderry, this friend and fellow preacher with John Wesley is especially remembered for his massive Bible commentary, which is still in print.
In his childhood his mother taught him to have strong [...]

This is the day that … Michael Faraday died in 1867.
The third son of a Yorkshire blacksmith, young Faraday grew up to know the meaning of the word ‘poverty’. But the family attended the nearby chapel and was rich in things spiritual.
His interest in electricity motivated him to write to Sir Humphrey Davy, asking if [...]

This is the day that … John Owen died in 1683, at the age of 67.
He has been called “the Calvin of England” and “the theologian of the Puritan movement”.
James Packer writes, “In an age of giants, he overtopped them all” (Quest for Godliness, page 191).
His writings, “weighty with learning”, fill some 28 large volumes. [...]

This is the day that … Rowland Hill was born in 1744, in Shropshire, England, son of Sir Rowland Hill, a baronet. He was afforded education at the best schools, but he chose to relate most with the common man. He scandalised his superiors by undertaking open air preaching and visitation before he was ordained.
This [...]

This is the day that … Emily Chubbuck was born in 1817, in New York State, the fifth child in the family. Her family was poor and her health not substantial. She suffered from frequent headaches.
In childhood we find her working in a woollen mill 12 hours a day … then school teaching … and [...]

This is the day that … George Grenfell (not to be confused with Wilfred Grenfell of Labrador!) was born in 1849, near Land’s End in Cornwall, England.
At fifteen years of age, in the spiritual aftermath of the great revival of 1859, he was soundly converted and baptized. His first job, apprenticed in a large hardware [...]

This is the day that … Francis Asbury was born in 1745 – the “first apostle of American Methodism”.
Born in England, he worked as a blacksmith for a time and was converted in a barn. “The preacher,” he wrote later, “had no prayer book, yet he prayed wonderfully. What was more extraordinary, the man took [...]

This is the day that …Alexander Henderson died in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1646.
Henderson was born in 1583 at Criech, Fifeshire. He graduated at the University of St Andrews in 1603 and in 1610 was appointed professor of rhetoric and philosophy. Shortly after this he was appointed to the parish of Leuchars by Archbishop George Gladstanes.
Henderson’s [...]