John Keble

John Keble (1792–1866) was an English Church of England priest, poet, scholar, and one of the formative figures of the Oxford Movement. Born at Fairford, Gloucestershire, on April 25, 1792, he entered Corpus Christi College, Oxford, while still in his teens and achieved exceptional distinction in both classics and mathematics. He was elected a Fellow of Oriel College in 1811, later served as a tutor, and took holy orders in the Church of England. Although deeply connected with Oxford, Keble's lasting vocation was pastoral as well as academic.

His devotional poetry made his name long before the Oxford Movement. The Christian Year, first published anonymously in 1827, arranged poems around the Sundays and holy days of the Anglican calendar and became one of the most widely read religious verse collections of nineteenth-century Britain. Keble was elected Oxford Professor of Poetry in 1831. His 1833 assize sermon, “National Apostasy,” was later remembered by John Henry Newman as a starting point of the Oxford Movement, which sought renewal in the doctrine, worship, and ecclesial life of the Church of England.

Keble married Charlotte Clarke in 1835 and became vicar of Hursley, Hampshire, where he remained until his death. His writings included theological works, editions, translations, and The Psalter or Psalms of David in English Verse, published in 1839. That metrical Psalter supplied several texts later used as hymns, including his rendering of Psalm 93 beginning “God, the Lord, a King remaineth.” Keble died on March 29, 1866. Keble College, Oxford, was founded in his memory, reflecting the continuing influence of his pastoral ministry, poetry, and role in nineteenth-century Anglican renewal.