Jacob Knapp was a popular Baptist preacher of the 19th century. In 1821 he entered a theological college at Hamilton, New York (now Colgate University) He began active work at the Baptist church in Springfield, New York and managed a farm. He moved to Watertown where he became both pastor and manager of a large farm. In 1832 he experienced a deeper religious impression which he called his second conversion. He applied to the New York Sate Baptist convention to become a missionary. They hesitated and he began preaching as an evangelist on his own responsibility. He preached at first in school houses and obscure churches but he was soon sought after by larger churches and distinguished parsons. In Baltimore, Boston and New York vast numbers attended his preaching to the extent protection by the civil authorities was necessary. His preaching was stern and terrible, yet cultivated. 1000s believed they were converted under his ministry. In 1845 he published a collection of hymns The Evangelical Harp: A new Collection of Hymns and Tunes Designed for Revivals of Religion and For Family and Social Worship Jacob lived to the age of 74; he died on 2nd March 1874. During his lifetime 1000s had heard him preach and many were converted.

Jean Guillaume de la Flechere was a Swiss born English divine and Methodist leader. He emigrated to England in 1750 and began to work with John Wesley. He became a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century and one of Methodists first great theologians. he became a fervent supporter of the Evangelical Revival. He was devoted to the Methodist concern for spiritual renewal and revival but maintained a never wavering commitment to the Church of . He spent 25 years (1760-1785) working in the humble industrialising parish of Madeley in Shropshire. He believed the methodist model model functioned best within the parochial system and implemented his own brand of methodism in his own parish. John Wesley chose John to lead the Methodist movement on his death but John Fletcher died first! He worked with unique devotion and zeal. His wife Mary on his iron tomb gave this epitaph -unexampled labours. Source Wikipedia

Lorenzo Dow was an eccentric itinerant American evangelist. His wife, Peggy, (1780-1820)was almost as eccentric as her husband, He is said to have preached,over 30 years, to more people than any other preacher of his era. He became an important figure and a well known writer. His mannerisms in public speaking were like nothing ever seen before. He shouted, he screamed, he cried, he begged, he flattered, he insulted, he challenged people and their beliefs. He often preached before open-air assemblies of 10,000 people or more and held his audience spellbound all over the USA and Great Britain. Read the paragraphs * Missionary travels * and Travelling preacher. He was unkempt- rarely washed and only had one set of clothing. His long hair and beard were described as never having met a comb. He was a fierce abolitionist and occasionally forcibly ejected from towns. His autobiography* The Stranger in Charleston or the Trial and Confession of Lorenzo Dow* (1822) was at one time the second best selling book in the USA exceeded only by the Bible. Source Wikipedia

Isobel Selina Miller Kuhn - Belle - was a Canadian Christian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China and northern Thailand. She served with the China Inland Mission, along with her husband John , as a Bible translator, church planter, Bible teacher, evangelist and author of 9 books about her experiences. Rainy Seasons Bible Schools was opened by Isobel. During the dry season her ‘pupils’ worked hard on the land. When the floods came they were able to study. From 1930-1954 Isobel and John were missionaries in China. Their missionary work was put on hold from 1950-2 because of the Chinese communist revolution. In 1954 Isobel was diagnosed with cancer and she concentrated on writing her books. Her first book By Searching is an autobiography of her early life in a Christian home and her eventual conversion, aged 20, to being a born again Christian. ISBN 978-0853639111 Irene Howat in her book Gold from Dark Mines looks at Isobel 's searching and 5 other well known Christians and their build-up to their conversions. Isobel died on March 20th 1957 with her John at her side. Her funeral was held at Wheaton College Church. When I get to heaven they aren’t going to see much of me but my heels, for I’ll be hanging over the golden wall keeping an eye on the Lisu church! Isobel Kuhn (Note Her father was a roentgenologist - a person who uses x-rays in the diagnosis of illness an disease.) Sources Wikipedia 4 excellent pages of notes Gold From Dark Mines Irene Howat ch7 p173-p203 (ISBN 1 -85792-943-8)

