American clergyman and hymn-writer, born in Boston, MA, on the 21st of October 1808; graduated from Harvard, and Andover Theological Seminary. Entered the Baptist ministry in 1832; professor of modern languages at Waterville, ME (1834–42); in 1842 removed to Newton, MA, where he conducted the Christian Review for seven years and wrote hymns. In 1875–76, and again in 1880–82, he visited the chief missionary stations in Europe and Asia. His most noted compositions are My Country, ’tis of Thee, the national anthem, which was written while he was a theological student at Andover in 1832; and The Morning Light is Breaking, a favorite missionary hymn, written at the same time and place. An enthusiastic reception was given him on April 3, 1895, in Music Hall, Boston; on the same day, in many schools all over the country, the children paid him the compliment of singing his great national anthem. He died in Boston on the 16th of November 1895.
