William Norman Pittenger was born in Bogota, New Jersey, USA on 23 July 1905. From 1936-1966 he was Professor at the General Theological Seminary in New York, USA. He came to Cambridge in 1966 as a member of the Faculty of Divinity. He was made a member of High Table at King's College at the instigation of Dean Vidler. He died on 19 June 1997.