Samuel Simon Schmucker was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on February 28, 1799. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the Princeton Theological Seminary, Schmucker became one of the first and foremost (and sometimes controversial) Lutheran scholars of his day, writing extensively on theology and doctrine. He helped organize the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in America in 1820, and then served as one of the founders of both the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (1826) and Pennsylvania College (1832). He served on the faculty of both institutions until 1864. A committed abolitionist and reformer, Schmucker also supported the education of women and minorities. Schmucker died at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1873.