The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-01-16
CELEBRATED J. ORATOR
IS C0NWELL
UNIVERSITY LECTURE COURSE
ANNOUNCES COMING OF
BRILLIANT SPEAKER.

Russell H. Conwell, president of the
Temple university of Philadelphia,
and a preacher, author and orator OF
national reputation, will appear IN
Missoula next Tuesday evening, jan
nary 49, Mr.. Conwell comes as one
of the attractions of the university
lecture course.
He Is one of the oldest men, in
point of service, at least. of the
American lecture platform, and he
has been heard and applauded in al
most every town or city in the United
States. His is an interesting ca
reer.
Russell II. Conwell was born in the
town. of Worthington Hampshire
county, Mass. February Is, 1S43, and
spent his early days upon small
farm, known as THE Eagles Nest,
situated in the most sterile ana
mountainous portion of that region.
Very early in his boyhood he was
compelled to earn his own living, and,
unassisted, secured the position he
now holds as a self -made man." He
kept along with his classes in the dis
while working at manual labor dur
ing school hours, and earned by daily
labor his meager supply of food and
clothing while at the Academy IN
Wilbraham, Mass. In 1860 he entered
upon the law and academic courses
together at Yale college, the latter
under q tutor, so as to economic his
time and reduce his expenses. But
the war of the rebellion interrupted
his studies in 1862 and took him to
the field as a captain of infantry. He
afterward served in the artillery
branch of the service and as staff
officer.
At the close of the war he gradu-
ated in the law department of the AL
bany university and went to Mime
sofa, where he began the practice of
law. In 1867 he represented the
state of Minnesota as its emigration
agent to Germany, and became the
foreign correspondent of his own
newspaper. In 1868 he was engaged
as the correspondent Of the New York
Tribune, and in the year following as
the travelling correspondent of the
Boston Traveller. In 1870 he was sent
to the different countries in Asia by
the New York Tribune and Boston
Traveller and made the entire circuit
of the globe, filling at that time
| many important lecture engagements
in India and England. He afterward
| visited England exclusively on a lee
| ture tour through the important cities
of that country. In 1870 he published
his first book, ''Why and How the
| Chinese Emigrate." 1t has been fol-
lowed by many others of historical
and biographical character. He was
a friend and travelling companion OF
| Bayard Taylor and his biography OF
that poet and traveller had very ex-
tended sale. His biography of Spur.
| geon reached a sale of 125, 00(
copies in four months.
For eight years he practiced law IL
Boston and gained a great popularity
as lecturer and writer. In 1879 he
was ordained to the ministry. In
| 1882 he accepted a call from Grace
Baptist church in Philadelphia ant
removed to that city. The church o.
which he assumed charge at once
| entered upon a career of extraordinary
| prosperity and has become the largeS
Baptist church in America. They
built temple in 1891 on Broad street
| Philadelphia, which will seat com
fortably over 5000 people and has &
capacity of 1900. Mr.. Conwel':
preaching draws such crowds o.
listeners that for the past 10 year:
admission has been obtained by tick
cts and thousands are often turned
away.
| Mr.. Conwell has been in the lecture
field As years, during which time he
has delivered here and abroad nearly
1000 lectures. He was the intimate
associate with Cough, Beecher
Holmes, Longfellow, Motley, Emerson
Everett, Whittier Wendell Phillips
Douglas, Grant, Garfield, Burlingame
Sherman and other of Americas grea
men. He is today one of America
most popular speakers and among tn
last of the stars who made tn,
platform brilliant in the days o
Cough. Beecher and Chaplin.