Amory Howe Bradford was born on April 14, 1846, in Granby, Oswego County, New York.
He was a Congregational pastor and author. In 1867, he graduated from Hamilton College, N.Y. In 1870, he graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, Massachusetts and was ordained a Congregational minister. He became the pastor of First Congregational Church of Montclair, New Jersey (1871-1911). During this period, he published fifteen books. He emphasized spiritual fellowship, strict civic control, village improvement, missionary work, and local temperance. In 1884, he studied at Oxford University, England. He was associate editor of the Outlook magazine from 1892 to1899. In 1892, he was named president of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy and in the years 1892 and 1893 he delivered the Southworth Lectures at Andover Theological Seminary. In 1895, he travelled to Japan to inspect American missionary efforts. From 1901 to 1903 he was a moderator of the National Council, the foremost position in the Congregational fellowship. In 1904, he was named president of the American Missionary Association.
He died on February 18, 1911, in Montclair, Essex, New Jersey.