Carl Boberg

Carl Boberg was a Swedish poet, editor, and politician whose hymn text became the foundation for one of the most widely known Christian hymns. Born in Monsteras Sweden, he was active in church life and worked as a newspaper editor and later a member of the Swedish parliament. In 1885 he wrote a poem titled O Store Gud after reflecting on the power and beauty of nature following a storm. The poem expressed awe at the majesty of God revealed in creation. Through later translations and musical settings the text eventually became the hymn known in English as How Great Thou Art. Scholars note that the hymn developed through several stages of translation and adaptation before reaching its widely sung English form.