wfn.org | Church historian and Wesley scholar Frank Baker dies

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TITLE:Church historian and Wesley scholar Frank Baker dies

Oct. 12, 1999 Contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{533}  

NOTE: This story was provided by the news service at Duke University.

DURHAM, N.C. (UMNS) --The Rev. Frank Baker, 89, a leading authority on
Methodism, died in his sleep Oct. 11 at the Durham Regent Retirement Home.

Born in Kingston-upon-Hull, England, in 1910, Baker earned his bachelor of
arts degree from the University of London in 1931 and his bachelor of
divinity degree three years later from Manchester University. He continued
his education at University of Nottingham, earning his doctorate in 1952.

Ordained as a Methodist minister in 1937, Baker served pastorates throughout
central and northern England until 1959. He joined the Duke Divinity School
faculty in 1960, also teaching in the department of religion, before
retiring in 1980 as professor emeritus of English church history.

"Frank Baker was, without question, the leading authority on the history of
the Wesleys and early Methodism," said L. Gregory Jones, dean of the
Divinity School. "His academic zeal, along with his gracious hospitality,
made a profound impression on generations of Methodist ministers and Wesley
scholars here at Duke and throughout the world. We will miss his presence
among us and his friendship."

Baker's 30 books and more than 200 articles ranged from scholarly volumes,
such as John Wesley and the Church of England and From Wesley to Asbury:
Studies in Early American Methodism, to an original collection of children's
stories. His best-known books also included the Encyclopedia of Methodism.
 
"It is right to identify Dr. Baker as the preeminent Wesley historian who
took Wesley scholarship to a higher level," said Richard Heitzenrater, the
William Kellon Quick professor of church history and Wesley studies at Duke.
"But what is not as well known is that he was a gentleman. A warm and
friendly person, he was willing to help anyone who needed assistance with
scholarship, and that ranged from undergraduate basketball players to
doctoral students in religion."

During his career at Duke and after his retirement, Baker was closely
associated with a project to publish the definitive edition of John Wesley's
writings. Baker served as editor for the 36-volume Bicentennial Edition of
the Works of John Wesley, which is being published by Abingdon Press.

"He determined what John Wesley says today," said Russell E. Richey,
professor of church history at the divinity school. "That series is and will
be a monument to Frank Baker, signaling a lasting contribution to
scholarship. Through his teaching he inspired many to interest in Wesley and
Methodist history and trained the leadership of the next generation of
Methodist scholars."

An avid collector of books and writings on Methodism, Baker began his
collection in the mid-1930s after winning an essay prize on Wesley's
library. "I came to believe that it was important as far as possible to
secure not simply the first, but every edition of the writings of the two
brothers and the members of their immediate families," Baker wrote in 1962.

His collection of Wesleyana and Methodistica grew to more than 15,000 items
and four tons before Baker started donating it, over a period of more than
two decades, to two divinity school libraries. The collection contains the
second largest number of Wesley publications in the world and has more than
50 titles representing the only known copies.

A recipient of the St. George's Gold Medal for distinguished service to the
United Methodist Church, Baker was presented in 1994 the distinguished
service award by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
Last September, the Baker Methodist Research Center was established at Duke
Divinity School to serve as a focal point for future Wesley scholarship.

Baker is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nellie; his daughter, Margaret
Whitehead, of Irving, Texas; his daughter, Enid Hickingbotham, of
Stouchsburg, Pa.; his son, Peter Baker, of Tampa, Fla.; and six
grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 14 in the Duke University
Chapel.

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United Methodist News Service
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