Dwight L. Moody

Dwight Lyman Moody was a predominant evangelist, author, and publisher. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he moved first to Boston, where he converted to evangelical Christianity in 1856, and then to Chicago, where he prospered in business. He gave up business in 1860 and engaged in missionary work with the YMCA (1861-73).

He founded Moody Church and preached in the slums, emphasizing literal interpretation of the Bible and the need to prepare for the Second Coming. In 1870 he teamed up with the hymn writer Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908), and they began a series of highly popular revival tours in Britain and the U.S. Moody founded the Northfield School (1879), the Mount Hermon School (1881), and the Chicago Bible Institute (1889; now the Moody Bible Institute).