10 Facts About Richard Furman

Richard Furman was a Baptist leader from Charleston, South Carolina, United States.

Richard Furman was elected in 1814 as the first president of the Triennial Convention, the first nationwide Baptist association.

Richard Furman was raised in Charleston, South Carolina in a family of evangelical Calvinists.

Richard Furman had little formal education, but was taught mathematics and sciences by his father and taught himself several languages including Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

Richard Furman was ordained as pastor of High Hills church two years later.

Richard Furman made a great impression on the young William Bullein Johnson, who would later himself become a Baptist leader and first president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Richard Furman was a founder of the Charleston Bible Society and the Religious Tract Society.

Richard Furman helped arrange the first meeting of the Triennial Convention in Philadelphia in 1814, where he was elected president.

Richard Furman ensured that the convention made education of aspiring ministers one of its basic missions, and encouraged Luther Rice in the foundation of Columbian College, now George Washington University, chartered by an Act of Congress on 9 February 1821.

In 1821, Richard Furman was one of the organizers of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention and was elected its President, serving until his death.