Martin Luther, the hero of the Reformation, was born in the village of Eisleben on November 10, 1483. In 1505 he entered an Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, was consecrated to the priesthood in 1507, and was very faithful to all the regulations of the order. He afterwards said: "If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery, I was determined to get there." He was a diligent scholar, and in 1508 was called to the chair of Philosophy in the University of Wittenberg. In the meantime he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he saw much corruption among the clergy; but still his faith was strong in the Roman Church. It was the shameless sale of indulgences by Tetzel, authorized by Leo X., that first opened his eyes and determined him to make public opposition. On October 31, 1517, at midday, Luther posted his ninety-five Theses against the Merits of Indulgences on the church door at Wittenberg. That day was the birthday of the Reformation. It was during his Wartburg captivity that he translated the New Testament, published in 1522, into the mother tongue of the German people. After giving them the Scriptures he felt the need of psalms and hymns in the German language, and employed others to supply them. He himself translated psalms and wrote hymns, to some of which he adapted tunes.

Biography adapted from Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church by Charles S. Nutter.