Biographies
An Index of Notable Authors
Augustus Toplady
1740-1778Augustus Montague Toplady, Anglican divine, was born at Farnham, Surrey, and educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Dublin. His father, Major Toplady, died in May 1741 of yellow fever at the siege of Cartagena. Originally a follower of John Wesley, in 1758 he adopted Calvinist leanings. He was ordained curate at Blagdon in June 1762 and became vicar of Harpford. He is chiefly known as a writer of hymns and poems, including "Rock of Ages", and the collections entitled Poems on Sacred Subjects (Dublin, 1759) and Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship (London, 1776). His best prose work is the Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England (London, 1774).
