Ira D. Sankey

Born: August 28, 1840, Edinburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: August 13, 1908, Brooklyn, New York, USA

American Hymnist and Song Leader

As a young man, Sankey served in the American Civil War. He often helped the unit chaplain and led his fellow soldiers in hymn singing. After the war, he joined the Internal Revenue Service, and also worked with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).

He became well known as a Gospel singer, and eventually came to the attention of evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody. The two men met at a YMCA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, in June, 1870. Some months later, Sankey attended his first evangelistic meeting with Moody, and resigned from government service shortly thereafter.

Sankey composed about 1,200 songs in his lifetime.