O. P. Gifford (1847-1932) was born in Montague, Massachusetts, and died in Los Angeles, California. He was a liberal Baptist minister who defended Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science throughout his career. Gifford graduated from Brown University (1874) and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (1877). He was ordained shortly afterward. In 1879, he was appointed pastor of the Warren Avenue Baptist Church in Boston, and while serving as pastor, studied Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. On April 1, 1885, at a Boston Baptist ministers meeting, he read a paper on Christian Science and then followed it up with a defense of Christian Science at another meeting on April 27. In November 1885, Gifford and his wife, Florence, took Primary class instruction with Mary Baker Eddy. After studying with Eddy, he continued his work in the Baptist church, eventually becoming pastor of the Delaware Avenue Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York. Although he wasn't active in the Christian Science movement, he remained an advocate for Christian Science, writing in the Christian Science periodicals and attending Christian Science lectures.

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