American preacher and inspirational writer famous as the author of the best-selling novel In His Steps.

Sheldon was educated at Brown University and Andover Theological Seminary. In 1889 he founded the Central Congregational Church in Topeka, Kan. He read series of his stories to his evening congregation; the stories proved popular when printed. The most successful series, In His Steps, concerned the inhabitants of a town who pledged themselves to live for a year as Jesus would live. First published serially in 1896 and in book form in 1897, In His Steps was for 60 years the largest-selling book in the United States after the Bible, with sales estimated at more than 8 million copies. Charles M. Sheldon: His Life Story (1925) is an autobiography. From 1920 to 1925 Sheldon edited the Christian Herald.