Oliver Cromwell was born at Huntingdon, England. He underwent a conversion experience at age 28, becoming a Puritan. Between 1642 and 1660 England experienced civil war and religious strife. Cromwell distinguished himself as a commander in the eastern part of England at the onset of the war and played a prominent part in Parliamentarian victories in 1644 and 1645. He became the most notable military leader in the English civil war and "Lord Protector" of England from 1653 to his death. Cromwell disliked both the rigid "Presbyterianism" of the Parliamentary majority and the old rule of the bishops. Cromwell made three significant contributions to English history. First, he established a period of peace in England, Scotland and Ireland after ten years of civil strife. Second, he made England into an acknowledged world power. Third, Cromwell established non-conformity (refusal to submit to the established church) as a way of life in England which has lasted to the present. Cromwell also added negatives to our history books. He achieved the execution of King Charles I and allowed his troops to inflict atrocities on Ireland.
John Keble was born at Fairford, Gloucestershire, England. This clergyman and poet was ordained into the Church of England in 1816. Keble is credited with having founded the Oxford Movement in 1833. (In its beginning, the Oxford Movement sought to restore the historic significance of the church as well as to revive several of its liturgies and ceremonies. It ended soon after 1845, when several of its founders converted to Roman Catholicism.) Keble was known for his poetry, and wrote the well-known hymn, "Sun of My Soul, Thou Saviour Dear" at age 28.
