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American hymn composer and Christian ministerWilliam Marion Runyan was an influential hymn composer best known for setting the poem 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' to music in 1923. Born in New York, he served as a pastor in Kansas for two decades before becoming a music editor at Moody Bible Institute and Hope Publishing Company. Though he composed over 70 hymns, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' remains his enduring legacy, becoming one of Christianity's most beloved hymns after being popularized by Billy Graham crusades and the Moody Bible Institute.

• Runyan composed 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' while deeply moved by Thomas Chisholm's poem about God's constancy, reflecting his own spiritual journey through personal hardships.
• Severe vision impairment (blind in one eye, limited sight in the other) prevented military service and influenced his shift from pastoral work to full-time music ministry.
• As editor at Hope Publishing, he mentored young composers and helped publish gospel songs that defined early 20th-century American Protestant worship.
• His hymn gained global recognition only decades after composition when George Beverly Shea featured it in Billy Graham's 1954 London Crusades.