Billy Graham

BILLY GRAHAM d2018. American evangelist and prominent Christian figure who first ordained as a Southern Baptist minister but later became well-known internationally from the late 1940s. One of his biographers has placed him "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century. As a preacher, he held large indoor and outdoor rallies with sermons that were broadcast on radio and television ; some were still being re-broadcast into the 21st century. According to his website, he preached to live audiences of 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings. He was a spiritual adviser to US presidents and provided spiritual counsel for every president from Harry S Truman (33rd) to Barack Obama (44th). As of 2008, his estimated lifetime audience (including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion). One special televised broadcast in 1996 alone may have reached a television audience of as many as 2.5 billion people worldwide. Because of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. He died of natural causes in North Carolina aged 99 on February 21st 2018