R. A. (Reuben Archer) Torrey

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1856, Reuben Archer Torrey studied at Yale University and Yale Divinity School before entering ministry. He served as a Congregational pastor early in his career, then became closely associated with Dwight L. Moody’s work in Chicago.

Torrey is especially remembered as an evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author. He led or helped lead major revival campaigns in the United States and abroad, served for many years as superintendent of Moody Bible Institute, and later pastored Moody Memorial Church. His writing often focused on prayer, the Holy Spirit, evangelism, and confident trust in the Bible.

He also played an editorial role in The Fundamentals, the influential series of essays that helped shape conservative Protestant thought in the early 1900s. Readers who come to Torrey today usually find a clear, earnest writer whose aim was always practical: to call ordinary people to prayer, Scripture, and Christian service.