(January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) Oxford, New Haven County, Connecticut. Was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 to 1875 and was a missionary of the LDS Church in the United States, Europe, and the Ottoman Empire.
When Oliver Cowdery and other Latter Day Saint missionaries preached in Kirtland in late 1830, Hyde spoke publicly against the «Mormon Bible». However, when his former minister, Sidney Rigdon joined the Latter Day Saint church, Hyde investigated the claims of the missionaries, and was baptized by Rigdon on October 30, 1831. Hyde was called on a succession of missions for the church, serving with Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, and John Gould. In 1832 he was among the first missionaries in Connecticut; he was also among the first missionaries from the church to preach in Maine and Massachusetts.
One of Hyde’s most significant missions was a call to preach in Jerusalem. From April 1841 to December 1842, he proselyted in Palestine.
Originally he was supposed to travel with John Page, another prominent Mormon, but Page never showed up in New York and Hyde left without him. According to the minutes of the meeting on April 6, 1840, at which Hyde was dispatched he was «to visit the cities of London, Amsterdam, Constantinople, and Jerusalem; and also other places that he may deem expedient; and converse with the priests, rulers, and elders of the Jews, and obtain from them all the information possible, and communicate the same to some principal paper for publication, that it may have a general circulation throughout the United States. His letter of introduction claimed that «The Jewish nations have been scattered abroad among the Gentiles for a long period; and in our estimation, the time of the commencement of their return to the Holy Land has already arrived.
After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, the majority of the Latter Day Saints left Nauvoo for Iowa Territory. However, Hyde remained behind to oversee the completion of the Nauvoo Temple, which was dedicated in 1846. Hyde then returned to England, presiding over the British mission from 1846 to 1847. Upon his return in 1848, Hyde was placed in charge of the Camps of Israel in the Midwest, remaining in Council Bluffs, Iowa until 1852.
Hyde died on November 28, 1878, one day after suffering a severe stroke, and was succeeded in the apostleship by Moses Thatcher. He is buried at Spring City, Sanpete County, Utah.