John Newton

John Newton went to sea as a young man, was pressed into the Royal Navy, deserted and suffered punishment. He later worked in the Atlantic slave trade, including voyages as a ship’s captain, and interpreted his survival of a severe 1748 storm as a decisive stage in his conversion.

Newton married Mary Catlett in 1750, left seafaring in 1755 and was ordained in the Church of England in 1764. His Olney Hymns included Amazing Grace. In later life he condemned the slave trade and supported the abolition campaign, although that opposition came long after his first religious awakening.