Walter A. Maier

Walter A. Maier (October 4, 1893 – January 11, 1950) was a noted radio personality, public speaker, prolific author, university professor, scholar of ancient Semitic languages and culture, Lutheran theologian and editor. He is best known as the speaker for The Lutheran Hour radio broadcast from 1930 to 1950.

Maier was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 4, 1893, the fourth of five children to German immigrants Emil William and Anna Katherine 'Grossie' Maier. Maier grew up in Boston as an integral part of this large, close-knit, devoutly Christian family, spending his summers at the family farm near Canaan, New Hampshire. Maier planned to enter the ministry from an early age. His family supported his goals by arranging for him to attend the Concordia Collegiate Institute in New York, an academy combining both high school and junior college in the fashion of a European Gymnasium. Here, young Maier learned Greek, Latin, and German, along with other background materials suitable for an aspiring Lutheran minister. And here he first developed his love for studies in Hebrew, the language of the Christian Old Testament.

After graduating as valedictorian of the Concordia Institute, Maier obtained his B.A. from Boston University in 1913. From there, he went directly to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he supported himself by selling Oliver typewriters. Here, once again, it was the Hebrew language and Old Testament studies that engrossed Maier. And once again, his love for the subject caused him to excel in it. Upon graduation in 1916, and in recognition of his proficiency in the field, young Maier was awarded a graduate fellowship in Old Testament studies at Harvard Divinity School.

...
Wikipedia