Archives Billy Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - Historical Background This biography was prepared by the staff of the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College and is intended to provide a basic context for understanding the documents in BGEA and BGEA-related collections. For more detail on the early years of Graham's ministry, see "I Learned to Look Straight At Them": The Apprenticeship of Billy Graham, 1937-1949 William Franklin Graham, Jr., known as Billy Graham to most of the world, was born on November 7, 1918, near Charlotte, North Carolina, to William Franklin and Morrow Coffey Graham. Billy was the first of four children, followed by Catherine, Melvin, and Jean. In 1919 he was baptized by sprinkling at Chalmers Memorial Church. William Franklin, Sr., was a successful farmer and businessman and Billy had a normal childhood. Both parents were Christians and the family regularly attended the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. In 1
"The time is short" (1 Corinthians 7:29).