The 18th essay in A Noble Company, volume 8, is Adoniram Judson, Jr. (1788-1850).

Adoniram Judson, Jr. was born the year George Washington was elected president of the United States. The new constitution for the United States of America had been debated, approved and was being implemented when the lad made his appearance on August 9, 1788, the first child of Adoniram Judson, Sr. and his wife, Abigail (née Brown) Judson. Washington eventually became known as the Father of the United States of America. Adoniram Judson, Jr. became known as the father of the modern mission movement from America. Over forty biographies have chronicled the life and ministry of Judson as he and his three wives launched the intentional movement of the gospel from the United States to the uttermost parts of the earth. Judson is, and should be, noted as the first foreign missionary from America. Though that status is sometimes debated, Judson’s influence on the modern mission movement cannot be questioned. --Jerry Cain