Herman Bavinck (December 13, 1854 – July 29, 1921) was a Dutch preacher, theologian, and educator whose ministry within the Dutch Reformed Church bridged pastoral preaching and profound theological scholarship across the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Hoogeveen, Netherlands, to Jan Bavinck, a pastor in the Secession Church (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk), and Geziena Magdalena Holland, he was the second of seven children in a devout, conservative Reformed family. Educated at the Kampen Theological School (1873–1874), he transferred to Leiden University for its academic rigor, earning a doctorate in theology in 1880 with a dissertation on Ulrich Zwingli’s ethics. Bavinck’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1881, serving as pastor of the Reformed Church in Franeker, Friesland (1881–1882), where his sermons emphasized God’s sovereignty and practical Christian living. In 1882, he became professor of theology at Kampen Theological School (1882–1902), preaching regularly to students and local congregations, before succeeding Abraham Kuyper as professor of systematic theology at the Free University of Amsterdam (1902–1921). His sermons—reflecting deep biblical and Reformed insights—complemented his monumental Reformed Dogmatics (1895–1901), a four-volume work translated into English in 2003–2008, and other writings like The Philosophy of Revelation (1908). Married to Johanna Adriana Schippers in 1891, with whom he had one daughter, Johanna Geziena, he passed away at age 66 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.