Friedrich Pfotenhauer

Friedrich Pfotenhauer (April 22, 1859, Altencelle, Kingdom of Hanover – October 9, 1939) was the fifth president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, from 1911 to 1935.

President Pfotenhauer at the LCMS convention in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1923

Friedrich Pfotenhauer
Born	(1859-04-22)April 22, 1859 Altencelle, Kingdom of Hanover
Died	October 9, 1939(1939-10-09) (aged 80)
Education	Concordia Seminary
Church	Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS)
Offices held	President, LCMS (1911-1935)

Pfotenhauer emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1875 and attended Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon his ordination, he served as a missionary in Minnesota and the Dakota and Montana territories from 1880 to 1887. He was the pastor of congregations in Lewiston, Minnesota (1887–1894) and Hamburg, Minnesota (1894–1911). He also served as the president of the Minnesota and Dakota District of the LCMS from 1891 to 1908).[1]

He was elected president of the LCMS in 1911 and held that office until 1935. He was then the honorary president until his death in 1939.[1]