biography
| name: |
White, Ellen Gould
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| |
née Harmon
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1827–1915)
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| biography:
| Religious leader, born in Gorham, Maine, USA. A fragile, nervous child, she was tutored at home but had no formal education. She converted to Adventism after hearing William Miller preach (1842). When the Second Coming of Christ failed to take place as predicted, in 1844 the Millerites faded, but she almost single-handedly, and then with her husband James White (1821–81), kept the Adventist movement alive by travelling and preaching. During her life she claimed to have experienced 2000 visions and prophetic dreams. She became head of the Seventh Day Adventist Church when it was formally established (1863), and one of her religious books, Steps to Christ, has sold more than 20 million copies. Settling in Battle Creek, MI (1855), she also grew dedicated to a healthy diet and hydrotherapy, and helped open the Western Health Reform Institute there (1861). She also helped found Battle Creek College (1874), the first US Adventist educational institution, and co-founded the College of Medical Evangelists in California (1904). During 1891–1900 she lived in Australia as a missionary. |
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