orig. George Baker
born 1880?, Georgia?, U.S.
died Sept. 10, 1965, Philadelphia, Pa.
U.S. religious leader.
Reportedly born on a plantation, he began preaching in 1899 in the South and later in Baltimore, Md., as "The Messenger." He settled in New York City in 1915 and adopted the name Major J. Devine (later altered to Father Divine). In 1919 he established his first communal settlement in Sayville on Long Island, and he founded the Peace Mission movement. His predominantly black following expanded rapidly in the 1930s and '40s, and his settlements, called "heavens," eventually numbered about 170. He taught his followers to renounce personal property, and the strict moral code he preached included celibacy and a ban on alcohol and tobacco. Many of his followers, called "angels," believed him to be God.