O King of kings, whose reign of old

Author: William Walsham How

William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rec… Go to person page >

O King of kings, Whose reign of old. Bp. W. W. How. [National Thanksgiving.] Written for the National Thanksgiving at the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, 1897. With slight modifications it can be made of general application, as in the Council School Hymn Book, 1905.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

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