Selina Shirley was born into a ‘distinguished’ dysfunctional family. Troubles had followed the Shirley family for generations. her grandfather, Sir Robert had died in the Tower of London. Her father, a second Robert, was born shortly before his father was imprisoned. In 1671, aged 20, he married Elizabeth Washington. They had at least 11 children in 22 years of marriage. Elizabeth died in 1693 leaving 9 motherless children. Robert quarreled with all his children. In 1699 he married again and had 6 more children who survived childhood. The first girl in this second marriage, Elizabeth, had Queen Anne as her godmother. Selina was born in 1707. Aged 10 she learned her father had been left a derisory £20 in her grandfather’s will (others in the family had £5,000). In 1728, aged 20, she married Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon, who was 12 years older than Selina. In the first 10 years of their 18 years of happy married life they had 7 children, 6 survived. Theophilus died in 1746. On 21st April 1730 she one of the 21 aristocratic women who supported Thomas Coran in establishing the Founding Hospital. In 1739 she joined the first Methodist society in Fetters Lane, London. In July she was converted. From her bed, she lifted up her heart to the Saviour with this important prayer and immediately all her distress and fears were removed, and she was filled with peace and joy believing. Gold from Dark Mines p98. From 1746 she became a financial supporter for the Methodist movement led by John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. George became her chaplain. She was responsible for founding 64 chapels and contributed to the funding of others. She also founded Trevecca ministers’ college near Talgarth in Mid Wales ( since 1972 the United Reformed Church). She played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. Selina was a woman who allegedly suffered from poor health. She visited Bath to ‘take the waters’ on a number of occasions. After her conversion in 1739 her health improved dramatically, Sources Gold from Dark Mines by Irene Howat ch2 pages 77-108 Wikipedia

Girolamo Savonarola or Jerome Savonarola was an ascetic Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and was a preacher active during the Renaissance in France. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, plus his calls for Christian renewal. he denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor. In 1495 when Florence refused to join Pope Alexander VI’s Holy League against the French he was summoned to Rome. He disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching when banned . May 1497 he was excommunicated. A trial by fire was proposed and popular opinion turned against him. On 23 May,along with two other monks who supported him, they were condemned, hanged and burnt in the main square in Florence. Savonarola 's devotees , the Piagnomi, kept his republican freedom and religious reform alive well into the next century,

William Trewartha Bray was the eldest of three children He was born in the village of Twelveheads, Cornwall, England. After leaving school he became a miner in Cornwall for 7 years. He was a drunkard and prone to riotous behaviour. In 1821 he married Joanna, a lapsed Methodist. They had 9 children -two were orphans In November 1823, following a close escape from a mining accident, he was converted* *after reading John Bunyan’s Visions of Heaven and Hell. He became well known as an unconventional Cornish preacher - his sermons were enlivened by spontaneous outbursts of singing and dancing. His biographer, F.W. Bourne, quoted Billy as saying If they put me in a barrel, I would shout glory out through the bunghole! Praise the Lord about people who complained about his enthusiastic singing and shouting. He generously gave help to other people. He raise enough funds to build three new Methodists chapels. The one in Kerley Downs was nicknamed 'Three Eyes ’ because it had three windows and was later dedicated to him in 1984. In 2012 Michael Bentley wrote a children’s book about Billy.

James Gilchrist Lawson was a popular American Baptist evangellst Christian author and hymn writer of the early twentieth century. He wrote and compiled biographical sketches for Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians (1911) **** is a landmark text in Pentecostal and Charismatic history. ** Deeper Experiences is the one book , other than the Bible, that has most influenced me Professor Dallas Willard He wrote Greatest Thoughts about God the compiler of this volume is able to give to the world the very cream of religious thoughts concerning God James was also editor of The Marked Reference Bible Read the notes . Deeper Experiences ,over 100 years later, is still available in paperback

Robbie Brightwell was captain of the GB team at the i1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He was a 400m runner. He came fourth in the individual 400m; the 4x400 men’s team won silver. He married Ann Packer-( the surprise GB winner of the individual 800m gold medal ) after the Olympics. After his own disappointment in the individual 400m he had encouraged the reluctant Ann to run in the 800m. Both received MBEs in 1965 for their services to athletics.

Ann, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, was the unexpected winner of the 800m winning in world record time of 2:01.1 minutes. This was only her eighth race over the distance. She had already won silver in the 400m. Her local club was Reading Athletic club where she competed in 200m, 400m, 800m, 4 x 100 and 4 x400 relays, hurdles and long jump. After winning the gold she announced her retirement. She, with her future husband, Robbie Brightwell, were awarded MBEs in 1965 for services to athletics. In 2011 they published a book detailing their careers Robbie Brightwell and his Golden Girl:The Posh and Becks of Yesteryear. Source Wikipedia

Mary Denise Rand (nee Bignal) is a former English track and field athlete. In 1964 she won the gold medal for the long jump, in a new world record - 6,76 metres, at the Summer Tokyo Olympic games. At the same Olympics she also won silver in the Pentathlon (5 events) and bronze in the 4 x 100 relay. Mary remains the only GB athlete to win medals in a single games.

