Henry A. Atkinson

Born in Merced, California, on August 26, 1877, Henry Avery Atkinson was educated at Pacific Methodist College and also attended Garrett Biblical Institute. He was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1902 and served churches in Illinois, Ohio, and Georgia before moving into national leadership work.

Much of his career centered on religion's role in social reform and international peace. He served with the National Council of Congregational Churches, later became general secretary of the Church Peace Union from 1918 to 1955, and was also involved with major ecumenical and peace efforts, including the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches and the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work. He was a founding member of the World Council of Churches and also worked with anti-intolerance and anti-Nazi organizations.

As a writer, Atkinson published works such as The Churches and the People's Play (1915), Men and Things (1918), and Prelude to Peace: A Realistic View of International Relations (1937). He died in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 24, 1960. Today he is remembered less as a literary celebrity than as a determined organizer and author whose writing grew out of a long public life devoted to peace, faith, and international cooperation.