John Newton

John Newton (1725-1807) was born in London and went to sea at a young age, enduring a period of impressment into the Royal Navy and later involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. After a near-death experience during a storm in 1748, he underwent a religious conversion, eventually leaving the slave trade and ordaining as an Anglican priest in 1764. His most enduring literary contribution is the hymn 'Amazing Grace,' written in 1772 and published in 'Olney Hymns' (1779), a collection he co-authored with poet William Cowper. Newton served as curate at Olney and later rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London, where his evangelical preaching drew large congregations. In his later years, he became a prominent abolitionist, publishing 'Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade' (1788) and mentoring William Wilberforce. Newton's legacy lies in his powerful hymns and his role in shaping evangelical Christianity, as well as his public repentance for his former slave-trading career.