Henry Grattan Guinness facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henry Grattan Guinness
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| Born | 11 August 1835 Kingstown in Taney, Dublin, Ireland
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| Died | 21 June 1910 |
| Occupation | Preacher, evangelist, and author |
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Henry Grattan Guinness (born August 11, 1835 – died June 21, 1910) was an Irish Christian preacher and writer. He was a very important preacher during a time of great religious excitement called the Third Great Awakening. In 1859, he preached during the Ulster Revival, where thousands of people came to listen to him. He also helped train and send hundreds of "faith missionaries" to different parts of the world. These missionaries went to share their Christian beliefs and help people in other countries.
Henry's Early Life
Henry was born in Kingstown, Dublin, Ireland. He was taught at home by his parents and later studied with tutors. He was the grandson of Arthur Guinness, who founded the famous Guinness brewery. Henry's father, John Grattan Guinness, was an officer in the Madras Army. His mother was Jane Lucretia D'Esterre.
When Henry was 17, in 1853, he went to sea. He visited places like the West Indies, Mexico, Texas, and the Caribbean Sea. He returned to England later that year. In 1854, he became very ill. After recovering, he decided to dedicate his life to serving God.
In January 1856, Henry began studying at New College in London. He was very talented and could speak in a way that ordinary people understood, not just scholars. Even as a student, he preached often. In 1857, he became an evangelist, which means he traveled to preach the Christian message. He spoke to large crowds, even outdoors, in many towns across the British Isles.
From 1858 to 1860, he was in Canada. He played a part in helping A. B. Simpson become a Christian leader. In October 1860, Henry married Fanny Emma Fitzgerald. Their son, Harry, was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1861.
The Dublin Daily Express newspaper wrote about Henry in 1858:
Mr. Guinness preached yesterday in York Street Chapel. The attendance was greater than on any former occasion. In the evening it amounted to 1600, and if there were a place large enough, five times the number would have been present, to hear this highly gifted preacher. The interest which he has excited has daily increased and probably will continue to do so, during his labours in Dublin. An enormous crowd pressed for admittance. Judges, members of Parliament, orators, Fellows of College, lights of the various professions, the rank and fashion of the metropolis have been drawn out. Among them the Lord Lieutenant, the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Justice of Appeal, etc.
Later Life and Missionary Work
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From 1860 to 1872, Henry traveled as an evangelist in France, America, the Near East, and the British Isles. Some people compared his powerful preaching to that of George Whitefield, a famous preacher from earlier times. His wife, Fanny, was a full partner in his missionary work. She helped with the organization and also preached to both men and women.
In 1865, Henry offered to join the China Inland Mission, which was started by James Hudson Taylor. However, Taylor advised him to continue his important work in London.
In September 1866, while in Keighley, Yorkshire, Henry saw a notice for talks by Harriet Law, who did not believe in God. For a week, he held his own meetings at the same time to share Christian beliefs and respond to her ideas. He was very concerned about people who openly expressed disbelief.
In 1868, he went to France and helped with missions there for 18 months. In the same year, Henry and Fanny started a magazine called The Regions Beyond and Illustrated Missionary News. Fanny edited the magazine, which shared stories about missionaries and their work in places like Africa and China.
In 1872, Henry, Fanny, and their six children were living in the East End of London. They started the East London Missionary Training Institute, also known as Harley College, at Harley House. They began with just six students. The famous Dr. Thomas Barnardo, who helped many poor children, was a co-director and was greatly influenced by Henry. This school trained 1330 missionaries for 30 different Christian groups.
Harley College became so successful that it needed a bigger place. In 1883, Elizabeth Hulme offered Henry "Cliff House" near Calver, Derbyshire. Harley College was renamed Hulme Cliff College. Today, it is known as Cliff College and still trains Christians for missionary work and evangelism.
In 1873, Henry Guinness founded the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. This later became the Regions Beyond Missionary Union. In 1877, he started the Livingstone Inland Mission, which worked in Congo, Argentina, and Peru. His son, Dr. Henry Grattan Guinness (known as Harry), started the Congo-Balolo Mission in 1888. He also helped create the Congo Reform Association in 1904. Harry traveled to India and wrote about how people there believed "God is everything, and everything is God."
After his wife, Fanny, passed away in 1898, Henry went on world missionary tours from 1903 to 1907. He retired in 1908 to Bath, England, where he died.
Henry's Family Legacy
Henry's daughter, Mary Geraldine Guinness, became an author. She married Frederick Howard Taylor, whose father was J. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission. Seven of Henry's children went into Christian ministry. His son, Dr. Gershom Whitfield Guinness, was a medical missionary in China. He escaped the Boxer Rebellion and later founded the first hospital in Henan province, south of the Yellow River.
Henry's granddaughter, Ruth Eileen, married the famous scientist Ronald Fisher, who was important in the study of genetics.
His daughter Lucy wrote a book called Across India at the Dawn of the 20th Century. In it, she shared her hopes of sharing Christianity with the local people in India.
Henry's great-grandson, Os Guinness, is an active author and speaker today.
Quote
I do now most heartily desire to live but to exalt Jesus; to live preaching and to die preaching; to preach to perishing sinners till I drop down dead.
