Henry Muhlenberg | |
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Born | Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg September 6, 1711 Einbeck, Electorate of Hanover, Germany |
Died | October 7, 1787 Trappe, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 76)
Education | University of Halle |
Children | see Muhlenberg family |
Church | Pennsylvania Ministerium |
Title | Patriarch of the Lutheran church in America |
Signature | |
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Lutheranism |
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Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (born Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg; September 6, 1711 – October 7, 1787), was a German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Born in Einbeck, Muhlenberg immigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania in response to demands from Lutherans for missionary work in the colony. Muhlenberg was integral to the founding of the first Lutheran church body or denomination in North America, and is considered the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States.[1]
Muhlenberg and his wife Anna Maria had a large family, and they and their descendants had a significant impact on colonial life in North America as pastors, military officers, and politicians. He and Anna Maria's descendants continued to be active in Pennsylvania and national political life.