born Jan. 24, 1918, near Ada, Okla., U.S.
U.S. evangelist.
The son of a Pentecostal preacher, he underwent a conversion experience in 1935. He spent 12 years as a pastor in several towns in the South and built up his own organization, the Pentecostal Holiness Church. He studied at Oklahoma Baptist College (194345), emerging as a Methodist. Claiming direct communications from God, he began an itinerant ministry of faith healing in the late 1940s. The Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, based in Tulsa, Okla., became the parent organization for other endeavors, including a publishing firm, and Roberts became known for his luxurious way of life. From the 1950s he reached wide audiences through radio and television. In 1963 he founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, and in the early 21st century he continued his association with the university, holding the office of chancellor.