Francis Bellamy

Francis Julius Bellamy (May 18, 1855 – August 28, 1931) was an American Christian socialist Baptist minister and author. He is best known for writing the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. Early life Francis Julius Bellamy was born on May 18, 1855, in Mount Morris, New York to Rev. David Bellamy (1806–1864) and Lucy Clark. His family was deeply involved in the Baptist church and both Francis and his father became ministers. The family moved to Rome, New York, when Francis was only 5. Here, Bellamy became an active member of the First Baptist Church where his father served as minister until his death in 1864. Francis went on to attend the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, where he studied theology and belonged to the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He became a Baptist minister as a young man. He was very much influenced by the vestiges of the Second Great Awakening. He travelled to promote his Baptist faith and lived to be of service to others in his community. Bellamy's travels brought him to Massachusetts where he penned the "Pledge of Allegiance" for a campaign by the Youth's Companion, a patriotic circular and magazine. Bellamy "believed in the absolute separation of church and state" and purposefully did not include the phrase "under God" in his pledge. Pledge of Allegiance