Norman Vincent Peale

Norman Vincent Peale
Norman Vincent Peale
Born	(1898-05-31)May 31, 1898 Bowersville, Ohio
Died	December 24, 1993(1993-12-24) (aged 95) Pawling, New York
Occupation	Author, speaker, minister (Reformed Church in America)
Nationality	United States
Genre	Motivational
Subject	Positive thinking

Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American minister and author known for his work in popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking. He served as the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York, from 1932 until his death, leading a Reformed Church in America congregation. Peale was a personal friend of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and two other presidents, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, have praised his teachings. Some of his ideas and techniques were controversial, and he received frequent criticism both from church figures and from the psychiatric profession.

Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio, the oldest of three sons of Charles and Anna (née Delaney) Peale. He graduated from Bellefontaine High School, Bellefontaine, Ohio. He earned degrees at Ohio Wesleyan University (where he became a brother of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta) and Boston University School of Theology.

Raised as a Methodist and ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922, Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in 1932 and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. During that time the church's membership grew from about 600 to over 5,000, and he became one of New York City's most famous preachers.