Charles Studd
A star English cricketer who shocked the sporting world by giving away his wealth to become a radical, globe-trotting missionary in some of Earth's most challenging regions.
1860–1931 (age 71)·British cricketer and missionary·Birthday: December 2·The Gilded Age
Biography
C.T. Studd lived a life of dramatic contrasts. Born into immense privilege, he became a national sporting hero as part of England's famed cricket team that defeated Australia in 1882. At the height of his fame, he underwent a profound religious conversion. Rejecting his inheritance and comfortable life, he joined the Cambridge Seven, a group of athletes who pledged themselves to missionary work. Studd's zeal was uncompromising; he served in China, India, and finally, against all medical advice, in the heart of Africa. He founded the Heart of Africa Mission, which later became the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade, driven by a motto that captured his extreme commitment: 'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.' His legacy is a complex one of immense personal sacrifice and a missionary methodology that inspired and confounded in equal measure.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Charles was born in 1860, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Charles Was Born
The biggest hits of 1860
Charles's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1860Born
1865Started school
President: Andrew Johnson
1873Became a teenager
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1876Could drive
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1878Could vote
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1881Turned 21
President: Chester A. Arthur
1890Turned 30
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1900Turned 40
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1910Turned 50
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 60
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 70
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1931Died at 71
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
Key Achievements
- Played Test cricket for England, participating in the 1882 match that spawned The Ashes legend.
- Founded the Heart of Africa Mission (later WEC International), a missionary organization that continues global work.
- Served as a missionary on three continents: Asia (China, India), and Africa (what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
- Was a central figure in the 'Cambridge Seven,' a group of Cambridge University athletes who became missionaries in 1885.
Did You Know?
He inherited a large fortune from his father but gave it all away to various Christian causes.
Despite severe asthma and other health issues, he insisted on working in the harsh climate of central Africa.
His wife, Priscilla, was also a missionary and supported his work despite the immense hardships.
He learned the local languages in each of the regions where he served.
“Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
