Borden of Yale '09

"Borden of Yale, '09 fell into my hands when I was a college student and it helped set my life goals in a Godward direction, from which I have never changed course. " - Ken Taylor, translator of The Living Bible and founder of Tyndale House Publishers.

"Apart from Christ, there is no explanation for such a life." -- William Whiting Borden's Epitaph.

"Ultimately, it is not Borden's words but rather his life that have had the greatest impact." - Christianity Today

"No young man of his age has given more to the service of God and humanity; for Borden not only gave his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it was manifestly a privilege rather than a sacrifice." - Princeton Seminary Bulletin.

Borden of Yale '09is the account of the remarkable inspiring life of William Whiting Borden. At the age of six he secretly wrote in his childish hand "I want to be an honest man when I grow up, and true and kind and loving and faithful man." The next year, at the Moody Church in Chicago which his mother attended, R. A. Torrey extended an invitation to the congregation to dedicate their lives to the service of God. The young William Borden quietly rose. He never reversed this decision.

In his freshman year at Yale, he started a Bible Study in his room. By his senior year, 1000 of the 1300 Yale undergraduates were studying scripture in groups. Borden graduated from Yale and Princeton Theological Seminary with high honours. He also started the first rescue mission in New Haven, providing hot meals and gospel meetings for those with precarious employment and accommodation. He inherited millions on his father's death while he a student at Yale, supported missions generously, and left his wealth to mission organizations.

Sensing a call to mission work with Chinese Uighurs, Borden moved to Cairo to study Arabic and Islam. Three months into his stay, at the age 25, in 1913, William Borden died of spinal meningitis. His brief life has inspired many Christians including Ken Taylor, translator of The Living Bible, and founder of Tyndale House Publishers.