George Whitefield Ridout was born in St. John's Newfoundland. He went to Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man and was educated at Temple University. He served as Professor of Theology at Upland, Indiana. He served as Chaplain with the 38th Regiment in France during World War I. Following the war he accepted the Chair of Theology as Asbury College where he remained until 1927.

      Following his teaching service at Asbury, Dr. Ridout, entered missionary and evangelistic work and traveled extensively in Japan, China, India, Africa, and South America. He was widely known in the holiness camp meetings and churches of the United States. For more than thirty years he wrote a weekly page for the Herald (Pentecostal Herald), published at Louisville, Kentucky. His writings also appeared in other holiness papers including the Advocate. He wrote several books, among them "The Cross and the Flag," "Amazing Grace," and "The Power of the Holy Spirit." He was a member of the British Philosophic Society and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.