Ellen G. White

Name at birth: Ellen Harmon

Ellen G. White is one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was officially organized in 1863. Although raised as a Methodist, Ellen Harmon was influenced by the "adventist" movement of New England in the 1840s. Led by William Miller, a Baptist preacher, adventists believed that Jesus would return to earth in either 1843 or 1844 (some pinned it down to 22 October 1844). In 1846 Harmon married a minister, James White, and together they devoted themselves to preaching religious principles based on visions she believed to be revelations from God. White was a prolific writer (accused of plagiarism by her critics) and considered a prophet of the S.D.A. church. Her book Steps to Christ has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.