J. Harold Smith (June 14, 1910 – November 13, 2001) was a Southern Baptist evangelist and founder of Radio Bible Hour, "broadcasting the Gospel of Jesus Christ since 1935".
On September 4, 1932, he claims to have received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, resulting in abandonment of his previous plan to attend medical school.
A second protest three weeks later included 10,000 people, with Carl McIntire and Harvey H. Springer speaking in support of Smith and his program.
In 1953, as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas, he started televising the morning worship services.
In 1953, Smith began broadcasting his program on XERF radio, below the Texas border in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.