William W. Walter

Born on July 13, 1869, in Sublette, Illinois, William W. Walter grew up in a large family and later studied business in Chicago. He married Barbara A. Stenger in 1890, and after years of serious illness in the early 1900s, he became deeply interested in Christian Science and mental healing.

According to accounts of his life, that period changed his direction completely. After recovering, he devoted himself to healing work, teaching, and study, but eventually left organized Christian Science because he believed the ideas should be treated as a practical science rather than a religion.

Walter went on to develop what became known as the Walter Method and wrote a number of books, including The Pastor's Son, The Doctor's Daughter, and Five Years in Christian Science. He is closely associated with the movement later called Eschatology, which continued to circulate his teachings after his death in 1941.