It was a century ago -- February 27, 1887-that Henry Ward Beecher stepped into the pulpit of Brooklyn's Plymouth Church for the final time. By mid-week, the 73-year-old pastor had fallen seriously ill; the following Tuesday, March 8, one of America's princes of the pulpit died.

In an era when some of Christian's greatest preachers ministered simultaneously, Henry Ward Beecher was considered by many of his peers to be the outstanding preacher of his age. Phillips Brooks, who is himself counted among the princes of the American pulpit, considered Beecher "the greatest preacher of America and of our century," and just before his own death cited Beecher as "the greatest preacher Protestantism has ever produced."

Though little noticed in contemporary study of preaching, Beecher-through his published sermons, lectures, books and periodicals -- reached a huge national audience in the mid-nineteenth century and wielded an enormous influence over the public mind. No wonder that William McLoughlin labeled him "the high priest of American religion."

Beecher went beyond the traditional bounds of the preachers of his day to create a national pulpit from which he sought to apply the Christian message to a variety of issues in both the personal and the political/social arena.

Born into the family of revivalist Lyman Beecher, Henry grew up in an environment dominated by ecclesiastical and theological controversy. In a family noted for intellectual Achievement -- sister Harriet Beecher Stowe became a novelist, while other siblings became educators or pastors -- young Henry showed little promise as a student.

In fact, Lyman sent Henry to Amherst College rather than Yale, thinking the latter above his son's academic level. How ironic that, years later, a member of Henry's church would endow the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale University, with Henry Ward Beecher speaking the first three years in this now-famous series. Henry must have thought it sweet revenge.

It was at Amherst that Beecher joined the debating society and gained practical experience in public speaking. Upon graduation in 1834, he joined his father Lyman, who was then president of Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati.

The years at Lane were not easy: his father was under attack by orthodox Calvinists, who thought his modified Calvinism utterly heretical. In addition, Lyman was caught between the seminarians, who wanted the school to lead in the anti-slavery movement, and influential supporters who did not want the school involved in any political activity.

Henry's first church following graduation was the First Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a thriving river town. Following ?? development, Beec?? ??as called to the larger Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis. During those years he developed a reputation as an effective revivalist, while the church grew to be the state's largest.

Beecher was less concerned with discussing theology than with addressing the needs of common people. His first book, Lectures to Young Men, dealt with topics such as idleness, gambling, intemperance, cheating and other areas of personal morality, with an emphasis on conversion to Christian living.