Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910–2008) was the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving from 1995 until his death in 2008. He was widely credited with modernizing the church's public image, accelerating temple construction worldwide, and overseeing a period of rapid growth that pushed membership past twelve million.

Born in Salt Lake City, he graduated from the University of Utah in 1932 with a degree in English, then served a two-year mission in England during the Depression. After returning, he joined the church's public communications department in 1935, beginning more than seven decades of continuous service to the institution.

He was ordained an apostle in 1961 and became counselor in the First Presidency under Spencer Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, and Howard Hunter before assuming the presidency at age eighty-four. As president, he announced the construction of dozens of smaller temples across the world, raising the total from forty-seven to over one hundred during his tenure, and inaugurated the Perpetual Education Fund to assist members in developing nations.

Hinckley appeared on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace in 1996 and on Larry King Live, becoming the first LDS president to engage major secular media. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 from President George W. Bush, and died at his Salt Lake City apartment at ninety-seven.

The name Gordon derives from a Scottish place name and surname, likely from the Old Brittonic gor-din meaning "great fort" or "spacious fort." Adopted as a given name through admiration for the Gordon clan and General Charles George Gordon of Khartoum, it suits a man who oversaw the construction of more LDS temples than any predecessor.