Birth of Edgar Page Stites, Methodist frontier preacher, hymnwriter and missionary, in Cape May, New Jersey. He was a direct descendent of John Howland, who came to America on the Mayflower, and a cousin of Eliza E. Hewitt (also a noted hymnwriter). Two of his hymns include "Beulah Land" and "Trusting Jesus" (under the pseudonym "Edgar Page").
William Bell Riley, one of the most diligent fundamentalists of his day, was born in Greene Country, Indiana. For 45 years he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis. Along with Norris of the South and Shields in Canada, Riley was the voice of historic Christianity against the infiltration of liberalism. Converted at age 17, he earned a reputation as a debater in the public schools, and was torn between a legal profession and a call to preach.
