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reverend-william-h-alexander.md

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+---
+id:
+aliases: []
+tags: []
+title: Reverend Dr. William Hamilton Bill Alexander
+---
+# Reverend Dr. William Hamilton Bill Alexander
+
+Reverend Dr. William Hamilton Bill Alexander,
+born 1915-01-10 in Shelbyville, Missouri,
+was pastor of the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City
+until his death 1960-04-03.
+
+He is the likely originator of the "sharpen the axe" quote
+frequently misattributed to Abraham Lincoln.
+
+The earliest citation for a similar quote
+is this second hand account of a 1944 speech by Alexander,
+
+> [!quote] "Radio Church Ads Poor"[^1]
+> On preparation he urged his hearers to study and prepare themselves,
+> relating the instance of the lumberjack
+> who said that if his life depended upon his ability to cut down a tree in five minutes
+> he would spend three minutes sharpening his axe.
+
+[^1]: 1944 December 2, Sooner State Press, "Radio Church Ads Poor",
+  Quote Page 2, Column 2, Norman, Oklahoma. (Newspapers.com)
+
+## Death
+
+lamenting the imminent demolition of the [William Alexander Youth Center](https://okcmod.com/architecture/endangered/william-alexander-youth-center/),
+but the newspaper they cited was paywalled,
+so I transcribed [[1960-04-04_durant-daily-democrat|a different one]].
+
+## Legacy
+
+In 2022 Alexander's "Church of Tommorow" was demolished.
+[An article by the Oklahoman](https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/religion/2022/10/07/a-look-at-the-history-of-the-demolished-first-christian-church-building/69531476007/)
+details its history.