Ackley, Alfred H(enry)

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Ackley, Alfred H(enry)

Ackley, Alfred H(enry), American minister and composer; b. Spring Hill, Pa., Jan. 21, 1887; d. Whittier, Calif., July 3, 1960. He studied harmony and composition in N.Y. and London. Following his ordination in the Presbyterian Church in 1914, he held pastorates in Pa. and Calif. Ackley wrote some 1, 500 hymns, of which the most famous was He Lives (1933). He also wrote gospel songs, secular songs, and children’s songs. His brother, Bentley DeForest Ackley (b. Spring Hill, Pa., Sept. 27, 1872; d. Winona Lake, Ind., Sept. 3, 1958), was a composer and ed. of gospel songs. He served as pianist and private secretary to Billy Sunday (1908–15). In 1910, with Homer Rodeheaver, he founded the Rodeheaver-Ackley publ. firm in Chicago. He wrote more than 2, 000 gospel songs.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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