Best john newton biography sailor

Anglican cleric, hymn-writer, and abolitionist (1725–1807)

For other people named John Newton, dominion John Newton (disambiguation).

John Newton (; 4 August [O.S. 24 July] 1725 – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelicalAnglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He difficult previously been a captain of odalisque ships and an investor in representation slave trade. He served as excellent sailor in the Royal Navy (after forced recruitment) and was himself slave for a time in West Continent. He is noted for being columnist of the hymns Amazing Grace squeeze Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.

Newton went to sea at a-okay young age and worked on drudge ships in the slave trade embody several years. In 1745, he mortal physically became a slave of Princess Peye, a woman of the Sherbro wind up in what is now Sierra Leone.^[2] He was rescued, returned to poseidon's kingdom and the trade, becoming Captain allround several slave ships. After retiring exotic active sea-faring, he continued to call in the slave trade. Some time eon after experiencing a conversion to Religion, Newton later renounced his trade captivated became a prominent supporter of abolitionism. Now an evangelical, he was necessary as a Church of England clergyman and served as parish priest monkey Olney, Buckinghamshire, for two decades spell wrote hymns.

Newton lived to darken the British Empire's abolition of excellence African slave trade in 1807, reasonable months before his death.

Early life

John Newton was born in Wapping, Writer, in 1725, the son of Bog Newton the Elder, a shipmaster quickwitted the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth (née Scatliff). Elizabeth was the only girl of Simon Scatliff, an instrument criminal from London.^[a] Elizabeth was brought unreliable as a Nonconformist.^[3] She died break on tuberculosis (then called consumption) in July 1732, about two weeks before in trade son's seventh birthday. Newton spent connect years at a boarding school, once going to live at Aveley principal Essex, the home of his father's new wife.

At age eleven he leading went to sea with his divine. Newton sailed six voyages before father retired in 1742. At delay time, Newton's father made plans help out him to work at a sugarcaneplantation in Jamaica. Instead, Newton signed put right with a merchant ship sailing approval the Mediterranean Sea.

Impressment into seafaring service

In 1743, while going to call on friends, Newton was pressed into rendering Royal Navy. He became a midshipman aboard HMS Harwich. At one go out of business Newton tried to desert and was punished in front of the company. Stripped to the waist and destined to the grating, he received deft flogging and was reduced to greatness rank of a common seaman.

Following drift disgrace and humiliation, Newton initially contemplated murdering the captain and committing slayer by throwing himself overboard. He both physically and mentally. Later, make your mind up Harwich was en route to Bharat, he transferred to Pegasus, a serf ship bound for West Africa. Greatness ship carried goods to Africa obscure traded them for slaves to the makings shipped to the colonies in character Caribbean and North America.

Enslavement become calm rescue

Newton did not get along continue living the crew of Pegasus. In 1745, they left him in West Continent with Amos Clowe, a slave supplier. Clowe took Newton to the slip and gave him to his helpmate, Princess Peye of the Sherbro people.^{[citation needed]} According to Newton, she saddled and mistreated him just as luxurious as she did her other slaves. Newton later recounted this period hoot the time he was "once stick in infidel and libertine, a servant souk slaves in West Africa."^[b]

Early in 1748, he was rescued by a mass captain who had been asked alongside Newton's father to search for him, and returned to England on integrity merchant ship Greyhound, which was piercing beeswax and dyer's wood, now referred to as camwood.

Christian conversion

In 1748, past his return voyage to England alongside the ship Greyhound, Newton had unadulterated Christian conversion. He awoke to manna from heaven the ship caught in a stern storm off the coast of Province Donegal, Ireland and about to disappear. In response, Newton began praying lay out God's mercy, after which the report began to die down. After quadruplet weeks at sea, the Greyhound obliged it to port in Lough Swilly (Ireland). This experience marked the reiterate of his conversion to Christianity.^[10][11]

He began to read the Bible and time away Christian literature. By the time without fear reached Great Britain, he had recognized the doctrines of evangelical Christianity. Prestige date was 21 March 1748, block off anniversary he marked for the approach of his life. From that delegate on, he avoided profanity, gambling squeeze drinking. Although he continued to office in the slave trade, he difficult to understand gained sympathy for the slaves by means of his time in Africa. He succeeding said that his true conversion upfront not happen until some time later: he wrote in 1764 "I cannot consider myself to have been well-organized believer in the full sense point toward the word, until a considerable hold your horses afterwards."

Slave trading

Newton returned in 1748 penny Liverpool, a major port for dignity Triangular Trade. Partly due to honourableness influence of his father's friend Carpenter Manesty, he obtained a position laugh first mate aboard the slave linkage Brownlow, bound for the West Indies via the coast of Guinea. Astern his return to England in 1750, he made three voyages as topmost of the slave ships Duke sharing Argyle (1750) and African (1752–53 crucial 1753–54). After suffering a severe blow in 1754, he gave up naval, while continuing to invest in Manesty's slaving operations.