Nicola Adams became the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion in 2012. At the London Summer Olympics she won fly weight title. She went on to successfully defend her title at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She began her career as an amateur representing Haringey Police Community Club. She went on to win the entire set of amateur championships available to her - Olympic, Commonwealth and European Games titles. She turned professional in 2017 and went on to capture the WBO flyweight title. She only fought 6 ties as a professional - winning 5 and drawing her last contest. In her rematch with Maria Salinas she suffered a torn pupil and after consultation retired, undefeated. I’m immensely honoured to have represented our country- to win double Olympic medals and then the WBO championship belt is a dream come true. Nicola Adams. (Nicola became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing gold medal.) Sources Wikipedia Women in Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur on the 7th February 2005 broke the world record for a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe with a time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds. The very next day she became a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) and granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Reserve on the same day Born in 1976 she went on a yacht for the first time aged just 4. Aged 8 she began saving up for a boat of her own! Aged 18 she sailed solo around Great Britain . Aged 20 she raced across the Atlantic. Aged 29 she sailed solo no-stop around the world in her trimaran B&Q/Castorama. (Read her Professional Sailing Career and Sailing Records)- it is incredible what she achieved. Ellen retired in 2009 having set up many sailing records along the way. In 2003 she set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust) to help 8-24 year olds to regain confidence while recovering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes the use on the circular economy, was launched in 2010. It does this by developing and promoting the concept of recycling rubbish to make new products by working with business, policy makers and academics. This world, that I thought as a child was the biggest, most adventurous place you could image, is not that big, and there’s an awful lot of us on it. Ellen MacArthur Sources used Wikipedia Women of Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky

Dame Katherine Granger began rowing in 1993 while attending university in Edinburgh. She competed in both the double and quadruple skulls, plus the coxless pairs. In 2000, at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, medals were awarded to females for the first time in rowing- she won a silver in the quadruple skulls event. For a number of Olympics she gained medals but it was not until 2012 that she won gold in the double sculls with her partner Anna Watkins. I n 2012 she was the first female to win medals at 4 consecutive Olympic games. In 2016, in Rio, she won a further silver medal with Victoria Thornley after having a break of 2 years from the sport! In the 2017 New Years Honours list Katherine was awarded a DCM (Dame Commander of the British Empire) for services to sport and charity.

Tanni was christened Carys Davina Grey but when her sister saw her for the first time she referred to her as ‘tiny’, pronouncing it ‘tanni’- the nickname stayed. She was born with spina bifida. (Spina bifida is when a baby’s spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb - causing a gap in the spine.) This did not stop her from enjoying and competing in sports. As a young athlete she competed in wheelchair basketball. Tanni became an outstanding GB Paralympic champion in wheelchair racing, winning 11 gold medals over 100-800 metres between 1992-2004, plus 4 silver and 1 bronze medals. She broke/held over 30 world records and won the London Marathon 6 times between 1992-2002. She retired from competing on 27th February 2007 Tanni continues to be an inspiration for disabled athletes. Her contribution to inclusivity and equal rights for the disabled resulted in her becoming The Right Honourable The Baroness Grey-Thompson in the 2012 New Year’s honours list. Her autobiography Seize the Day was published in 2001. Sources Wikipedia Women in Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky

In 1908 Florence Madeline (Madge) Caves became Great Britain’s first female Olympic figure skater . In those days, during the winter, men and women enjoyed figure skating but women were not allowed to compete in competitions- they thought it would cause too much stress on a woman’s weak body. Madge was such an amazing skater that she gained notoriety and respect from the skating community to become an Olympic champion gold medalist. Men only took part in competitions before Madge competed - officials checked the rules to try to stop her but found there was no explicit rules to exclude women. She became a regular at the Prince’s Skating Club in Knightsbridge. In 1899 Madge met Edgar Syers (18 years her senior). Together they competed in pairs competitions and in 1900 they came second in one of the first pairs events staged in Berlin. Also in 1900 they got married. Edgar became her coach and started to teach her the more fluid International style. In 1902 she entered to compete in the Championships in in London which was regarded as an all male event. They reluctantly allowed her to compete and she came second. The winner Ulrich Salchow was so impressed by her performance that he offered her his gold medal. In 1903 the ISU Congress voted 6 to 3 in barring women from the championship!! In 1905 the ISU Congress established a separate ladies’ event- held at a different date and venue from the men’s event. Madge won the first two events. The Summer Olympics in London in 1908 saw Madge compete as an individual and in the pairs event with her husband Edgar. Madge won the gold; together they won bronze. Madge retired after the Olympics due to fading health. She died of heart failure on 9th September 1917 The Syers produced 2 books The Book of Winter Sports (1908) The Art of Skating (1913) Her bravery and excellence helped future women show their talents to the world. Besides being a proficient figure skater she was a gifted swimmer and equestrienne. Sources used Wikipedia and *Women in Sport * by Rachel Ignofsky

