ABSTRACT
Billy Graham was born November 7, 1918, on a dairy farm just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, to William Franklin and Morrow Coffey Graham. Graham graduated from Wheaton in June, 1943, with a bachelor's degree in anthropology and married Ruth Bell in November of that year. At the end of 1944, Graham joined the staff of the fledgling organization Youth for Christ (YFC), whose evangelistic teams visited high school and college campuses across the United States and Europe. Graham became an 'ambassador at large' for his religion and for his country. Billy Graham Films was incorporated to film the crusades and Christian-oriented drama. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) was incorporated in late 1950 in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the purpose of negotiating contracts and receiving donations. Billy Graham stands as the twentieth century's best-known and most effective evangelist as well as a rigorous, though unofficial, diplomat.
