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James Alexander

Birth: March 13, 1804, Hopewell, Virginia
Death: July 31, 1859, Sweetsprings, Virginia

Dr. James Waddel Alexander, a Presbyterian minister, was born in 1804. He was educated at the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton, and graduated from Princeton Seminary in 1827.

Alexander served as pastor in Charlotte County, Virginia (at First Presbyterian Church), Trenton, New Jersey, and Duane Street Presbyterian Church in New York City. He also served as professor of ecclesiastical history and church government at Princeton Seminary.

A noted author, Alexander wrote many articles for The Princeton Quarterly Review and more than thirty books for the American Sunday School Union alone. However, he's best known for his hymn translations, in particular, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." His translation of "O Sacred Head" was included in The Christian Lyre-an 1830 Congregational hymnal prepared by Joshua Leavitt-and The Breaking Crucible, and other Translations of 1861.