Born: June 10, 1813, Pro­vi­dence, Rhode Is­land.

Died: 1903, Bos­ton, Mass­a­chu­setts.

Washburn grew up in Kings­ton, Mass­a­chusetts, and was ed­u­cat­ed at Wor­ces­ter and Brown Un­i­ver­si­ty. He went in­to the man­u­fac­tur­ing bus­i­ness in Wor­ces­ter and Bos­ton, and in 1875 be­came pre­si­dent of the Un­ion Mu­tu­al Life In­sur­ance Com­pa­ny. In the se­cu­lar world, he is re­mem­bered for his po­em “The Va­cant Chair,” about a young lieu­ten­ant killed in the Amer­i­can ci­vil war.

Sources

Lyrics

1. Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing