William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”) was one of the few hymn writers that was also a recognized secular poet. This much-beloved and yet tormented literary figure was born in his father’s rectory at Great Berkhampstead, England, on Nov. 26, 1731. His father, George II, was a chaplain. His mother died when he was 6 years old.
After graduating, he was apprenticed to a solicitor. In 1754, Cowper was called to the Bar, yet he never actually practiced law. He was nominated in 1763 to the Clerkship of Journals of the House of Lords.
During his depression, Cowper wrote one of his most beloved and most controversial hymns, “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood.” It was most likely written in 1771, first published in Conyers’s Collection of Psalms and Hymns in 1772 and republished by Cowper and Newton in 1779 for The Olney Hymns.