author
Henry Francis Colby
1842–1915
A Baptist minister and writer from a prominent New England family, he brought scholarship and a pastor’s eye to both devotional writing and historical biography. His best-known work, Under Cæsars' Shadow, explores the world of the early Roman emperors around the time of Jesus.
1 Audiobook
Under Cæsars' Shadow
by Henry Francis Colby
About the author
Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1842, Henry Francis Colby was the son of philanthropist Gardner Colby. He studied at Brown University and later at Newton Theological Institution, then went on to a long career as a Baptist minister.
Colby served for many years as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, and was also active in Baptist educational and missionary work. Alongside his ministry, he wrote hymns and memorial volumes, showing a gift for clear, thoughtful religious writing.
He is also remembered as the author of Under Cæsars' Shadow, a historical study of the first Roman emperors and the world surrounding the beginnings of Christianity. He died in Dayton in 1915, leaving behind a body of work shaped by faith, learning, and an interest in history.