Robert William Dale (1829–1895) was a prominent English preacher and Congregationalist leader whose ministry profoundly influenced 19th-century Nonconformist Christianity, particularly in Birmingham. Born on December 1, 1829, in London to a Nonconformist family, Dale pursued theological education at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, and graduated with an M.A. from the University of London in 1853, excelling in philosophy with a gold medal. That year, he joined Carr’s Lane Chapel in Birmingham as co-pastor with John Angell James, becoming sole pastor in 1859 after James’s death, a role he held until his own passing. Known for his intellectual rigor and eloquent sermons—delivered from manuscripts due to his belief that extemporaneous preaching would exhaust him—Dale shaped Birmingham’s religious and civic life, earning honorary degrees like an LL.D. from Glasgow University (1883), though he eschewed the D.D. from Yale. Dale’s preaching career extended beyond the pulpit, as he championed social reform, education, and the “Civic Gospel,” advocating for municipal improvement alongside figures like Joseph Chamberlain. He served as Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1868 and President of the International Congregational Council in 1891, reflecting his broader ecclesiastical influence. A prolific writer, his works, such as The Atonement (1875), defended evangelical truths while engaging contemporary issues, and he played a key role in relocating Spring Hill College to Oxford as Mansfield College in 1886. Dale died on March 13, 1895, in Birmingham, leaving a legacy as a preacher of moral passion and theological depth, buried at Key Hill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Dowling, whom he married in 1855, and their children, including Alfred William Winterslow Dale, a notable academic.