Charles August Sauer (1891-1972), American pastor, missionary, and author, was born on June 27, 1891, near Wheelersburg, Ohio. He was the son of Christian August and Anna (Miller) Sauer. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, B.A., 1919; D. D., 1958, and Ohio State University College of Education, M. A., 1928. He married the former Marguerite Suttles of Albion, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1920, and they had three sons.
Dr. Sauer, who was first engaged in the field of education, served during World War I in the American Expeditionary Forces until February 1919. From 1921-1932, he lived in Yeng Byen, Korea, serving as missionary principal of the Mission High School there. From 1932 to 1935, he was an instructor of farm engineering at the Konju Mission School. He was treasurer of the Korean Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea, 1936-1941, and again from 1946 to 1950. From 1942- 1946, after missionaries were expelled from Korea, he served as minister in the West Unity, Ohio, Methodist Church.
Sauer returned alone to Korea in 1946, to be joined later by his wife. He was treasurer for the National Christian Council Union Projects in Korea, 1950-1962. From 1949 to 1958, he returned to the field of education and his position of principal, working in the Korean Language School. From 1949 until 1962, he served as editor for the Korean edition of The Upper Room. Sauer wrote "Korean Language for Beginners" (1925) with reprints in 1950 and 1954; "Chinese Characters for Beginners," 1930; "A Pocket Story of John Wesley," 1967; and "Beginner's Lessons in the Book of Genesis," written in the Korean language, in 1938.
In 1962 he was cited by the Minister of Defense in the Republic of Korea, and later that year he was awarded a Cultural Merit, which is the National Medal, by the President of the Republic of Korea. Dr. Sauer was a member of the Ohio Annual Conference. He participated in the General Conference of the Korean Methodist Church in 1951, 1954, 1958, and 1960, and served as a delegate to the General Conference of The Methodist Church in 1956. He acted as the editor for Korea in the Encyclopedia of World Methodism. He died on September 13, 1972, at Ashley, Ohio.
Sourced from The General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church.