Charles Otis Gill

author

Charles Otis Gill

b. 1868

A Yale football standout turned Congregational minister, he moved from the rough early days of college athletics into a life of public service and writing about rural America. His work with Gifford Pinchot helped shine a light on the condition of country churches in the United States.

1 Audiobook

Six Thousand Country Churches

Six Thousand Country Churches

by Charles Otis Gill, Gifford Pinchot

About the author

Born on March 4, 1868, in Walpole, Massachusetts, Charles Otis Gill led an unusually varied life. He graduated from Yale in 1889, earned notice as a standout football player there, and was named to the 1889 All-America team.

After college, he entered the ministry as a Congregational clergyman. He also spent brief periods coaching football, including one season at California in 1894 and another at New Hampshire in 1908.

Gill is also remembered as a co-author, with Gifford Pinchot, of influential books on rural churches in the United States. He died on June 2, 1959, leaving behind a career that connected religion, education, athletics, and social concern.