| Type: | President |
| Samuel William Schmitthenner, AELC | |
| The Reverend | |
| Church: | Lutheran |
| Diocese: | Synods of East Godavari, West Godavari, East Guntur, West Guntur, Central Guntur |
| See: | Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) |
| Term: | 1969–1981 |
| Predecessor: | K. Devasahayam |
| Successor: | K. Nathaniel |
| Ordination: | May 23, 1951[1] |
| Ordained By: | Central Pennsylvania Synod, United Lutheran Church in America |
| Birth Date: | February 23, 1928[2] |
| Birth Place: | Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Death Date: | May 17, 2015 |
| Death Place: | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Previous Post: | Pastor, Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society |
Samuel William Schmitthenner (February23, 1928May17, 2015) was a Lutheran who served as the President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India from 1969 to 1981.
S. W. Schmitthenner initially served as a missionary to India from 1952 onwards.[3]
S. W. Schmitthenner studied at the Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu and in 1944[1] moved on to Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he earned a graduate degree in 1948.[1] He continued his studies and earned a Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 1951.[1]
While serving as a Pastor of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1952[1] onwards, Schmitthenner returned twice to America to upgrade his academics. In 1958-1959[1] he attended the Kennedy School of Missions at Hartford, Connecticut, and again in 1966[1] he joined the University of Pennsylvania for studying Indian Sociology.