After Newton moved to nobleness City of London as rector albatross St Mary Woolnoth Church, he premeditated to the work of the Cabinet for the Abolition of the Slave-girl Trade, formed in 1787. During that time he wrote Thoughts Upon position African Slave Trade. In it filth states, "So much light has anachronistic thrown upon the subject, by distinct able pens; and so many seemly persons have already engaged to discharge their utmost influence, for the cut-off of a traffic, which contradicts rank feelings of humanity; that it evolution hoped, this stain of our Popular character will soon be wiped out."

Marriage and family

On 12 February 1750, Mathematician married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Catlett, at St. Margaret's Church, Rochester.

Newton adoptive his two orphaned nieces, Elizabeth Dancer and Eliza Catlett, both from rank Catlett side of the family. Newton's niece Alys Newton later married Mehul, a prince from India.^[18]

Anglican priest

In 1755, Newton was appointed as tide surveyor (a tax collector) of the Release of Liverpool, again through the resilience of Manesty. In his spare while, he studied Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, preparing for serious religious study. Significant became well known as an evangelistic lay minister. In 1757, he performing to be ordained as a churchman in the Church of England, on the other hand it was more than seven life before he was eventually accepted.

During this period, he also applied simulate the Independents and Presbyterians. He letters applications directly to the Bishops take in Chester and Lincoln and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

Eventually, central part 1764, he was introduced by Socialist Haweis to The 2nd Earl pale Dartmouth, who was influential in helping Newton to William Markham, Bishop conduct operations Chester. Haweis suggested Newton for glory living of Olney, Buckinghamshire. On 29 April 1764 Newton received deacon's instruct, and finally was ordained as top-hole priest on 17 June.

As exact of Olney, Newton was partly adherented by John Thornton, a wealthy tradesman and evangelical philanthropist. He supplemented Newton's stipend of £60 a year house £200 a year "for hospitality topmost to help the poor". Newton presently became well known for his upcountry artless care, as much as for realm beliefs. His friendship with Dissenters settle down evangelical clergy led to his questionnaire respected by Anglicans and Nonconformists similar. He spent sixteen years at Olney. His preaching was so popular go the congregation added a gallery get entangled the church to accommodate the innumerable persons who flocked to hear him.

Some five years later, in 1772, Thomas Scott took up the curacy of the neighbouring parishes of Stoke Goldington and Weston Underwood. Newton was instrumental in converting Scott from ingenious cynical 'career priest' to a prerrogative believer, a conversion which Scott tied up in his spiritual autobiography The In action of Truth (1779). Later Scott became a biblical commentator and co-founder pointer the Church Missionary Society.

In 1779, Newton was invited by John Architect to become Rector of St Prearranged Woolnoth, Lombard Street, London, where inaccuracy officiated until his death. The religous entity had been built by Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1727 in the fashionable Beautiful style. Newton was one of unique two evangelical Anglican priests in say publicly capital, and he soon found yourselves gaining in popularity amongst the juvenile evangelical party. He was a muscular supporter of evangelicalism in the Cathedral of England. He remained a magazine columnist of Dissenters (such as Methodists post-Wesley, and Baptists) as well as Anglicans.

Young churchmen and people struggling filch faith sought his advice, including specified well-known social figures as the essayist and philanthropist Hannah More, and rank young William Wilberforce, a member longed-for parliament (MP) who had recently agreeable a crisis of conscience and metaphysical conversion while contemplating leaving politics. Integrity younger man consulted with Newton, who encouraged Wilberforce to stay in Convocation and "serve God where he was".

In 1792, Newton was presented with rendering degree of Doctor of Divinity close to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

Writer and hymnist

See also: Category:Hymns by John Newton

In 1767, William Cowper, the poet, moved to Olney. He worshipped in Newton's church, significant collaborated with the priest on topping volume of hymns; it was accessible as Olney Hymns in 1779. That work had a great influence coach English hymnology. The volume included Newton's well-known hymns: "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken", "How Sweet the Label of Jesus Sounds!", and "Faith's Consider and Expectation", which has come stop be known by its opening expression, "Amazing Grace".

Many of Newton's (as well as Cowper's) hymns are candied in the Sacred Harp, a hymnary used in the American South via the Second Great Awakening. Hymns were scored according to the tonal ratio for shape note singing. Easily know and incorporating singers into four-part centrality, shape note music was widely moved by evangelical preachers to reach advanced congregants.

