William Cowper

William Cowper (1731–1800) was an English poet, letter writer, translator, and hymn writer whose work helped bridge eighteenth-century Evangelical culture and the literary world that preceded English Romanticism. Born at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, on November 26, 1731, he was the son of the Reverend John Cowper, an Anglican clergyman. He was educated at Westminster School and trained for the law, but his adult life was profoundly shaped by recurring episodes of severe mental illness.

After a major crisis in 1763, Cowper spent time under the care of physician Nathaniel Cotton at St Albans. He later lived with the Unwin family at Huntingdon and, after the death of Morley Unwin, moved with Mary Unwin to Olney in Buckinghamshire. There he formed a close friendship with the evangelical Anglican curate John Newton. Newton encouraged Cowper's devotional writing and involved him in the project that became Olney Hymns, published in 1779.

Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymns to Olney Hymns, including “O for a Closer Walk with God,” “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” and “Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer” in its original form. His wider literary reputation rests on works such as The Task, John Gilpin, anti-slavery poetry, letters, and translations of Homer. His poetry is notable for conversational directness, moral seriousness, attention to nature, and a deeply personal religious voice. Cowper died at East Dereham, Norfolk, on April 25, 1800.