Addison, Joseph – 1672-1719; English, Anglican. Addison’s vocation centered around law and politics, but he was a hymn writer on the side.
Hymns:
–When All Thy Mercies, O My God.
Alexander, Cecil F. – 1818-1895; Irish, Anglican/Church of Ireland. She was married to Rev. William Alexander, the Anglican Primate of Ireland. Alexander wrote some 400 hymns and poems.
Hymns:
–Jesus Calls Us; O’er the Tumult.
Alford, Henry – Henry Alford (1787-1864), English, Anglican minister.
Hymns:
–Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand; Come
–Ye Thankful People, Come.
Ambrose of Milan – 340-397; Ambrose rose to became the famous bishop of Milan His most famous convert and disciple was St. Augustine.
Hymns:
– O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
– Savior of the Nations, Come.
Anon – Many faithful saints are credited here, known only in heaven.
Hymns:
– At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
– Behold, a Branch Is Growing
– Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
– Come, Thou Almighty King
– Gloria Patri
– Good Christian Men, Rejoice
– Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
– O Christ, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire
– O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
– Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
– We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing
– When Morning Gilds the Skies
Babcock, Maltbie – 1858-1901; American, Presbyterian minister.
Hymns:
– This Is My Father’s World
Baring-Gould, Sabine – 1834-1924; English, Anglican priest. Baring-Gould was also a hymn writer, folk song collector, and church historian, publishing several volumes.
Hymns:
– Onward, Christian Soldiers
– The Angel Gabriel (translator)
Beddome, Benjamine – 1717-1795; English Baptist minister and prolific hymn writer. He prepared a hymn every week to accompany the sermon.
Hymns:
– Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns
Berg, Caroline Sandell – 1823-1903; Swedish, Lutheran hymn-writer.
Hymns:
– Day by Day and with Each Passing Moment
Bernard of Clairvaux – 1090-1153; French, Pre-Reformation, Monastery Abbot. Bernard’s father was a knight of “great bravery” who was a vassal to the Duke of Burgundy. Bernard side stepped power and influence, instead choosing a life asceticism.
Hymns:
– Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearth
– O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Bliss, Phillip P. – 1838-1876; American hymn-writer, singer at evangelistic meetings with D. L. Moody. At the age of thirty-eight, Bliss and his wife were tragically killed in a train wreck en route to an evangelistic meeting.
Hymns:
– Man of Sorrows! What a Name
– When Peace Like a River
Bonar, Horatius – 1808-1889; Scottish, Free Church of Scotland, pastor of several congregations over his life, poet and hymn-writer.
Hymns:
– Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power
– Go, Labor On
– Here, O My Lord, I See Thee
– I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
– I Lay My Sins on Jesus
– I Was a Wandering Sheep
– No, Not Despairingly
– Not What My Hands Have Done
– O Love of God
– Thy Works, Not Mine, O Christ
Bridges, Matthew – 1800-1894; English, Anglican turned Catholic; poet, and hymnwriter.
Hymns:
– Crown Him with Many Crowns
Brooks, Phillip – 1835-1893; American, Episcopal. Phillips was rector in Philadelphia and Boston, later becoming bishop of Massachusetts for a short time.
Hymns:
– O Little Town of Bethlehem
Calvin, John – 1509-1564; French reformer in Geneva, preacher, hymn writer, author of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Hymn:
– I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art (attributed)
Chapman, J. Wilbur – 1859-1918; American, Presbyterian Minister, turned evangelist, preaching with D. L. Moody, and discipled Billy Sunday.
Hymns:
– Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners
Chisolm, Thomas O. – 1866-1960; American, Methodist minister.
Hymns:
– Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Claudius, Matthias – 1740-1815; German; translated by Jane M. Campbell (1817-1878), English, translator and music teacher.
Hymns:
– We Plow the Fields, and Scatter
Clausnittzer, Tobias – 1619-1684; German, military chaplain to a Swedish army during the Thirty Years’ War, later becoming a pastor.
Hymns:
– Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word
Clephane, Elizabeth – 1830-1869; Scottish, the third daughter of the Sherrif of Fife. Clephane is also the author of “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”.
Hymns:
– There Were Ninety and Nine
Collyer, William Bengo – 1782-1854; English, Evangelical pastor.
Hymns:
– Great God, What Do I See and Hear
Compleat Psalmodist – 1740; a compilation of hymns, edited by John Arnold, 1720-1792; English.
Hymns:
– Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
Cousins, Anne R. – 1824-1906; English poet, musician, and songwriter. Her husband was Rev. William Cousin, minister of the Free Church of Melrose.
