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Newton was born in London. With poet William Cowper, he was the author of many hymns. He was the son of a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, with whom he sailed until 1742. In 1743 he was pressed into naval service, became a midshipman, deserted, was recaptured and reduced to the ranks, exchanged to a ship in the African station, became servant to a slave-trader, and was rescued in 1748, being converted on the way home in a storm at sea. The date was May 10, 1748, an anniversary he observed for the rest of his life.
He continued at sea till 1754, meanwhile studying Latin and the Bible. He was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, England from 1755 to 1760, where he heard George WhitefieldGeorge Whitefield was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. He was born on December 16, 1714 at the Bell Inn, Gloucester, and died in Newburyport, Connecticut on September 30, 1770. In contemporary accounts, and John WesleyJohn Wesley was an 18th century preacher and the founder of the Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. He was born at Epworth, England (23 miles north-west of Lincoln, England) June 28, 1703, and died in London March 2, 1791. Youth The Wesleys, and studied GreekThe Greek language ( /Elini'k{/) is an Indo-European language which has existed from around the 14th century BC in the Cretan inscriptions called Linear B. Mycenaean Greek of this period is distinguished from later Classical or Ancient Greek of the 8th ce, HebrewThe Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. What makes it unique is that the original Bible, the Torah, by Orthodox Jews held to be recorded in the time of Moses 3,300 years ago, was written in Biblical Classical, and Syriac.
In 1763 he was brought to the notice of Lord Dartmouth by Thomas Haweis , through whose influence he was made deacon and priest in 1764, and given the curacy of Olney. In 1767 Cowper settled there, and the result of their friendship was the Olney HymnsThe Olney Hymns is a famous collection of hymns written by John Newton, William Cowper, and other hymnodists. This is the source of Newton's well known hymn Amazing Grace. The collection draws its name from the village of Olney, Milton Keynes, in the Unit (London, 1779 and often), which greatly influenced English hymnology. Other well-known hymns by Newton include "Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat", "Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare", and "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken".
In 1780 Newton accepted the offer of the benefice of St. Mary Woolnoth with St. Mary Woolchurch, London, where he officiated till his death. He was a strong supporter of EvangelismEvangelism is the proclaiming of the Christian Gospel. The word evangelist comes from the Greek word ("eu-aggelos") for 'bringing good news' (εγγελος). As a specialised usage, "Evangelist" can designate ea in the Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and is the mother branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. Christianity was planted in Britain in the first or second c, and was a friend of the dissenting clergy as well as of the ministry of his own church. John Newton died in London and is buried in Olney.
Hardly less famous than the Hymns was his Authentic Narrative of Some . . . Particulars in the Life of John Newton (London, 1764, 9th. ed., 1799; an account of his early life). He wrote also, Sermons Preached in . . . Olney (1767); Omicron: Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects (1774; subsequent editions, in which the number of the letters became forty-one); Cardiphonia; or, the Utterance of the Heart in the Course of a real Correspondence (2 vols., 1781); Letters to a Wife (2 vols., 1793), and other works.
A collected edition of his works was issued by his executors (6 vols., London, 1808; new ed., 12 vols., 1821).
Newton was recognized for his hymns of longstanding influence by the Gospel Music Association in 1982 when he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.