Peale, Norman Vincent, 1898-1993

Peale was licensed and ordained in 1922 by the Methodist Church. He held a pastorate at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City from 1932-1984. He wrote many books, perhaps his most popular being the 1952 "Power of Positive Thinking." Peale's ideology of positive thinking won him worldwide acclaim.

From the description of Papers, 1936-1975. (Joint Archive of Holland, History Research Center). WorldCat record id: 30451926

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was an American Protestant preacher and author, best known for his The Power of Positive Thinking .

Born in Bowersville, Ohio, Peale attended Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Theology. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922 but changed his affiliation to Reformed Church in America in 1932. Soon after, he became pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan a post he kept for 52 years. All of Peale's projects were equally long-lived: his radio program, "The Art of Living," ran from 1935-1989, and in 1945, with his wife Ruth, he founded the popular Guideposts magazine which he served as editor for nearly fifty years and which is still published today.

With psychoanalyst Smiley Blanton, Peale set up a religio-psychiatric outpatient clinic next door to Marble Collegiate Church, with Blanton handling psychiatric issues and Peale religious issues. The two co-wrote several books, including Faith Is the Answer (1940). By 1951 the clinic had evolved into an independent organization, the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry, with Peale as president and Blanton as executive director. Peale was also a co-founder in 1947 of the Horatio Alger Association.

Over his career Peale wrote hundreds of sermons, articles, and papers and wrote or co-wrote more than forty inspirational or religious books. In 1963 a film, One Man's Way, based on his life and work was produced, and in 1984 Peale received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to theology.

From the guide to the Norman Vincent Peale Papers, 1920-1965, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)