John Bunyan

John Bunyan (1628–1688) was an English writer and Baptist preacher, born in Elstow, near Bedford. Of humble origins, he served in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War before taking up his father's trade as a tinker. After joining a Baptist congregation in Bedford, he became a powerful preacher, earning the informal title "Bishop Bunyan." Following the Restoration, he was imprisoned for twelve years for refusing to stop preaching without a license. During his captivity he studied scripture and began writing. His great allegorical work, The Pilgrim's Progress, was published in 1678 and became one of the most widely read books in the English language. He died in 1688 after riding through a rainstorm on a journey to reconcile a father and son.