Norman Vincent Peale

Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American minister and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a progenitor of "positive thinking". His ideas were not accepted by mental health experts.
Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio, the oldest of three sons of Charles and Anna (née Delaney) Peale. He graduated from Bellefontaine High
School, Bellefontaine, Ohio. He earned degrees at Ohio Wesleyan University (where he became a brother of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta) and Boston University School of Theology.
Raised as a Methodist and ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922, Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in 1932 and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. During that time the church's membership grew from about 600 to over 5,000, and he became one of New York City's most famous preachers.