Images: Rev. Billy Graham, 1918 - 2018
Rev. Billy Graham, who began his ministry in DuPage County and would go on to transform American religious life through his preaching and activism, has died at age 99 at his home in North Carolina.
Those who knew him and followed his career say he emerged in the middle of the last century as absolutely the right man at the right time to spread his message of forgiveness and eternal life here and abroad. He was a charismatic yet humble man who was adept at listening and, in turn, convinced others to at least consider his message.
And that message, they say, will live on.
In this Dec. 20, 2010 file photo, evangelist Billy Graham, 92, speaks during an interview at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. Mark DeMoss of the Atlanta-based DeMoss Group said Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013 that the 95-year-old evangelist had been admitted for observation at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C. DeMoss says he expected Graham would be able to go home in a day or so.
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Wheaton CollegeBilly and Ruth Graham in front of Blanchard Hall at Wheaton College in Wheaton.
Evangelist Billy Graham speaks passionately before the combined Texas Baptist World Mission and State Evangelistic Conference in Dallas, Jan. 11, 1959. Graham canceled an earlier sermon at the First Baptist Church and was ordered to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
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Evangelist Billy Graham in Buffalo, New York, April 3, 1957, looks over some of the hundreds of pledges received from churches around the country, promising to take part in a nationwide “prayer rally” for the success of his New York City crusade opening May 15.
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Rev. Billy Graham speaking at Wheaton College on May 11, 1994. Here he stands at his original pulpit which has been around the world with him. It's on display at the Billy Graham museum at Wheaton College.
Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaks before presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to evangelist Billy Graham, right, at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., Feb. 23, 1983.
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Vice President Richard Nixon pours coffee for his luncheon guest, evangelist Billy Graham, in Nixon's private office in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 1960.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, left, chats with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the annual prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C., February 5, 1964.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, arms outstretched, preaches a sermon to 40,000 persons attending the annual Reformation Day held in the Polo Grounds in New York City, Oct. 27, 1957. The event is part of the protestant council of churches visitation day.
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Evangelist Billy Graham is shown Brook fishing in 1956. The location is not known.
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American evangelist Billy Graham looks on at a baboon and her offspring during a visit to Victoria Falls in northern Rhodesia, Feb. 29, 1960.
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Evangelist Billy Graham stands by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, March 17, 1960. Graham has been on an 18,000-mile preaching tour of Africa and the Middle East.
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President John F. Kennedy chats with evangelist Rev. Billy Graham at the Tenth Annual Prayer Breakfast for Our National Leadership in Washington, D.C., March 1, 1962. Both the president and Graham spoke at the meeting, sponsored by Senate and House Prayer Breakfast Groups and the International Christian Leadership.
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American evangelist Billy Graham, right, stands by as British pop singer Cliff Richard talks to the crowd outside Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, prior to the start of Graham's crusade meeting in the center, June 16, 1966.
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Vice President Gerald Ford, left, and evangelist Billy Graham talk before the start of their round of golf, May 29, 1974, in the Pro-Am at the Kemper Open in Charlotte, N.C.
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American evangelist Billy Graham speaks with the native women of a small village in Ghana, Jan. 1960.
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American evangelist Billy Graham speaks to over 100,000 Berliners at the Olympic Stadium in Germany, June 27, 1954.
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American evangelist Rev. Billy Graham exhorts the congregation during his March 28, 1955 crusade at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, right, pays a 20-minute call on former President Harry Truman at Truman's home in Independence, Mo., Sept. 13, 1967. Graham, holding a “Heart of America” crusade in Kansas City, told Truman, “You will go down in history as a great and decisive president.” It was their first meeting since a talk at the White House in 1952.
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Army Pfc. Randolph Foster of Indiana is greeted by evangelist Billy Graham as he toured the U.S. 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon, Dec. 21, 1966. Graham had just addressed a gathering of some 2,000 U.S. troops on a soccer field at the Tan Son Nhut Airbase in Saigon.
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Evangelist Billy Graham listens to some of the young people who heard him urge them to “turn on to God” at the Miami-Hollywood Rock Festival, Dec. 28, 1969. About 2,500 of the more than 10,000 who attended the three-day festival squatted on a straw covered field to hear the evangelist.
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Evangelist Billy Graham speaks to 18,000 messengers in Dallas, June 13, 1974, on the closing night of the Southern Baptist Convention. The theme of the convention was “Share His Love Now,” and he asked the messengers to become “firebrands” for Christ, offering the gospel of Christ as the hope for the world.
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American evangelist Billy Graham and his son Franklin pose atop the Great Wall of China, April 15, 1988. Graham, making his first visit to China on a 16-day tour, walked along a portion of the ancient man-made wonder, which snakes through 3,700-miles of northern China.
