Nelle, Wilhelm 05/09/1849 - 10/15/1918

Wilhelm Nelle (May 9, 1849 in Schwöbbe (near Hamelin) - October 15, 1918 in Münster) was a German Protestant theologian and church musician.

Wilhelm Nelle worked as an organist in Bad Godesberg from 1861 to 1867. He then studied Protestant theology in Halle and Tübingen. From 1879, Nelle worked as a pastor in Altendorf-Essen. In 1889, he became superintendent in Hamm (Westphalia). In 1905, the University of Breslau appointed him Dr. theol. h.c.

Wilhelm Nelle worked as a member of various commissions for the publication of new hymnals and agendas. Wilhelm Nelle also worked as a professor of hymnology and liturgy at the University of Münster. Through his numerous church music courses, lectures, publications and liturgical drafts, Nelle made a significant contribution to the promotion of Protestant church music. With his publication “Das evangelische Gesangbuch” (Essen 1883, which deals with the 1835 edition), he initiated the New Protestant Hymnal for Rhineland and Westphalia (Dortmund 1895), whose texts and melodies he helped to edit.