Cleland Boyd McAfee was an American theologian, Presbyterian clergyman, and hymn writer, best known for writing the gospel hymn "Near to the Heart of God" and the tune "McAfee." He wrote the song following the loss of two of his young nieces from diphtheria. He is also thought to be the inventor of the abbreviation TULIP, which stands for the Five Points of Calvinism. McAfee was born in Ashley, Missouri, in 1866, as the fifth child. His father, John Armstrong McAfee, founded Park College in Parkville, Missouri, and served as president from 1875 until his death in 1890. In 1884, the son graduated from Park College, followed by Union Theological Seminary in New York. In 1912, McAfee wrote the essay "The Greatest English Classic: A Study Of The King James Version Of The Bible." From 1930 to 1936, he served as moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, as well as the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mission. He died in 1944. McAfee married Harriet "Hattie" Lawson Brown on August 10, 1892, and together they had three children: Ruth Myrtle, Katharine Agnes, and Mildred Helen. Mildred Helen McAfee Horton went on to become Wellesley College's president (1936-1949) and the first director of WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the United States Navy (1942-46).