The Million Dollar Sermon

Frank Wakeley Gunsaulus D.D. LL.D (January 1, 1856–March 17, 1921) was a noted preacher, educator, pastor, author and humanitarian. Famous for his "Million Dollar Sermon" which led Philip Danforth Armour

a prominent Chicago meat packer and grain merchant.^[8] Armour had heard Chicago minister Frank W. Gunsaulus say that with a million dollars he would build a school that would be open to students of all backgrounds instead of just the elite. After the sermon, Armour approached Gunsaulus and asked if he was serious about his claim.

When Gunsaulus said yes, Armour told him that if he came by his office in the morning, he would give him the million dollars. Armour also stipulated that Gunsaulus become the first president of the school, and Gunsaulus served as president of Armour Tech from its founding in 1890 until his death in 1921.

The money was donated to found Armour Institute of Technology where Gunsaulus served as president for its first 27 years. Gunsaulus lived in Chicago for 34 years where he was pastor of Plymouth Church (1887-99) and Central Church from 1899 until two years before his death. He was a prominent figure in Chicago’s social, educational, and civic improvements. In 1893, he was named first president of Armour Institute of Technology (now Illinois Institute of Technology). His extraordinary energy, masterful oratory skills, and intellectual talents influenced the city’s spiritual, educational, cultural, and civic development for decades.




Motto: Transforming Lives
Inventing The Future



Early life

Frank Wakely Gunsaulus was born in Chesterville, Morrow County, Ohio on January 1, 1856, the son of Joseph and Mary (Hawley) Gunsaulus. He was a descendant of Manuel Gonsalus (Gonzales), a Spaniard and early settler in Sullivan County, New York who lived near Rochester and married into a Dutch family in Kingston, Ulster County. His father, Joseph, was an attorney and notary public in Chesterville who was born on a farm in Cayuga County, New York on April 29, 1825. Frank Gunsaulus’ oratorical skills, extraordinary memory and mental agility, impassioned leadership, and his dedication to civic duty, patriotism and democratic ideals can be attributed to the influence of his father.
In 1861, Joseph was elected as the Republican representative from Morrow County to the state legislature. He represented the county for four years, served on the Military Committee where he advised Governors William Dennison and David Tod during the Civil War, and was chair of the Committee on Municipal Corporations. He was mayor of Chesterville for 20 years, was one of its incorporators, was a member of its Council and was president of its school board. In 1854, Joseph married Mary Jane Hawley, who was born in Kentucky. Their two children were Frank Wakely and Lillian C., also born in Chesterville in 1862.
Frank W. Gunsaulus attended public schools in Chesterville and was admitted to Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio at the age of 16. He was known by his classmates and professors to have a ravenous appetite for reading “the classics” coupled with a prodigious memory and a keen intellect. Always a popular student on campus, his classmates and professors were amazed by his public speaking skills and frequently made a point to attend his regular oratories at the school, where many claimed they were spellbound by his charm, wit, passion, and intelligence. He graduated from Wesleyan in 1875 at the age of 19 and was married that year to Georgeanna (Anna), daughter of George Long of Parsons, West Virginia and 1875 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan Female College.

Early Ministry

After completing college, Gunsaulus was ordained to the Methodist Ministry and was an itinerant minister (circuit rider) for several years. In 1879, he entered the Congregational ministry and became pastor of the Eastwood Congregational Church in Columbus, Ohio, where he served until 1881. During this period, he and Georgeanne had three children: Joseph Long (1877), Martha G. (1879) and Beatrice (1881). He then served as a very popular pastor in Newtonville, Massachusetts between 1881 and 1885 and at the Brown Memorial church in Baltimore, Maryland between 1885 and 1887. While in Baltimore, Gunsaulus spent considerable time at the Johns Hopkins University Library and made contact with faculty members and students. He guest-lectured there on “The Messages of the Great English Poets” and later referred to the programs at Johns Hopkins as an educational model. During this period, he and Georgeanne added Mary J. (1884) and Helen C. (1886) to their family.

Books authored

• Monk and knight; an historical study in fiction. 1891. LCCN 07-002850^[1]
• Phidias, and other poems. 1891. LCCN 26-005679
• Songs of night and day. 1896. LCCN 26-005680^[2]
• Young men in history. 1898. LCCN 98-001966
• William Ewart Gladstone. A biographical study. 1898. LCCN 03-028324
• The man of Galilee; a biographical study of the life of Jesus Christ. 1899. LCCN 99-005074
• Paths to power: Central church sermons. 1905 LCCN 05-033035
• Paths to the city of god. 1906 LCCN 06-041778
• The transfiguration of Christ. c1907. LCCN 07-012672
• The higher ministries of recent English poetry. 1907. LCCN 07-023730^[3]
• The minister and the spiritual life. c1911. LCCN 12-000850^[4]
• Martin Luther and the morning hour in Europe; two lectures delivered at the University of Chicago, October 16 and 17. c1917. LCCN 

Illnois Institute of Technology Today 2012

Gunsaulus's sermon thus became known as the "Million Dollar Sermon"