John Bacchus Dykes

1823–1876

Composer

English Anglican clergyman and prolific composer who created approximately 300 hymn tunes, many becoming standards in Anglican, Methodist, and other Protestant traditions. His melodies, characterized by singability and emotional expressiveness, appear in hymn books worldwide including tunes for "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Lead, Kindly Light." Dykes shaped Victorian hymnody more than perhaps any other single composer.