Charles Haddon Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Baptist preacher. Spurgeon accepted Christ in 1850. He preached his first sermon in 1851 and, from the beginning of his ministry, his style and ability were considered to be far above average. In 1852, he became pastor of the small Baptist church at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, and in 1854, was called to the pastorate of London's famed New Park Street Chapel, Southwark. Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000. At twenty-two Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the day. In 1861 his congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle, seating five thousand people with standing room for another thousand.
Spurgeon's sermons were published in printed form every week, and enjoyed a high circulation. By the time of his death in 1892, he had preached almost thirty-six hundred sermons and published forty-nine volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations, and devotions.