T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt) Talmage

Born in New Jersey in 1832, Thomas De Witt Talmage studied at New York University and at the Reformed Dutch Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, graduating in 1856. He served several pastorates before rising to national fame in Brooklyn, where his energetic preaching drew very large crowds.

Talmage became especially well known through the Brooklyn Tabernacle and through sermons that were widely printed in newspapers. His speaking style was vivid, emotional, and accessible, helping him reach readers and listeners across the United States and abroad.

Along with preaching, he was a prolific religious writer and lecturer. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1902, but his sermons and devotional works continued to circulate for years afterward, preserving his reputation as one of the most widely recognized Protestant preachers of the late nineteenth century.