Birthdays on February 15

Birth of Russell H. Conwell, Baptist pastor and educator, who was famous for his lecture, Acres of Diamonds, which he delivered some 6,000 times. As pastor of a Philadelphia church, he began Temple College in 1888 (a night school for working people), which became Temple University. While honoring the Bible as true, Conwell stressed his belief that hard, intelligent work and godliness yield material reward.