Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705) was an American Puritan poet, physician, and minister. His poem "The Day of Doom" enjoyed a popular success unequaled in America before Longfellow.

Michael Wigglesworth was born probably in Yorkshire, England, on Oct. 18, 1631. The family went to Charlestown, Mass., in 1638 and soon settled in New Haven, Conn. There was no shelter on the land allotted to the Wigglesworths, and they spent the first winter in a cellar hole. Wilderness hardships took their toll. The father, broken in health, was unable to manage the farm alone and had to ask Michael to interrupt his New Haven schooling and come home. Michael, so frail that he was of limited help, was finally encouraged to prepare for Harvard College; he graduated first in his class in 1651; he continued on as fellow and as tutor. After receiving his master's degree in 1656, he became minister of the Congregational Church at...