Hymns:
– The Sands of Time Are Sinking
Cowper, William – 1731-1800; English, trained in the law, but never practiced law because of chronic depression. Cowper’s pastor in his later life was John Newton, whom he collaborated with in creating the Olney hymnal.
Hymns:
– God Moves in a Mysterious Way
– Jesus, Where’er Thy People Meet
– Sometimes a Light Surprises
– There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood
Crosby, Fanny – 1820-1916; American, Methodist, a member of the Old John Street M. E. Church. Crosby composed over four thousand hymns, but is best known for her Sunday-school songs and gospel hymns. Her hymns were heavily influenced by Revivalism of the late 19th century in America.
Hymns:
– All the Way My Saviour Leads Me
Dix, William C. – 1837-1898; English, business man, manager of a marine insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland. Dix published a number of volumes of his hymns.
Hymns:
– Alleluia! Sing to Jesus
– As with Gladness Men of Old
Doddridge, Phillip – 1702-1751; English, Non-Conformist, Doddridge pastored a poor parish in Northampton for twenty years. He wrote around four hundred hymn texts, mostly to accompany his sermons.
Hymns:
– Hark, the Glad Sound
–O Happy Day That Fixed My Choice
Doudney, Sarah – 1841-1926; English writer of fiction and sacred poems.
Hymns:
– The Master Has Come, and He Calls Us
Dufield, George – 1818-1888; American, Presbyterian pastor. Duffield served as pastor in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan.
Hymns:
– Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus
Dwight, Timothy – 1752-1817; American, Congregationalist. Dwight was a Revolutionary war chaplain, pastor, tutor, professor at Yale College, and president of Yale (1795-1817). Dwight was the grandson of Jonathan Edwards.
Hymns:
– I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
Fawcett, John – 1740-1817; English, largely self-educated, a Baptist minister in a poor country church in Wainsgate, Yorkshire during his entire ministry.
Hymns:
– Blest Be the Tie That Binds
Featherstone, William R. – 1846-1873; Canadian, Methodist. Featherstone wrote this one hymn at age 16, when he was first converted. He died at age 26.
Hymns:
– My Jesus, I Love Thee
Francis, Samuel Trevor – 1834-1925; English, Plymouth Brethren. Francis was a London merchant and lay preacher and hymn writer.
Hymns:
– O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
Franck, Johann – 1618-1677; German, lawyer and hymn writer.
Hymns:
– Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness
Freystein, Johann B. – 1671-1718; German, Lutheran lawyer; translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878), English translator of many German hymn lyrics.
Hymns:
– Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray
Gellert, Christian – 1715-1769; German, professor lecturing on poetry, rhetoric, and moral philosophy; translated by J. D. Lang, (1799-1878), Australian, Scottish-born, Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, and politician.
Hymns:
– Jesus Lives, and So Shall I
Gerhardt, Paul – 1607-1676; German, Lutheran, private tutor, pastor, deacon, and hymn writer.
Hymns:
– All My Heart This Night Rejoices
– O LOrd, How Shall I Meet Thee
Gilmore, Joseph H. – 1834-1918; American, Baptist minister, later English professor at the University of Rochester.
Hymns:
– He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought
Grant, Sir Robert – 1799-1838; English, British lawyer and politician, and hymn writer of great merit.
Hymns:
– O Worship the King
Hankey, Katherine – 1834-1911; English, Anglican. Hankey was the daughter of a wealthy banker and spent her life in multiple areas of mercy ministry, which she financed through the proceeds from her writing.
Hymns:
– I Love to Tell the Story
Hart, Joseph – 1712-1768; English, Calvinist Minister.
Hymns:
– Once More Before We Part
Hatch, Edwin – 1835-1889; English, Anglican clergyman.
Hymns:
– Breathe on Me, Breath of God
Havergal, Frances R. – 1836-1879; English, Anglican, daughter of Rev. W. H. Havergal.
Hymns:
– Like a River Glorious
–Take My Life and Let It Be
Heber, Reginald – 1783-1826; English, Anglican. Heber was a country parson for 16 years, then the Bishop of Calcutta. He died in India of a fever at age 42.
Hymns:
– Holy, Holy, Holy
Heermann, Johann – 1585-1647; Austrian, a Lutheran minister.
Hymns:
– Ah Dearest Jesus
– O Dearest Jesus
Hiller, Philipp F. – 1699-1769; German pastor at Mühlhausen.
Hymns:
– All My Sins Have Been Forgiven
How, William Walsham –1823-1897; English, Anglican, served several congregations, and he wrote sixty hymns.
