Isaac Watts
1674–1748 · Hymn writer
Life
Nonconformist pastor in London, often ill, who wrote some 750 hymns.
Why it matters
'The father of English hymnody': 'When I Survey', 'Joy to the World', 'O God, Our Help'. His Psalms of David Imitated put Christ into the psalms.
Works
- Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707)
- The Psalms of David Imitated (1719)