CONWELL, Russell H(erman) 1843(?)-1925

PERSONAL: Born February 15, 1843 (some sources cite 1842), in South Worthington, MA; died December 6, 1925, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Martin and Miranda (Wickham) Conwell; married Jennie Hayden, 1865 (died, 1872); married Sarah Sanborn, 1874; children: (first marriage), one son, one daughter; (second marriage) one daughter. Education: Yale University, law degree.

CAREER: Worked as a schoolteacher, 1859-60; lawyer in Minneapolis, MN, and in Massachusetts, 1865-81; assistant at Baptist church in Lexington, MA, c. 1872-79; ordained Baptist minister, c. 1880; Grace Baptist Church (also known as Baptist Temple), Philadelphia, PA, pastor, c. 1880-1925. Temple College (now Temple University), founder and president, 1884, founder of Conwell School of Theology (now part of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary); also founder of newspapers Daily Chronicle, Minneapolis, MN, and Somerville Journal, Somerville, MA, Boston Young Men's Congress, and three hospitals in Philadelphia, PA. Public speaker. Also worked as MN immigration agent. Military service: Union Army, beginning 1862; became lieutenant colonel.

AWARDS, HONORS: Bok Prize, City of Philadelphia, PA, 1923; named among twenty-five outstanding preachers in the United States, Christian Century, c. 1925.

WRITINGS:

Lessons in Travel, 1870.

Why and How: Why the Chinese Emigrate, and theMeans They Adopt for the Purpose of Reaching America, Lee & Shepherd (Boston, MA), 1871.

History of the Great Fire in Boston, November 9 and10, 1872, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1873.

Woman and the Law, H. L. Shepherd (Boston, MA), 1875, published as Woman and the Law: A Comparison of the Rights of Men and the Rights of Women before the Law, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1876.

Life and Public Services of Governor Rutherford B.Hayes, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1876.

History of the Great Fire in Saint John, June 20 and21, 1877, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1877.

The Life, Travels, and Literary Career of BayardTaylor, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1879.

The Life, Speeches, and Public Services of GeneralJames A. Garfield of Ohio, B. B. Russell (Boston, MA), 1880.

(With John S. C. Abbott) Lives of the Presidents of theUnited States of America: From Washington to the Present Time, H. Hallett and Co. (Portland, ME), 1881, art edition published as Lives of the Presidents: A Graphic History of the United States, three volumes, J. M. Towers and Co. (Chicago, IL), 1902.

The Life and Public Services of James G. Blaine, withIncidents, Anecdotes, and Romantic Events Connected with His Early Life, E. C. Allen and Co. (Augusta, ME), 1884.

Biography of General John A. Logan, (Augusta, ME), 1884.
"Gleams of Grace": Eight Sermons, Business Men's Association of Grace Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA), 1887.

Acres of Diamonds (lecture), J. Y. Huber (Philadelphia, PA), 1890, published as Acres of Diamonds: Russell Conwell's Inspiring Classic about Opportunity, edited by William R. Webb, illustrated by Betty Fraser, Hallmark Editions (Kansas City, MO), 1968, new edition published as Acres of Diamonds: All Good Things Are Possible, Right Where You Are, and Now! edited by Robert Shackleton, Tree of Life Publications (Joshua Tree, CA), 1993.

Conwell's System of Oratory, H. Neil (Philadelphia, PA), 1892.

Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the World's Greatest Preacher, Edgewood Publishing (Philadelphia, PA), 1892.

Little Bo: A Study in the Ninth of John (fiction), American Baptist Publications Society (Philadelphia, PA), 1892.

Present Successful Opportunities: An Original Presentation from the Standpoint of To-day of the Master-Motives and Methods that Determine Success in Life, in Connection with the Author's Great Lecture Acres of Diamonds, Temple Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1902.

The New Day; or, Fresh Opportunities, a Book forYoung Men, Griffith & Rowland Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1904.

How to Live the Christ Life, Fleming H. Revell (New York, NY), 1912.

The Jolly Earthquake; or, The Power of a CheerfulSpirit, Temple Review Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1917.

Observation: Every Man His Own University, Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1917.

What You Can Do with Your Will Power, Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1917.

How a Soldier May Succeed after the War, "theCorporal with the Book," Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1918.

The Angel's Lily (history of Temple University), Judson Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1920.

Effective Prayer, Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1921.

Why Lincoln Laughed, Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1922.

Sermons for the Great Days of the Year, George H. Doran (New York, NY), 1922.

Unused Powers (sermons), Fleming H. Revell (New York, NY), 1922.

Borrowed Axes and Other Sermons, Judson Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1923.

The Romantic Rise of a Great American (biography of John Wanamaker), Harper and Brothers (New York, NY), 1924.

Six Nights in the Garden of Gethsemane, Fleming H. Revell (New York, NY), 1924.

Fields of Glory, Fleming H. Revell (New York, NY), 1925.

Magnolia Journey: A Union Veteran Revisits theFormer Confederate States, edited by Joseph C. Carter, University of Alabama Press (University, AL), 1974.

Shorter works include "Hon. Benjamin F. Butler," Aurora Club (Boston, MA), 1874; "He Goeth before You," F. M. Barton (Cleveland, OH), 1909; and "The Value of Probation," [Philadelphia, PA], 1921.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Bjork, Daniel W., The Victorian Flight: Russell H.Conwell and the Crisis of American Individualism, University Press of America (Washington, DC), 1979.

Burr, Agnes Rush, Russell H. Conwell and His Work, John C. Winston (Philadelphia, PA), 1917.

Religious Leaders of America, 2nd edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Wylie, Irvin G., The Self-made Man in America: TheMyth of Rags to Riches, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1954.

periodicals

American Mercury, May, 1928.*