Hymns:
– This Day at Thy Creating Word
Johnston, Julia H. – 1849-1919; American, her father was a Presbyterian minister. She authored over 500 hymns.
Hymns:
– Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord
Keble, John – 1792-1866; English, Anglican minister; author of “The Christian Year”, a very popular volume of verse in its day. Keble founded the Oxford Movement.
Hymns:
– Sun of My Soul
Kelly, Thomas – 1769-1855; Irish, a preacher banned by the “established” Church of Ireland, was strongly evangelistic. He wrote 765 hymns in his lifetime.
Hymns:
– Look, Ye Saints the Sight Is Glorious
– Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted
Ken, Thomas – 1637-1711; English, Anglican. He served various positions as pastor, chaplain, and bishop. He was considered a man of conscience, and thus often at odds with the court of England. Most of his poems and hymns were published after his death.
Hymns:
– Doxology
Kethe, William – ?-1594; Scottish, a Protestant who fled to Geneva during Queen Mary’s reign. Kethe may have contributed in translating the Geneva Bible (1560).
Hymns:
– All People That on Earth Do Dwell
Key, Francis Scott – 1779-1843; American, Episcopalian, a lawyer by trade, U.S. District Attorney in D.C. for four decades, author of the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner.
Hymns:
– Lord, with Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee
Lathbury, Mary A. – 1841-1913; American, hymn writer.
Hymns:
– Break Thou the Bread of Life
Ludwig, Nikolaus, Count of Zinzendorf – 1700-1760; German, Bishop of the Moravian Brethren’s Unity, writer of more than 2000 hymns, and instrumental in forming the Protestant missionary movement.
Hymns:
– Jesus, thy Blood and Righteousness
Luther, Martin – 1483-1546; German, Augustinian monk, main influence that began the Protestant reformation.
Hymns:
– A Mighty Forthress
– Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
– From Depths of Woe I Raise to Thee
– From Heaven Above to Earth I Come
Lyte, Henry F. – 1793-1847; Anglican divine and poet.
Hymns:
– Abide with Me
– Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
Mant, Richard – 1776-1846; English, Anglican minister and hymn writer.
Hymns:
– God My King, Thy Might Confessing
Matheson, George – 1842-1906; Scottish minister, blind from age 17.
Hymns:
– Make Me a Captive, Lord
– O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
McCheyne, Robert Murray – 1813-1843; Scottish, Church of Scotland pastor, hymn writer.
Hymns:
– When This Passing World Is Done
Mohr, Joseph – 1792-1848; Austrian, Roman Catholic priest. Born into a humble family, Joseph Mohr chose to enter the priesthood. His only hymn translated into English is the Christmas carol “Silent Night, Holy Night”.
Hymns:
– Silent Night, Holy Night
Montgomery, James – 1771-1854; English, a newspaper editor and poet, publishing eleven volumes and penning over four hundred hymns.
Hymns:
– Angels, from the Realm of Glory
Morris, Lelia N. – 1863-1929; American, Methodist Episcopal, writer of 1000 texts and many tunes.
Hymns:
– Nearer, Still Nearer
Mote, Edward – 1797-1874; English, Baptist. As a child, Mote’s parents managed a pub, and Mote was left to playing in the street. Working in London as a cabinet maker for 37 years, Mote became a minister of the Gospel in his fifties.
Hymns:
– My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
Münster Gesangbuch – 1677; a Catholic hymnbook produced in Münster, Westphalia (Germany).
Hymns:
– Fairest Lord Jesus
Neander, Joachim – 1650-1680; German, Reformed (Calvinist) church, hymn writer and lay pastor. Neander died at age 30.
Hymns:
– Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Neumark, Georg – 1621-1681; German, Lutheran, writer of thirty-four hymns.; translated by Catherine Winkworth, (1827-1878), English translator of many German hymn lyrics.
Hymns:
– If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
Newton, John – 1725-1807; English, Anglican minister, former slave trader, collaborated with William Cowper in publishing the Olney Hymns (1779).
Hymns:
– Amazing Grace
– Approach, My Soul, the Mercy-Seat
– Behold the Throne of Grace
– Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
– How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
– I Saw One Hanging on a Tree
– Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder
– One There Is Above All Others
Nicholson, James L. – 1828-1876; English, Anglican minister, former slave trader, collaborated with William Cowper in publishing the Olney Hymns (1779).
Hymns:
– Lord Jesus, I Long to Be Perfectly Whole
Olivers, Thomas – 1725-1799; English, Anglican minister, former slave trader, collaborated with William Cowper in publishing the Olney Hymns (1779).