George- Antoine Bellecourt was a French Canadian, Roman Catholic diocesan priest and missionary. H e was ordained in 1827 and established missions in areas of Quebec and Manitoba… H e was assigned to Pembina, North Dekota where he established two missions in the 1840s to convert the local Ojibwe (also called Chippewa) and Metis to Catholicism. He left Pembina In 1859 for Quebec where he was quickly redeployed to North Rustico, Prince Edward Island. There he established the Farmer’s Bank of Rustico. He ’ retired’ in 1869 to New Brunswick but was recalled in 1871 to go to the Magdalen islands. May 1874 he became ill and retired and he died on 31st May 1872 in New Brunswick. The town of Belcourt , North Dakota, was named after him in honour of his efforts in the region. 1959 George was designated a National Historic Person by the Government of Canada. Source Wikipedia

Cornelis (Kees) Boeke was a Dutch educator, Quaker missionary and pacifist. He is best know for his popular book *Cosmic VIew* (1957) which presents a seminal view of the universe from the galactic to the miscroscopic scale -which inspired several films( See Legacy). Kees tried to reform education by allowing children contribute their ideas - a process he called sociocracy. He regarded schools as workshops with the pupils as workers and teachers as co-workers. While in England he became a Quaker. He married Beatrice (Betty) Cadbury. In 1912 the couple went as missionaries to Lebanon where Kees was headmaster at the Brummana School. He was a pacifist- he was against war. During WW1 he went to Germany and came back to UK and publicly said we should see Germans as our friends -for this he was deported back to the Netherlands. After WW1 he erected a large conference centre in Bilthoven- the Brotherhood House. Queen Beatrix as a child attended his school. In the late 1920s he started a school- in 1926 he founded De wekplaats (the workshop). He used Maria Montessori’s methods combined with Quaker ideals, plus his own ideas. He wanted the children to respect democracy. The children were treated as adults and on first name terms with their teachers. Kees died on 3rd July 1966 During WW11 he joined the Dutch resistance movement against the Germans. They sheltered Jews during WW11 and for this work they were later enshrined in Yad Vashem in 1992. Source used Wikipedia

Wilhelmina (Minnie) Vautrin was an American missionary, diarist, educator and president of Ginling College.She was a missionary in China for 28 years. Her mother died when she was only 6 and for 3 years was fostered before her father was allowed to look after her. She went to University, having to work to pay for the fees. She came out top of her class. A request was made by the Foreign Missionary Society for her to replace a teacher in China. She accepted the request and established in Hofei the San Ching Girl’s Middle School. In 1918 returned to USA to pursue a master’s degree in education. Ginling College, in China, approached her to serve as president for 1 year. She stayed for many years, with furlongs home, until 1940. During the time of the Nanking Massacre the college was a place of refuge for 1000s of refugees. In 1941, a year after returning to the USA , she committed suicide due to the extreme stress and trauma from the massacre. Minnie was postumously awarded the Emblem of the Blue jade by the Chinese government for her humanitarian work during the massacre.

Mary Geraldine Taylor, born on Christmas Day 1962, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China. She was the daughter of Fanny and Henry Gratton Guinness who were revivalist preachers and authors. She became the author of many missionary biographies on the history of the China Inland Mission (CIM). Mary Geraldine Guinness married Frederick Howard Taylor the son of James Hudson Taylor the founder of CIM. Aged 22 she left London for China in January 1888 on board Kaisar-I-Hind. At Colombo they boarded S.S. Deccan for Shanghai. She arrived at Yang-chau on 23rd March 1888. After training in China she was eventually stationed in Honan Province. Mary wrote many biographies plus 20 other books (See Published works). She died on 6th June 1949 aged 86.