Adventist Pioneers

Meet the men and women whose faith, sacrifice, and vision laid the foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

William Miller

William Miller

1782 – 1849
Pioneer of the Millerite Movement
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Elon Galusha

Elon Galusha

1790 – 1856
Baptist Minister, Abolitionist & Millerite Evangelist
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Joseph Bates

Joseph Bates

1792 – 1872
Co-founder of the SDA Church
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George Storrs

George Storrs

1796 – 1879
Preacher and editor
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Henry Dana Ward

Henry Dana Ward

1797 – 1884
Chair, First General Conference on the Second Coming
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John Byington

John Byington

1798 – 1887
First General Conference president
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Stephen Pierce

Stephen Pierce

1804 – 1883
Preacher and leader
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Charles Fitch

Charles Fitch

1805 -- 1844
Preacher and prophetic cartographer
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Joshua V. Himes

Joshua V. Himes

1805 -- 1895
Publicist of the Millerite movement
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Hiram Edson

Hiram Edson

1806 – 1882
Adventist pioneer
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Samuel S. Snow

Samuel S. Snow

1806 – 1870
Preacher
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Apollos Hale

Apollos Hale

1807 – 1898
Millerite Preacher, Editor & Chart Designer
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John Preston Kellogg

John Preston Kellogg

1807 – 1881
Early financial supporter of the Adventist movement
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William Farnsworth

William Farnsworth

1807 – 1888
First layman to keep the Sabbath
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Josiah Litch

Josiah Litch

1809 -- 1886
Preacher and writer
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Rachel Oakes Preston

Rachel Oakes Preston

1809 – 1868
Lay missionary
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Thomas M. Preble

Thomas M. Preble

1810 – 1907
First American Adventist to accept the seventh-day Sabbath
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Frederick Wheeler

Frederick Wheeler

1811 – 1910
First ordained minister to preach the Sabbath
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Roswell F. Cottrell

Roswell F. Cottrell

1814 -- 1892
Writer and editor
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Sylvester Bliss

Sylvester Bliss

1814 – 1863
Editor, Signs of the Times & Advent Herald
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Michael Belina Czechowski

Michael Belina Czechowski

1818 – 1876
First Adventist missionary to Europe
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William E. Foy

William E. Foy

1818 – 1893
Millerite Visionary & Preacher
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Joseph H. Waggoner

Joseph H. Waggoner

1820 – 1889
Editor of Signs of the Times
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O. R. L. Crosier

O. R. L. Crosier

1820 -- 1913
Writer and theologian
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James and Ellen White

James and Ellen White

James: 1821 – 1881 | Ellen: 1827 – 1915
Co-founders of the SDA Church
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Abram La Rue

Abram La Rue

1822 – 1903
Self-supporting missionary to Asia
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Merritt E. Cornell

Merritt E. Cornell

1827 – 1893
First tent evangelist
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Annie Rebekah Smith

Annie Rebekah Smith

1828 – 1855
Editor and hymn writer, Review and Herald
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John N. Andrews

John N. Andrews

1829 – 1883
Missionary and theologian
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George W. Amadon

George W. Amadon

1832 – 1913
Editor and typographer
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John N. Loughborough

John N. Loughborough

1832 – 1924
First Adventist historian
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Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith

1832 – 1903
Editor and theologian
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Stephen N. Haskell

Stephen N. Haskell

1833 – 1922
Founder of the Missionary Society
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A.C. Bourdeau

A.C. Bourdeau

1834 – 1916
French-Canadian Pioneer Evangelist & Conference President
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George I. Butler

George I. Butler

1834 – 1918
General Conference president
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John Gottlieb Matteson

John Gottlieb Matteson

1835 – 1896
Pioneer missionary to Scandinavia
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Sarepta Myrenda Irish Henry

Sarepta Myrenda Irish Henry

1839 – 1900
Temperance evangelist and women's ministry pioneer
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Dudley Marvin Canright

Dudley Marvin Canright

1840 – 1919
Evangelist, Author, GC Committee Member
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Kate Lindsay

Kate Lindsay

1842 – 1923
Pioneering Physician and Nursing Educator
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John Orr Corliss

John Orr Corliss

1845 – 1923
Pioneer evangelist in America and Australia
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James Edson White

James Edson White

1849 – 1928
Missionary to the American South
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Alonzo T. Jones

Alonzo T. Jones

1850 – 1923
Preacher and editor
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John Harvey Kellogg

John Harvey Kellogg

1852 – 1943
Physician, Health Reformer, Editor
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William Clarence White

William Clarence White

1854 – 1937
Secretary, Ellen G. White Estate
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Charles M. Kinny

Charles M. Kinny

1855 – 1951
Founder of Black Adventism
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Ellet J. Waggoner

Ellet J. Waggoner

1855 – 1916
Editor and preacher
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W. W. Prescott

W. W. Prescott

1855 – 1944
Educator and editor
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Ludwig Richard Conradi

Ludwig Richard Conradi

1856 – 1939
Evangelist, Missionary, Administrator
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A. G. Daniells

A. G. Daniells

1858 – 1936
Longest-serving General Conference president
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Lewis C. Sheafe

Lewis C. Sheafe

1859 – 1938
Evangelist and Orator
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Harry Fenner

Harry Fenner

1862 – 1940
Co-founder of Adventist Youth Ministry
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I. H. Evans

I. H. Evans

1862 – 1945
Church treasurer, missionary administrator, hymn writer
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Luther Warren

Luther Warren

1864 – 1940
Youth Ministry Pioneer
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Edward A. Sutherland

Edward A. Sutherland

1865 – 1955
Educator and College Founder
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F. M. Wilcox

F. M. Wilcox

1865 – 1951
Editor, Review and Herald
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W. A. Spicer

W. A. Spicer

1865 – 1952
General Conference secretary and president
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Georgia Burrus Burgess

Georgia Burrus Burgess

1866 – 1948
First Adventist missionary to India
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Frederick Carnes Gilbert

Frederick Carnes Gilbert

1867 – 1946
Foremost Adventist evangelist to Jewish people
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Frederick Griggs

Frederick Griggs

1867 – 1952
Architect of Adventist Education
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Percy T. Magan

Percy T. Magan

1867 – 1947
Educator and Medical School President
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David Paulson

David Paulson

1868 – 1916
Medical Missionary and Social Reformer
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Anna Knight

Anna Knight

1874 – 1972
Missionary Nurse, Teacher, and Conference Leader
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Ferdinand Anthony Stahl

Ferdinand Anthony Stahl

1874 – 1950
Apostle of the Incas
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M. L. Andreasen

M. L. Andreasen

1876 – 1962
Theologian and Seminary Professor
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Charles Henry Watson

Charles Henry Watson

1877 – 1962
General Conference president during the Depression
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Eric B. Hare

Eric B. Hare

1894 – 1982
Missionary storyteller to Burma
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No pioneers found matching your search.
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” — Ellen G. White, Life Sketches, p. 196