Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall (May 27, 1902 – January 26, 1949) was a Scottish-American preacher, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and was appointed as Chaplain of the United States Senate. He is remembered popularly from the success of A Man Called Peter (1951), a biography written by his widow, Catherine Marshall, and the book's 1955 film adaptation, which was nominated for an Academy Award for its cinematography. Early life and education Born in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, a poverty-stricken coal-mining community, where he was reared by his mother and stepfather. From 1916-1921 he studied electrical engineering at Coatbridge Technical School. He enrolled in evening classes to study for the ministry, while working in the mines by day, but his progress was slow. In 1927, a cousin offered to pay Peter's way to the U.S., where he could receive proper ministerial training. He graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1931. Ministry He was called as the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, a small, rural church in Covington, Georgia. After a brief pastorate, Marshall accepted a call to Atlanta's Westminster Presbyterian Church in 1933.