---
title: Reverend Dr. William Hamilton Bill Alexander
tags:
  - authorship/other
  - destiny/uncertain
  - topic/other
  - type/encyclopedia-entry
---
# 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

[This article](https://okcmod.com/architecture/endangered/william-alexander-youth-center/)
lamenting the imminent demolition of the William Alexander Youth Center
had lots of details, 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.