Amazing Grace is likely the most famous of all hymns. The story of its author, John Newton (who died on December 21, 1807), and his conversion on a slave-trading ship is pretty well known. He wanted to become a priest in the Church of England but was rebuffed by the archbishop. However, Newton was persistent and was eventually granted a church in Olney, England. So many people wanted to attend the church at Olney that it had to be expanded (pictured here). He was a friend of the great preacher George Whitefield and poet William Cowper. He was a big influence on the outlawing of slavery in the British Empire with William Wilberforce.
