Russell H. Conwell

1843–1925 · Baptist (United States) · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Russell Herman Conwell (1843–1925) was an American Baptist minister, lawyer and orator who built the Grace Baptist Temple in Philadelphia into one of the largest congregations in the country and founded Temple University to educate its working men and women. He delivered his lecture Acres of Diamonds more than six thousand times and gave the proceeds to the education of poor students. He preached at the Temple until within a few weeks of his death.