1898 - Religion

Religion

Gideons International has its beginnings at Boscobel, Wis., where traveling salesmen John H. Nicholson and Sam Hill share a room at the Central Hotel and decide to form an association of Christian businessmen (excluding those in the liquor trade) and professional men to "put the Word of God into the hands of the unconverted." The association will raise money for their work, it will place 25 bibles in a Montana hotel in 1908, and by 1976 the Gideons will be placing 16.5 million bibles per year in hotels, hospitals, prisons, schools, colleges, and other locations.