Evangelist and Educator. He was one of the best-known American revival preachers of the early 20th century, a pioneer of religious broadcasting, and the founder and first president of Bob Jones University. Before establishing the school that bears his name, he reportedly preached in person to more than 15 million people and conducted widely publicized evangelistic campaigns throughout the United States. His ministry and university made him a leading figure in American Protestant fundamentalism.

Born Robert Reynolds Jones in rural Dale County, Alabama, he was converted to Christianity at the age of 11 and began conducting revival meetings while still a boy. He was licensed to preach by the Methodist Church at 15 and soon became a successful itinerant evangelist. By the 1920s, he was considered one of the country's most prominent revivalists, second in public recognition only to Billy Sunday. His campaigns sometimes attracted audiences numbering in the thousands and produced extensive newspaper coverage.

Jones recognized the potential of radio at an early stage in its development. His 1925 Pittsburgh evangelistic campaign produced pioneering remote broadcasts originating from a religious crusade. In 1927, he began daily and weekly network programs that carried his sermons across much of the eastern United States. His radio ministry continued for approximately 35 years, and in 1944 he helped establish the National Religious Broadcasters organization.

Concerned that colleges were leading Christian students away from traditional faith, Jones founded Bob Jones College in Lynn Haven, Florida, in 1927. The institution opened with 88 students and emphasized biblical orthodoxy, evangelism, academic instruction and the fine arts. Financial pressures during the Great Depression led to its relocation to Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1933. It moved to Greenville, South Carolina, in 1947 and became Bob Jones University. Jones served as president from the school's founding until 1947, when he was succeeded by his son, Bob Jones Jr., but he remained an influential presence at the university for the rest of his life.

A prominent defender of Protestant fundamentalism, Jones opposed theological modernism, evolution and cooperation between conservative Christians and denominations he regarded as doctrinally liberal. He eventually separated from the Methodist Church and promoted an independent, interdenominational form of fundamentalist Christianity. His aphoristic sermons, chapel addresses, books and radio broadcasts circulated widely within conservative Protestant circles.

Jones was also an outspoken supporter of racial segregation. In his 1960 radio sermon "Is Segregation Scriptural?" he argued that racial separation was ordained by God. The sermon was published and distributed by Bob Jones University and served as the institution's position statement on race for many years. The university subsequently repudiated its former racial policies.

He died at the university's hospital in Greenville at the age of 84. More than 5,000 people attended his funeral, and he was buried on the campus of the institution he founded.