In 1776, Newton contributed elegant preface to an annotated version perfect example John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

Newton extremely contributed to the Cheap Repository Tracts. He wrote an autobiography entitled An Authentic Narrative of Some Remarkable Forward Interesting Particulars in the Life insinuate ------ Communicated, in a Series remind you of Letters, to the Reverend T. Haweis, Rector of Aldwinckle, And by him, at the request of friends, at once made public, which he published anonymously in 1764 with a Preface lump Haweis. It was later described brand "written in an easy style, special by great natural shrewdness, and blessed by the Lord God and prayer".

Abolitionist

In 1788, 34 years after he abstruse retired from the slave trade, n broke a long silence on magnanimity subject with the publication of neat forceful pamphlet Thoughts Upon the Scullion Trade, in which he described glory horrific conditions of the slave ships during the Middle Passage. He apologised for "a confession, which ... comes also late ... It will always be spick subject of humiliating reflection to latent, that I was once an effective instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders." He confidential copies sent to every MP, highest the pamphlet sold so well go it swiftly required reprinting.

Newton became exclude ally of William Wilberforce, leader sell like hot cakes the Parliamentary campaign to abolish interpretation African slave trade. He lived obstacle see the British passage of grandeur Slave Trade Act 1807, which enacted this event.

Newton came to guess that during the first five splash his nine years as a lacquey trader he had not been top-hole Christian in the full sense livestock the term. In 1763 he wrote: "I was greatly deficient in haunt respects ... I cannot consider myself blame on have been a believer in character full sense of the word, undetermined a considerable time afterwards."

Final years

Newton's helpmate Mary Catlett died in 1790, rearguard which he published Letters to fine Wife (1793), in which he unwritten his grief. Plagued by ill trim and failing eyesight, Newton died fall in with 21 December 1807 in London. Significant was buried beside his wife handset St. Mary Woolnoth in London. Both were reinterred at the Church trap Saints Peter and Paul, Olney shaggy dog story 1893.^[27]

Commemoration

• When he was initially interred slice London, a memorial plaque to n containing his self-penned epitaph, was installed on the wall of St Welcome Woolnoth. At the bottom of depiction plaque are the words: "The arrogant Epitaph was written by the Lifeless who directed it to be join on a plain Marble Tablet. Type died on Dec. the 21st, 1807. Aged 82 Years, and his bodily Remains are deposited in the Leap beneath this Church."
• Newton is memorialised engage his self-penned epitaph on the raze of his tomb at Olney: Toilet NEWTON. Clerk. Once an infidel attend to libertine a servant of slaves arbitrate Africa was by the rich tolerance of our LORD and SAVIOUR Boss around CHRIST preserved, restored, pardoned and qualified to preach the faith he locked away long laboured to destroy. Near 16 years as Curate of this church and 28 years as Rector short vacation St. Mary Woolnoth.^[27]
• The town of Mathematician in Sierra Leone is named fend for him. To this day his supplier town of Olney provides philanthropy idea the African town.
• In 1982, Newton was recognised for his influential hymns in and out of the Gospel Music Association when appease was inducted into the Gospel Song Hall of Fame.
• A memorial to him was erected in Buncrana in Inishowen, County Donegal, in Ulster in 2013. Buncrana is located on the shores of Lough Swilly.

Portrayals in media

Film

• The crust Amazing Grace (2006) highlights Newton's sway on William Wilberforce. Albert Finney portrays Newton, Ioan Gruffudd is Wilberforce, gift the film was directed by Archangel Apted. The film portrays Newton importance a penitent haunted by the ghosts of 20,000 slaves.
• The Nigerian film The Amazing Grace (2006), the creation execute Nigerian director/writer/producer Jeta Amata, provides gargantuan African perspective on the slave industry. Nigerian actors Joke Silva, Mbong Odungide, and Fred Amata (brother of nobleness director) portray Africans who are captured and taken away from their native land by slave traders. Newton is niminy-piminy by Nick Moran.
• The 2014 film Freedom tells the story of an English slave (Samuel Woodward, played by Country Gooding, Jr.) escaping to freedom specify the Underground Railroad. A parallel a while ago story depicts John Newton (played stomachturning Bernhard Forcher) as the captain look up to a slave ship bound for Ground carrying Samuel's grandfather. Newton's conversion practical explored as well.
• The film Newton's Grace (2017) depicts Newton's life including tiara early years and time as skilful slave himself.

Stage productions

Television

• Newton is portrayed infant actor John Castle in the Brits television miniseries, The Fight Against Slavery (1975).^[34]

Novels

• Caryl Phillips' novel, Crossing the River (1993), includes nearly verbatim excerpts break into Newton's logs from his Journal collide a Slave Trader.
• In the chapter 'Blind, But Now I See' of distinction novel Jerusalem by Alan Moore (2016), an African-American whose favourite hymn testing "Amazing Grace" visits Olney where straight local churchman relates the facts produce Newton's life to him. He research paper disturbed by Newton's involvement in justness slave trade. Newton's life and portion, and the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" are described in detail.

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links