Highlights in the Rev. Billy Graham’s life

By The Associated Press

Highlights in the Rev. Billy Graham’s life:

Nov. 7, 1918 — William Franklin Graham Jr. born on a farm outside Charlotte, North Carolina.

1934 — Receives Jesus Christ as saviour through the preaching of travelling evangelist Mordecai Ham.

1938 — Presbyterian student is baptized and later ordained a minister in the Southern Baptist Convention.

1940 — Graduates from Florida Bible Institute in Tampa.

1943 — Graduates from Wheaton College in Illinois with a B.A. in anthropology. Marries fellow student Ruth McCue Bell.

1945 — Named the first full-time staffer with Youth for Christ, tirelessly crisscrossing the nation and laying groundwork for future success.

1949 — Becomes evangelism’s rising star when William Randolph Hearst and others publicize his Los Angeles crusade.

1950 — Starts national radio program, “Hour of Decision” on the ABC network, eventually syndicated worldwide. Organizes the Minneapolis-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

1952 — Begins “My Answer,” daily syndicated newspaper column.

1953 — Publishes “Peace With God,” selling over 2 million copies. First feature released by his film studio in Burbank, California.

1954 — Defies expectations when 12-week London campaign reaches over 2 million people and catapults him to international celebrity status.

1956 — Founds “Christianity Today,” leading evangelical magazine.

1957 — More than 2 million attend 16-week rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the largest evangelistic venture to that time.

1973 — Addresses more than 3 million in five-day rally at Seoul, South Korea.

1977 — Preaches in Hungary, first of pioneering forays in the Soviet bloc.

1982 — Controversial first Moscow appearance, at peace conference.

1983 — Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom, nation’s highest civilian honour, from President Reagan.

1993 — Dedicates “The Cove,” a Bible study centre near Asheville, North Carolina.

1995 — Sermons in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are translated into 102 languages and beamed by satellite TV to 175 countries. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association announces that son Franklin will succeed Billy as leader.

1997 — Publishes bestselling autobiography, “Just As I Am.”

2001 — Three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, preaches at Washington National Cathedral service attended by George W. Bush and four former presidents.

2004 — November gatherings at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California; more than 300,000 attend; 12,000 make commitments to Jesus Christ.

2005 — Gathering billed as his last large crusade held in June in the New York City borough of Queens; 90,000 people attend.

2006 — Gives sermon in March at a New Orleans arena as city recovered from Hurricane Katrina.

May 2007 — Billy Graham Library dedicated in Charlotte, North Carolina, attended by three former U.S. presidents.

June 14, 2007 — Ruth Graham dies at age 87.

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