NORMAN VINCENT PEALE
Name: Norman Vincent Peale
Born: 31 May 1898 Bowersville, Ohio
Died: 24 December 1993 Pawling, New York
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 - December 24, 1993) was a Protestant
preacher and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a
progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking".
Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio and died in Pawling, New York. He was
educated at Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Theology.
Raised as a Methodist and originally ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922,
Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in
1932 and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in
Manhattan. During that time the church's membership grew from 600 to over 5000,
and he became one of New York City's most famous preachers.
Peale and Smiley Blanton, a psychoanalyst, established a religio-psychiatric
outpatient clinic next door to the church. The two men wrote books together,
notably Faith Is the Answer: A Psychiatrist and a Pastor Discuss Your Problems (1940).
In 1951 this blend of psychotherapy and religion grew into the American
Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry, with Peale serving as president and
Blanton as executive director.
Peale started a radio program, "The Art of Living," in 1935, which lasted for 54
years. Under sponsorship of the National Council of Churches he moved into
television when the new medium arrived. In the meantime he had begun to edit the
magazine Guideposts and to write books. It is possible that his sermons were
mailed to around 750,000 people a month.
In 1945, Dr. Peale, his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, and Raymond Thornburg, a
Pawling, New York businessman founded Guideposts magazine, a non-denominational
forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. For
its launch, they raised $1,200 from Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett
newspaper chain, J. Howard Pew, a Philadelphia industrialist and Branch Rickey,
owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Peale was a prolific writer; The Power of Positive Thinking is by far his most
widely read work. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times
bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. The book has sold around 7 million
copies and translated into several languages. Some of his other
popular works include The Art of Living, A Guide to Confident Living, The Tough-Minded
Optimist, and Inspiring Messages for Daily Living.
In 1947 Peale co-founded (along with educator Kenneth Beebe) The Horatio Alger
Association. This organization aims to recognize and honor Americans who have
been successful in spite of difficult circumstances they have faced.
Other organizations founded by Peale include the Peale Center, the Positive
Thinking Foundation and Guideposts Publications, all of which aim to promote
Peale's theories about positive thinking.
In 1960 Peale, as spokesman for 150 Protestant clergymen, opposed the election
of John F. Kennedy as president. "Faced with the election of a Catholic," Peale
declared, "our culture is at stake." The uproar resulting from that
pronouncement caused the pastor to back off from further formal partisan
commitments, possibly to avoid offending part of the mass audience for his
primary religio-psychological message. He was, however, politically and
personally close to President Nixon's family. In 1968 he officiated at the
wedding of Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower. He continued calling at the White
House throughout the Watergate crisis, saying "Christ didn't shy away from
people in trouble."
It has been argued that even his "positive thinking" message was by implication
politically conservative: "The underlying assumption of Peale's teaching was
that nearly all basic problems were personal."
For his contributions to the field of theology, President Ronald Reagan awarded
Peale the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor in the
United States) on March 26, 1984. He died of stroke on December 24, 1993 at age
95.
Name: Norman Vincent Peale
Born: 31 May 1898 Bowersville, Ohio
Died: 24 December 1993 Pawling, New York
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 - December 24, 1993) was a Protestant
preacher and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a
progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking".
Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio and died in Pawling, New York. He was
educated at Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Theology.
Raised as a Methodist and originally ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922,
Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in
1932 and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in
Manhattan. During that time the church's membership grew from 600 to over 5000,
and he became one of New York City's most famous preachers.
Peale and Smiley Blanton, a psychoanalyst, established a religio-psychiatric
outpatient clinic next door to the church. The two men wrote books together,
notably Faith Is the Answer: A Psychiatrist and a Pastor Discuss Your Problems (1940).
In 1951 this blend of psychotherapy and religion grew into the American
Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry, with Peale serving as president and
Blanton as executive director.
Peale started a radio program, "The Art of Living," in 1935, which lasted for 54
years. Under sponsorship of the National Council of Churches he moved into
television when the new medium arrived. In the meantime he had begun to edit the
magazine Guideposts and to write books. It is possible that his sermons were
mailed to around 750,000 people a month.
In 1945, Dr. Peale, his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, and Raymond Thornburg, a
Pawling, New York businessman founded Guideposts magazine, a non-denominational
forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. For
its launch, they raised $1,200 from Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett
newspaper chain, J. Howard Pew, a Philadelphia industrialist and Branch Rickey,
owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Peale was a prolific writer; The Power of Positive Thinking is by far his most
widely read work. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times
bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. The book has sold around 7 million
copies and translated into several languages. Some of his other
popular works include The Art of Living, A Guide to Confident Living, The Tough-Minded
Optimist, and Inspiring Messages for Daily Living.
In 1947 Peale co-founded (along with educator Kenneth Beebe) The Horatio Alger
Association. This organization aims to recognize and honor Americans who have
been successful in spite of difficult circumstances they have faced.
Other organizations founded by Peale include the Peale Center, the Positive
Thinking Foundation and Guideposts Publications, all of which aim to promote
Peale's theories about positive thinking.
In 1960 Peale, as spokesman for 150 Protestant clergymen, opposed the election
of John F. Kennedy as president. "Faced with the election of a Catholic," Peale
declared, "our culture is at stake." The uproar resulting from that
pronouncement caused the pastor to back off from further formal partisan
commitments, possibly to avoid offending part of the mass audience for his
primary religio-psychological message. He was, however, politically and
personally close to President Nixon's family. In 1968 he officiated at the
wedding of Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower. He continued calling at the White
House throughout the Watergate crisis, saying "Christ didn't shy away from
people in trouble."
It has been argued that even his "positive thinking" message was by implication
politically conservative: "The underlying assumption of Peale's teaching was
that nearly all basic problems were personal."
For his contributions to the field of theology, President Ronald Reagan awarded
Peale the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor in the
United States) on March 26, 1984. He died of stroke on December 24, 1993 at age
95.