Ernest Gordon Rupp
Ernest Gordon Rupp (1910–1986) was a Methodist preacher, historian and Luther scholar. Early life and education. Rupp was born on 7 January 1910 in London and attended Owen's School in Islington. He studied history at King's College London, theology at Cambridge's Wesley House, and in Strasbourg and Basel during 1936–1937. Ministry. From 1938 to 1946 he served as a Methodist minister in New Eltham and Chislehurst (southeast London). He came to public notice in 1945 when he challenged the charge that Martin Luther was the spiritual ancestor of Hitler. The charge was made by  Peter F. Wiener in a widely distributed pamphlet, "Martin Luther: Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor". In 1946, Rupp served as the assistant to the Principal of Wesley House. In 1947, he was appointed assistant professor at Richmond College. Rupp participated in the reconstruction efforts of the World Council of Churches in Europe. In 1947, he visited Berlin, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen and Delmenhorst. During this time, he lectured at the conference of the Methodist church of Northwest Germany. After his tenure at Richmond (1947–1952), he served at Wesley House in Cambridge. In 1956, he was appointed professor of Church  History at the University of Manchester. He lectured there until 1967, when he returned to Wesley House in Cambridge as its Principal. At the same time (1968–1977) he served as Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge. In 1968, he served as the president of the British Methodist church. Rupp received honorary doctorates from Cambridge, University of Aberdeen, University of Manchester and University of Paris, and was appointed as a Fellow of the British Academy in 1970. Rupp died on 19 December 1986 in Cambridge.