The Philanthropists: William Borden

William Whiting Borden was a wealthy Christian philanthropist who had a particular passion for the Muslims of Northern China. Born in Chicago in 1887 to William and Mary, Borden’s family became wealthy through wise investments in real estate and the dairy industry. It was this family wealth that Borden would generously distribute before his death at the young age of 25.

Borden began attending Chicago Avenue Church (now The Moody Church) with his mother after she trusted Christ in 1894. It was as a young man under the preaching of the famous evangelist and writer Dr. R. A. Torrey that Borden professed faith in Christ and was baptized. His conversion left an indelible mark that would persist through the rest of his short life so that his friends and family would later attest he rarely wasted a minute of the time given him.

As a high school graduation gift his parents gave him a trip around the world and it was in this time that he developed a passion for mission. When Borden left home to study at Yale University, he led other students in times of prayer and Scripture reading. In fact, the movement spread so much that 1,000 out of Yale’s 1,300 students were meeting in similar groups by the time Borden graduated. During these meetings, the students would plan how they could reach all the students for Christ, and Borden was known to willingly take on the more hostile students. He also led Yale’s student missionary conference.

After graduating from Yale and then Princeton Theological Seminary, Borden studied Arabic in Egypt to prepare him to minister to the Kansu Muslims of Northern China. Sadly, though, he died of cerebral meningitis at the age of 25. Samuel Zwemer, who had taught Borden while he was in Egypt, officiated the funeral. Thus, Borden forsook his great wealth for the sake of the nations. In his Bible, he wrote the words, “No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.”

Borden gave $1 million of his family’s wealth to organizations such as the China Inland Mission, Moody Bible Institute, Moody Church, and Princeton Theological Seminary.

But he was more than a philanthropist—he was also an evangelist. While a student, he founded the Yale Hope mission, an organization that rescued drunks off the street, sought to rehabilitate them, and shared with them the good news of Jesus Christ. Thus, it would be shortsighted to focus only on Borden’s wealth. His own passionate influence had a great effect on others. One of his professors at Princeton, Charles R. Erdman, said that Borden was “an ideal missionary volunteer” because of his vision, dedication, example, and influence. Or, as his epitaph reads,

A man in Christ
He arose and forsook all and followed Him,
Kindly affectioned with brotherly love,
Fervent in spirit serving the Lord,
Rejoicing in hope,
Patient in tribulation,
Instant in prayer,
Communicating to the necessity of saints,
In honour preferring others,
Apart from faith in Christ,
There is no explanation for such a life.

The Philanthropists: William Colgate

Our next Christian philanthropist, William Colgate, founded a company that has placed a well-known product in many of our homes even today—Colgate toothpaste. Born in Kent, England in 1783 to Robert and Sarah, Colgate migrated with his family to Maryland in 1798 because of his father’s political sympathy for the American War of Independence and the French Revolution.

While in Maryland, Colgate helped his father manufacture soap and candles, but it was after he moved to New York City in 1804 that he became an apprentice to a soap-maker and in this position learned the manufacturing business. In 1806 he founded his own starch, soap and candle business on Dutch Street in New York City, and this small shop eventually grew into a massive and thriving corporation. A skilled and principled businessman, Colgate would in due time become one of the wealthiest and most generous men in New York City. 

In his early days Colgate attended a Presbyterian church pastored by Rev. Dr. Mason, one of the most prominent preachers in New York. In conjunction with his business success, Colgate was highly esteemed amongst the church members and he played an active part in the church. However, after corresponding with his Baptist father, Colgate came to reject infant baptism and, having done so, joined First Baptist Church of New York where Rev. William Parkinson baptized him in 1808. He remained an active, generous churchman throughout his life. He served as a deacon (he was affectionately known as Deacon Colgate) and became known not only for financial generosity, but also for faithfully serving the people of his church.

In 1811, Colgate married Mary Gilbert and together they had three sons, Robert, James and Samuel. Colgate eventually served on the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society (ABS) as its treasurer. Later, after dealing with controversial matters within the ABS, Colgate helped organize the American Bible Union in 1850, and again he served as the treasurer of that society until his death.

Beside serving the Bible societies, Colgate also supported Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution (later Madison University and Theological Seminary). Likewise, he regularly gave to the Baptist Missionary Union, and he even fully funded a foreign missionary on his own. Colgate made financial provisions for his aging parents by purchasing a farmhouse in a neighboring county, and he supported them financially the rest of their lives. Because of his kind and generous personality (along with Mary’s congenial spirit), his home was known as an especially pleasant and welcoming place to be. Throughout his life, Colgate attributed his success in business and ministry to the principles and truths taught in the Bible.

In 1857, Colgate died at the age of 74 and his son Samuel succeeded him as President of Colgate & Company and for a time it remained a family business; in 1928 the company was sold to Palmolive-Peet to become the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company (though Peet was subsequently dropped). As long as the family was involved in the business, they maintained the founder’s spirit of generosity. Samuel and James were both benefactors of Madison University and Theological Seminary. Because of the family’s great financial support, the school was renamed Colgate University in 1890, seven decades after the Colgate family initially got involved with the institution.