Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith was born in 1832 in the state of New Hampshire. His first contribution to Adventist literature was a poem of 35,000 words published in 1853 in the Review and Herald. That same year he joined his sister, Annie, as an employee of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald in Rochester, New York. Two years later, at the age of twenty-three, he name appeared on the masthead of the magazine as editor. He held that position, or associate editor, for the majority of the next fifty years. He...See more

Uriah Smith was born in 1832 in the state of New Hampshire. His first contribution to Adventist literature was a poem of 35,000 words published in 1853 in the Review and Herald. That same year he joined his sister, Annie, as an employee of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald in Rochester, New York. Two years later, at the age of twenty-three, he name appeared on the masthead of the magazine as editor. He held that position, or associate editor, for the majority of the next fifty years. He became one of Adventist's most prolific writers, with many articles, poems, and several books to his credit. His best known and most widely distributed work is Daniel and the Revelation. This first started out as two separate volumes, but in 1881 or 1882, at the request of George King, a pioneer Adventist colporteur, they were combined into one volume and became the first Adventist doctrinal volume sold to the general public. Over the years, it has been revised several times, but it has remained the classic Seventh-day Adventist text on end-time events. Uriah was quite inventive. At the age of thirteen his left leg had been amputated above the knee due to infection. In 1863 he received a patent for fully flexible knee and ankle joints for leg prostheses. In 1874 he patented a school desk with an improved folding seat. This provided him $3,000 which enabled him to build a new home. Uriah Smith died in 1903 in Battle Creek, Michigan, at the age of 70 years, from a stroke suffered while on his way to the Review and Herald office where he was still part of the editorial staff. See less