Hymns:
– The God of Abraham Praise
Owens, Priscilla J. – 1829-1907; English, Anglican minister, former slave trader, collaborated with William Cowper in publishing the Olney Hymns (1779).
Hymns:
– We Have Heard the Joyful Sound
Palmer, Ray – 1808-1887; American, Congregationalist. With beginnings as a dry goods store clerk, Palmer became a popular preacher, author, poet, and translator.
Hymns:
– My Faith Looks up to Thee
Perronett, Edward – 1721-1792; English, pastor of a dissenting church.
Hymns:
– All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Pigott, Jean Sophia – 1845-1882; Irish poet and lyricist; sister to William Frederick Pigott, a missionary to China, who was one of 76 missionaries murdered in the 1901 Boxer Rebellion.
Hymns:
– Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting
Plumptre, Edward H. – 1821-1891; English, Anglican theologian and preacher.
Hymns:
– Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
Prentiss, Elizabeth E. – 1818-1878; American, Presbyterian. Wife George Lewis Prentiss, a Presbyterian pastor. Elizabeth was a story writer, poet, and hymn-writer.
Hymns:
– More Love to Thee, O Christ
Prudentius, Aurelius C. – 4th century;
Hymns:
– Of the Father’s Love Begotten
Rinkart, Martin – 1586-1649; German, Lutheran. Rinkart studied for church service, but was better educated in music than the ministry. He became deacon and later archdeacon at Eisleben, the place of his birth and death. Rinkart lived through the thirty years war.
Hymns:
– Now Thank We All Our God
Rippon’s Selection of Hymns – 1787; compiled and edited by John Rippon 1751-1836; English, Baptist pastor in Carter Lane, Tooley Street, London for 63 years.
Hymns:
– How Firm a Foundation
Robinson, George – 1838-1877; Irish, Congregational minister.
Hymns:
– Loved with Everlasting Love
Robinson, Robert – 1735-1790; English, Baptist. Robinson was converted as a result of hearing a sermon by John Whitfield. He became a Baptist Minister, but after some years he began to lean toward Unitarianism, and was asked by his flock to resign his pastorate.
Hymns:
– Come, Thou Fount
Rodigast, Samuel – 1649-1708; German, professor and rector of the Greyfriars Gymnasium; translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878), English translator of many German hymn lyrics.
Hymns:
– Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right
Scheidt, Christian – 1709-1761; German, lawyer and librarian at Hanover.
Hymns:
– By Grace I Am an Heir of Heaven
Schlegel, Katherina – 1697-1797; German, Lutheran. Little is known about Katharina von Schlegel. This is the only hymn she is known for.
Hymns:
– Be Still, My Soul
Schütz, Johann J. – 1640-1690; German, Sepratist from Lutheranism, a lawyer.
Hymns:
– All Praise to God
Schwedler, Johann C. – 1672-1730; German, Lutheran, Pastor. The son of a farmer and local magistrate, Schwedler was a close friend of Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf. He is credited with having authored over 500 hymns, only one of which has been translated into English.
Hymns:
– Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know
Scottish Psalter, 1650 – 1650; edited, adopted and sanctioned by members of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Hymns:
– The Lord’s My Shepherd
– The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
Scriven, Joseph – 1819-1886; Irish, Poet. Scriven moved to Canada in 1844 after the death of his fiancee earlier that year. A second fiancee died in 1855.
Hymns:
– What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Shurtleff, Earnest W. – 1862-1917; American, Congregational minister. Shurtleff and his wife moved to Europe in his latter years, and they were active in refugee relief work in Paris during World War I.
Hymns:
– Lead on, O King Eternal
Small, James G. – 1817-1888; Scottish, Free Church of Scotland, minister of the Free Church at Bervie, Scotland.
Hymns:
– I’ve Found a Friend
Smith, Walter C. – 1924-1908; Scottish, Free Church of Scotland. Smith was a pastor, poet, and hymn-writer.
Hymns:
– Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Spafford, Horatio G. – 1828-1888; American, Presbyterian elder, Lawyer. Spafford penned the words to “When Peace Like a River” following the drowning of his four daughters while crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Hymns:
– When Peace Like a River
Stennett, Samuel – 1727-1795; English, Baptist, pastor of the Baptist Chapel, Little Wild Street, London, author of a few dozen hymns, most of which are contained in Rippon’s Baptist Selection, 1787.
Hymns:
– Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned
Stocker, John – c. 1777; English; very little is know about Stocker, except that he was born at Honiton, Devonshire, England, and may have been a friend of Augustus Toplady.
