Tillich, Paul (1886–1965)

Tillich was a renowned German philosopher and theologian, who moved to the United States after Hitler came to power in 1933. He taught at Union Theological Seminary and was considered one of the most prominent Protestant thinkers, and his work became a foundation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy. King wrote his dissertation on Tillich’s work in 1953 and grappled with Tillich’s Christian existentialism. Tillich ended his career at the University of Chicago, to which he had moved in 1962. His most famous works are The Courage to Be (1952), Dynamics of Faith (1957), and Systemic Theology Vols. 1–3 (1951–1963).