William D. McCrackan (1864-1923) was born in Munich, Germany, and died in New York, New York. He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1885 and continued his education at the Heidelberg University in Germany. He married Isabel McCrackan (b. Banks) in London, England, in 1887. They moved to New York where McCrackan lectured and became known for his books on history and travel. Politically progressive, he was well known in literary circles and was a member of the Authors' Club in New York City. McCrackan became interested in Christian Science in 1900. He studied with Augusta E. Stetson and was invited by Mary Baker Eddy in June to take the Normal class taught by Edward A. Kimball in the Board of Education of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. The McCrackans joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1900, and William was elected as an Executive Member of The Mother Church on March 30, 1901. He was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher from 1901 to 1919. In October 1904, he became a member of the General Association of Teachers. McCrackan served three years as Committee on Publication for New York, and in 1905 was appointed First Reader of The Mother Church. He was responsible for the final proofreading of Eddy's 1906 revision of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. He was made a Trustee of The Christian Science Publishing Society in January 1908, resigning six months later when he became a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship. After serving as a lecturer for eight years, he began a three-year term as an Associate Editor of The Christian Science Journal and the Christian Science Sentinel from 1916 to 1919. McCrackan was a member of the committee in charge of translating Eddy's writings into French, and from 1917 to 1918 he was President of The Mother Church.

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