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The Rev. Billy Graham appears on a television screen during a live telecast of his crusade at New York's Madison Square Garden, that a standing-room-only crowd of over 19,000 attended, June 1, 1957. The hour of the telecast on the ABC network put the evangelist in competition with Perry Como on NBC and Jackie Gleason on CBS.
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President Richard Nixon chats with evangelist Billy Graham, Oct. 22, 1969, prior a White House breakfast to observe “National Day of Prayer.” From left: Rep. Del Clawson, R-Calif.; Graham; Nixon; and Sen. Wallace F. Bennett, R-Utah.
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Rev. Billy Graham poses in front of the Brandenburg Gate, March 8, 1990. Graham is staying in the Berlin for a rally he will hold by the Berlin Wall in front of the Reichstag.
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Evangelist Billy Graham introduces his mother, Morrow Coffey Graham, to the crowd attending revival at Madison Square Garden, in New York, June 30, 1957.
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American evangelist Billy Graham is shown with children during a visit to a village in Ghana, Jan. 1960.
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A Ghanaian woman balances wares on her head at the village market as American evangelist Billy Graham looks on, Jan. 1960.
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The Reverend Billy Graham, center, talks with President Ronald Reagan, left, and first lady Nancy Reagan at the White House July 18, 1981.
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Comedian Bob Hope, left, takes a look as Evangelist Billy Graham lines up a putt during the Pro-Am play of the Byron Nelson Golf Classic in Dallas Wednesday, May 6, 1971.
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Vice President Walter Mondale, left, chats with Evangelist Billy Graham during a meeting, Thursday, Oct. 6, 1977 in Washington. Graham reported to Mondale on his recent trip to Hungary.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, shown with his wife, Ruth on arrival in London, June 6, 1959.
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President John F. Kennedy talks with evangelist Billy Graham at the annual? Presidential Prayer Breakfast? in a Washington hotel, Feb. 9, 1961. The event is sponsored by the International Christian Leadership Conference.
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Dr. Billy Graham, right, visiting the earthquake-struck town of San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala, Feb. 14, 1976, comforts children in a town that lost 3,800 of its 18,000 residents and had 98 percent of their homes destroyed. Dr. Graham stated in a television address to the people of Guatemala that they needed “prayer, food, medical supplies, and love.” (AP Photo/files)
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Billy Graham preached in Rio de Janeiro to a huge crowd of Brazilians in the Maracana Soccer Stadium at the close of the weeklong 10th Congress of the Baptist World Alliance.
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Rev. Billy Graham delivers his first day crusade speech before a record crowd of 50,000 followers in Taipei, Taiwan on Oct. 29, 1975.
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Rev. Billy Graham speaks to a large crowd Los Angeles, Calif. on Nov. 1, 1949.
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Rev. Billy Graham of Montreal, N.C. says goodbye to his wife Ruth and their five children Jan. 15, 1958 before departing on a crusade tour that will take him to eight Latin American countries. The children are from left: Nelson, four days old, Franklin, 5, Ruth, 7, Virginia, 12, and Anne, 9.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, who opened a six-week crusade April 27, 1959 at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco speaks briefly to a crowd estimated at 5,000 who were unable to gain entrance to the first meeting. The service inside the crowed Cow Palace was already underway when Graham, using a table as a platform, gave the overflow crowd a chance not only to see him but to hear him as well.
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Evangelist Billy Graham preaches to a crowd in Baltimore from the podium while the scoreboard in the background shows the message during his crusade at Memorial Stadium, June 9, 1981.
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Evangelist Billy Graham on May 7, 1982 at the Metropolitan Filaret after arriving in Moscow, Russia.
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Evangelist Billy Graham speaks to worshippers during the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade at the Rose Bowl, Friday night, Nov. 19, 2004, in Pasadena, Calif.
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The Rev. Billy Graham, accompanied by security and driven by aid Rick Marshall, reaches out to shake a hand after touring the stage at Qualcomm Stadium, Tuesday, May, 6, 2003, in San Diego. Graham is to begin a mission at the stadium Thursday.
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Billy Graham waves to the crowd in Charlotte, N.C., in this Sept. 29, 1996 file photo. Graham won't be attending the world gathering of evangelists in Amsterdam, which begins Saturday, July 29, 2000 and runs through Aug. 6. Instead, the ailing 81-year-old evangelist plans to take part in the conference through a satellite link. Some 10,000 are expected to attend.
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The Rev. Billy Graham quiets the crowd during the second day of his Mission San Diego revival at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego Friday, May 9, 2003. Over 50,000 people attended the first day of the four-day revival.
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Rev. Franklin Graham, left, helps his father, Rev. Billy Graham, to a groundbreaking ceremony for the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Billy Graham's work as a pastor to presidents is coming to an end, but he is praying for Barack Obama as the nation's next leader begins his work, Graham's son said Friday on the aging evangelist's 90th birthday.
