Katherine Hankey

Arabella Katherine Hankey (January 12, 1834 – May 9, 1911) was an English Missionary & Nurse who is best known for being the author of the poem The Old, Old Story, from which the hymns "Tell me the old, old story" and "I Love to Tell the Story", were derived.

Biography

Hankey was born in 1834, the daughter of a prosperous banker in London. Her family were devout Anglicans and members of the Clapham Sect. She was inspired by the Methodist revival of John Wesley and organised and taught in Sunday schools in London. She then did missionary work as a nurse in Africa, assisting her brother.

In 1866, she had a serious illness and was bedridden for a long convalescence. During this time, Hankey wrote her long poem, entitled The Old, Old Story, with 100 verses in two parts: The Story Wanted and The Story Told.

She recovered from the illness and lived to the age of 77, dying in 1911.