Washington Gladden (1836-1918), Congregational minister, lecturer, and author, was a pioneer of the Social Gospel movement. Gladden's specialty was the concrete rather than the theoretical. During his long pastorate in Columbus, Ohio, from 1882 to 1918, he was active in municipal and industrial reform, helped to popularize new trends in Biblical criticism, worked in behalf of the reconciliation of the churches, and fought vigorously against bigotry. His message was the Golden Rule; it inspired his over thirty books, led him to battle against the economic and social evils of his time, and informed his own love of justice and life of service.
