Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts
Born	Granville Oral Roberts (1918-01-24)January 24, 1918 , U.S.
Died	December 15, 2009(2009-12-15) (aged 91) Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Nationality	American
Education	Oklahoma Baptist University
Occupation	Evangelist
Years active	1947–1993
Spouse(s)	Evelyn Lutman (m. 1938–2005; her death)
Children	Ronald Roberts (deceased) Richard Roberts Rebecca Nash (deceased) Roberta Potts
Parent(s)	Ellis Melvin Roberts Claudius Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin)
Website	www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/
Church	Pentecostal
Congregations served	Pentecostal Holiness Church; United Methodist Church
Offices held	Founder and President, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association; Co-founder, President, and Chancellor, Oral Roberts University

Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Methodist-Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University.

As one of the best-known and controversial American religious leaders of the 20th century, Roberts's preaching emphasized seed-faith. His ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a period of over six decades. His healing ministry and bringing American Pentecostalism into the mainstream had the most impact, but he also pioneered TV evangelism and laid the foundations of the prosperity gospel and abundant life teachings. The breadth and style of his ministry, including his widely publicized funding appeals, made him a consistent subject of contention among critics and supporters.

Granville Oral Roberts was born on January 24, 1918, in , the fifth and youngest child of the Reverend Ellis Melvin Roberts (1881–1967) and Claudius Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin) (1885–1974). According to an interview on Larry King Live, Roberts was of Cherokee descent. Roberts was a card-carrying member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Roberts began life in poverty and nearly died of tuberculosis at age 17. After finishing high school, Roberts studied for two years each at Oklahoma Baptist University and Phillips University. In 1938, he married a preacher's daughter, Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock.