Nelson Wesley Trout, born in 1921 in Columbus, Ohio, graduated from Capital University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. He received his Doctor of Divinity from Warburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
He served at Trinity Lutheran Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and held several positions on the staff of the American Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio. He returned to Trinity Lutheran Seminary as the professor and Director of Minority Ministry Studies.
In 1983, he was elected bishop of the ALC's South Pacific District, becoming the first African American bishop in US Lutheranism. After the 1987 merger which formed the ELCA, Dr. Trout became Bishop Emeritus of the new Southwest California Synod. He also served as Director for Mission Theology and Evangelism Training for the ELCA.
Dr. Trout passed away in 1996.
