Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber was an English Anglican bishop, a man of letters, and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich landowner and cleric, Heber gained fame at the University of Oxford as a poet. After graduation he made an extended tour of Scandinavia, Russia and Central Europe. Ordained in 1807, he took over his father's old parish, Hodnet, Shropshire. He also wrote hymns and general literature, including a study of the works of the 17th-century cleric Jeremy Taylor.

21 April 1783

Born on the same birth day (21 April): Allan Watkins • Antonín Kammel • Elaine May • Jean-Baptiste Biot • Odd Lindbäck-Larsen • Paul Karrer • Robert Smith (musician) • Roger Doucet • Souleymane Cissé (film director) • Tarvaris Jackson

Born in the same month (April 1783): David Cox (artist) • Washington Irving