William Whiting Borden was a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 to Northern China and the heir to the Borden, Inc.

Borden (company)

Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and...

 family fortune.

Life and work

William Whiting Borden was a graduate of Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 in 1909 and of Princeton Theological Seminary

Princeton Theological Seminary

Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...

. Borden was converted to Christianity under the ministry of Dwight L. Moody

Dwight L. Moody

Dwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...

. He later decided to become a missionary to the Muslims of Norther China, but died of cerebral meningitis in Egypt during his training there at the age of 25. Samuel Marinus Zwemer

Samuel Marinus Zwemer

Samuel Marinus Zwemer , nicknamed The Apostle to Islam, was an American missionary, traveler, and scholar. He was born at Vriesland, Michigan. In 1887 he received an A.B. from Hope College, Holland, Mich., and in 1890, he received an M.A. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, N....

 conducted his funeral. He is buried in the American Cemetery in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

.

Borden bequeathed $1 million to the China Inland Mission

China Inland Mission

OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...

 and other Christian agencies.
The Borden Memorial Hospital

Borden Memorial Hospital

Borden Memorial Hospital is a hospital in Lanzhou, Gansu, China.It was founded by the China Inland Mission, from money donated by the Borden family after the death of William Whiting Borden...

 in Lanzhou

Lanzhou

Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 was named after him.
After his death, Borden's Bible was found and given to his parents. In it they found in one place the words "No Reserve" and a date placing the note shortly after he renounced his fortune in favor of missions. At a later point, he had written "No Retreat", dated shortly after his father told him that he would never let him work in the company ever again. Shortly before he died in Egypt, he added the phrase "No Regrets."

See also

• Christianity in China
  Christianity in China
  Christianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...
  
  
• List of China Inland Mission missionaries in China
• OMF International
  OMF International
  OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
  
  
• Mary Geraldine Guinness
  Mary Geraldine Guinness
  Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and author of many missionary biographies regarding the history of the China Inland Mission Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷(25 December 1865 – 6 June 1949), was...
  
  

External links

• No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets—a short biographical article about Borden
• Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Archive on Borden