Martin Ralph De Haan (1891 - December 13, 1965) was a Bible teacher, founder of Radio Bible Class and editor of monthly devotional guide Our Daily Bread.[1]
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Martin R. DeHaan was born in Zeeland, Michigan to a cobbler who had emigrated from the Netherlands.[1]
He graduated from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine, going on to be physician in Western Michigan.[1]
He married in 1914 to Priscilla.[2]
In October 1921, he struggled for his life in a Grand Rapids hospital. He recalled this as a life-changing event. In early spring of 1922, he returned home from house calls and said, "I can't go on any longer. ... This is it!" He sold his medical practice, home, and office equipment.[2]
De Haan attended the nearby Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He pastored two churches in Grand Rapids and ran large Bible classes.[1]
In 1938, one of the Bible classes in Detroit began being broadcast on radio at a fifty-watt station. Two national networks picked up the Radio Bible Class program, its coverage growing to 600 stations around the world at the time of De Haan's death.[1]
He was involved in an automobile collision in July 1965 where he sustained serious injuries. Complications of a pre-existing heart condition prevented recovery; he died as he rested at home on December 13, 1965.[1]