author
Henry Ward Beecher
1813–1887
A magnetic 19th-century preacher and reformer, he became one of the best-known public voices in America through his sermons, lectures, and writing. His life mixed moral passion, celebrity, and controversy in a way that still feels strikingly modern.
4 Audiobooks
Conflict of Northern and Southern Theories of Man and Society Great Speech, Delivered in New York City
by Henry Ward Beecher
Twelve Causes of Dishonesty
by Henry Ward Beecher
Pleasant Talk About Fruits, Flowers and Farming
by Henry Ward Beecher
Gamblers and Gambling
by Henry Ward Beecher
About the author
Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregational minister, speaker, and writer who rose to national fame in the 1800s. He was the son of the minister Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, and he became especially known for his powerful preaching at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn.
Beecher was a leading public advocate for abolition and used both the pulpit and the lecture platform to speak on slavery, religion, and social reform. Contemporary reference sources also note his support for causes such as women’s suffrage, along with his broad, liberal approach to Protestant Christianity.
His reputation was enormous during his lifetime, though it was also shaken by a widely publicized adultery trial in 1875. Even so, he remains an important figure in American religious and cultural history, remembered for his influence as an orator, reformer, and bestselling religious author.