author
David Brainerd
1718–1747
Remembered for a brief, intense life of faith, this 18th-century missionary worked among Native American communities in the Northeast and left behind journals that deeply influenced later Christian readers. His story is often read not just for what he did, but for the honesty and spiritual urgency in how he wrote about it.
1 Audiobook
The Life of Rev. David Brainerd, Chiefly Extracted from His Diary
by David Brainerd
About the author
Born in Haddam, Connecticut, in 1718, David Brainerd became a Presbyterian minister and missionary during the colonial era. He is best known for his work among Native American communities, especially Delaware groups in New Jersey, as well as for his efforts in parts of New York and Pennsylvania.
His life was short and physically difficult. After studying at Yale, he entered ministry and spent much of his adult life traveling, preaching, and keeping detailed journals about his inner struggles, religious convictions, and missionary work. Those journals became a major part of his legacy.
Brainerd died in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1747 at just twenty-nine years old. His friend Jonathan Edwards later published an account based on his diaries, which helped make Brainerd one of the most widely remembered early American missionaries.