Hymns:
– Gracious Spirit, Dove Divine
Stone, Samuel J. – 1839-1900; English, Anglican. Stone was an Anglican priest, poet, and hymnodist.
Hymns:
– The Church’s One Foundation
Stowell, Hugh – 1799-1865; English, Anglican minister, hymn writer, and hymnal editor.
Hymns:
– From Every Stormy Wind That Blows
Strassbourg Psalter – 1545; a small collection of psalms and hymns by John Calvin while he was banished from Geneva to Strasbourg.
Hymns:
– I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art
Tate, Nahum – 1652-1715; English, known for the Metrical Version of Psalms which he produced in collaboration with Nicholas Brady (1659-1726), English.
Hymns:
– Oh, ‘Twas a Joyful Sound to Hear
– While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Tersteegen, Gerhard – 1697-1769; German, a pious and reclusive mystic from a reformed background, an unordained preacher and author of 111 hymns.
Hymns:
– God Himself Is with Us
The Psalter, 1912 – 1912; The last in a line of Scottish metrical Psalters which began in 1650.
Hymns:
– Christ Shall Have Dominion
– God Be Merciful to Me
– Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah
– O Come My Soul
– O Lord, by Thee Delivered
Theodulph of Orleans – 760-821; Italian, Bishop of Orleans. He became Charlemagne’s chief theological adviser in 804. Imprisoned by Charlemagne’s son in 818, where he died.
Hymns:
– All Glory Laud and Honor
Toplady, Augustus M. – 1740-1788; English, Anglican minister.
Hymns:
– How Vast the Benefits Divine
– Rock of Ages
Wade, John Francis – 1711-1786; English, Roman Catholic, Musician. Wade fled to France after the Jacobite Rebellion was put down. There he taught music in an English speaking college, and copied and sold music to wealthy families. The collection of his works was published as “Cantus Diversi” in 1751.
Hymns:
– O Come, All Ye Faithful
Walford, William W. – 1772-1850; English. Walford was a part-time rural preacher. He was blind, so he worked up his sermons in his head, and knew much scripture from memory.
Hymns:
– Sweet Hour of Prayer
Waring, Anna L. – 1823-1910; Welsh, Anglican hymn writer, philanthropic work in area prisons.
Hymns:
– Father, I Know That All My Life
Watts, Isaac – 1674-1748; English minister in the Independent church, suffering poor health continually from early adulthood. Watts single-handedly reformed church hymnody in his day. Today’s church hymnody needs more Watts!
Hymns:
– Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
– Am I a Soldier of the Cross
– Before Jehovah’s Awful Throne
– Behold the Amazing Gift of Love
– Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
– Come, We That Love the Lord
– Give to Our God Immortal Praise
– Hast Thou Not Known, Hast Thou Not Heard
– How Sweet and Awful Is the Place
– I Sing the Almighty Power of God
– I’m Not Ashamed to Own My Lord
– Jesus Shall Reign
– Jesus, My Great High Priest
– Joy to the World
– Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds
– Not All the Blood of Beasts
– O Bless the Lord, My Soul
– Once More, My Soul, the Rising Day
– Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
– Stand Up My Soul, Shake Off Thy Fears
– The Heavens Declare Thy Glory, Lord
– There Is a Land of Pure Delight
– This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
– When I Can Read My Title Clear
– When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Wesley, Charles – 1707-1788; English, Methodist, hymn-writer said to have written at least 6500 hymns.
Hymns:
– Arise, My Soul, Arise
– Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
– Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
– Depth of Mercy
– Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
– I Want a Principle Within
– Jesus, Lover of My Soul
– Lo He Comes with Clouds
– Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
– O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
– Soldiers of Christ Arise
Whitfield, Frederick – 1829-1904; English, Anglican clergy and poet.
Hymns:
– I Need Thee, Precious Jesus
Whitting, William – 1825-1878; English, master of Winchester College Choristers’ School. He is best known for this one hymn, known as “The Navy Hymn”.
Hymns:
– Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Wilkinson, Kate B. – 1859-1928; English, Anglican.
Hymns:
– May the Mind of Christ My Savior
Williams, Clara T. – 1858-1937; American, Methodist, wife of Wesleyan Methodist minister, W.H. Williams.
Hymns:
– All My Life Long
Williams, William – 1717-1791; Welch, Calvinistic Methodist. Williams was a traveling evangelist in Wales. Several Welch language hymnals were published by him.
Hymns:
– Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Wordsworth, Christopher – 1807-1885; English, Anglican, numerous positions in the church. Nephew of the noted poet William Wordsworth.
Hymns:
– O Day of Rest and Gladness