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Billy Graham listens during a dedication ceremony for the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 31, 2007.
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Evangelist Billy Graham is shown speaking at Madison Square Garden, New York City May 15, 1957 as he opens his crusade for ìA Spiritual Revolution in the City.
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American servicemen in Vietnam greet evangelist Billy Graham during his Christmas visit with troops, Dec. 21, 1966.
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The Reverend Billy Graham, center, talks with President Ronald Reagan, left, and first lady Nancy Reagan at the White House July 18, 1981.
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Rev. Billy Graham speaking at Wheaton College on May 11, 1994. Here he stands at his original pulpit which has been around the world with him. It's on display at the Billy Graham museum at Wheaton College.
Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
Evangelist Billy Graham pauses while delivering a sermon during the Metro Maryland Festival in this July 9, 2006 file photo in Baltimore. Graham was admitted to a hospital near his home early Saturday, Aug. 18, 2007, for evaluation and treatment of an intestinal bleed, hospital officials said. Graham, 88, was resting comfortably Saturday afternoon, said Merrell Gregory, a spokesman for Mission Health & Hospitals in Asheville.
Associated Press
The Rev. Billy Graham is shown in this June 1, 1999, file photo in Indianapolis. A few weeks after giving a consoling sermon at the National Cathedral to a nation pained by the terrorist attacks, the Rev. Billy Graham will bring his message to the masses during a four-day crusade. Graham will be at Fresno State University's 40,000-seat stadium Oct. 11 through Oct. 14.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, at age 17, around the time of his graduation from Sharon High School in Charlotte, NC in 1936. It was shortly before his graduation from high school that Billy had embraced religion at a local revival meeting and had decided on the pulpit rather than the baseball diamond.
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Evangelist Billy Graham gets a kiss from his wife Ruth, on arrival in New York on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth, in this March 29, 1960 file photo, after a two and a half month tour of Africa and the Middle East. Graham, who surrendered dreams of missionary work in Tibet to marry a suitor who became the world's most renowned evangelist, died Thursday, June 14, 2007. She was 87.
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House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, presents Evangelist Billy Graham with a Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in this Thursday May 2, 1996 file photo. Graham's wife Ruth looks on at center. Graham, who surrendered dreams of missionary work in Tibet to marry a suitor who became the world's most renowned evangelist, died Thursday, June 14, 2007. She was 87.
Associated Press
In this handout photo provided by CNN, Reverend Billy Graham speaks with CNN's Larry King during a taping of “Larry King Live” on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The show will air tonight, June 16, at 9 p.m. EDT. After six decades of traveling the world to preach the Gospel, the 86-year-old evangelist is ready for at least one more revival meeting, in New York City next week. The event was moved from Madison Square Garden out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park to accommodate expected big turnouts.
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Former president Bill Clinton, left, speaks alongside the Rev. Billy Graham on the second night of the Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade Saturday, June 25, 2005 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York borough of Queens.
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In this image released by the White House, President Barack Obama meets with Billy Graham, 91, at his mountainside home in Montreal, N.C., Sunday, April 25, 2010. Obama concluded his North Carolina vacation with his first meeting of the ailing evangelist, who has counseled commanders in chief since Dwight Eisenhower.
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Evangelist Billy Graham relaxes at his mountainside home near Montreal, N.C., May 1, 1957, contemplating his upcoming crusade in New York City. Graham has been in semi-seclusion since January, devoting mornings and evenings to prayer and study, and afternoons to puttering around his farm. Says Graham, “New York is our Jerusalem. It is the greatest opportunity and responsibility I've ever had. Our evangelistic team has wept, prayed and agonized more over New York than over any other city where we have planned meetings.”
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The Rev. Billy Graham, crusading Evangelist, climaxed his tour of New England with a mass rally on historic Boston Common on April 23, 1950. Despite the cold weather, police estimated that 50,000 persons attended the event.
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The Rev Billy Graham, right, tries to attract the attention of a child being held in his mother's arms during a visit to a village outside of Monrovia, Liberia, in this Jan. 20, 1960 photo as Liberian Vice President William R. Tolbert, right, looks on.
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Evangelist Billy Graham looks upon a Viet Cong POW in traction and being treated for battle wounds at the U.S. 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon Dec. 21, 1966. Graham had shortly before addressed a large gathering a Saigonís Airbase.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, left, helps President-elect Richard Nixon with his overcoat after they attended services at 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church, in New York, on Jan. 5, 1969. Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland, right, minister of the church, talks to Nixon.
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Evangelist Billy Graham, in Washington to attend the 19th annual National Prayer Breakfast, speaks to a group of newsmen at the National Press Club, Feb. 1, 1971. The unusual lighting effect is caused by a movie light on the opposite side of the room and the use of a starlight filter on the camera.
Associated Press
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