author

John Hayward

1781–1869

Best known for turning geography, statistics, and religion into readable reference books, this 19th-century American compiler helped ordinary readers make sense of a fast-growing nation. His works range from state and national gazetteers to a widely circulated survey of religious denominations.

1 Audiobook

The Book of Religions Comprising the Views, Creeds, Sentiments, or Opinions, of All the Principal Religious Sects in the World, Particularly of All Christian Denominations in Europe and America, to Which are Added Church and Missionary Statistics, Together With Biographical Sketches

The Book of Religions Comprising the Views, Creeds, Sentiments, or Opinions, of All the Principal Religious Sects in the World, Particularly of All Christian Denominations in Europe and America, to Which are Added Church and Missionary Statistics, Together With Biographical Sketches

by John Hayward

About the author

John Hayward was an American compiler, editor, and author born in 1781 and died in 1869. Surviving catalog records and library references connect him with a long run of practical reference books designed for general readers rather than specialists.

His best-known works include A View of the United States (1832), The Massachusetts Directory (1835), The New England Gazetteer (published in multiple editions in the late 1830s and 1840s), and A Gazetteer of the United States of America (1853). These books gathered geography, statistics, local description, and other useful facts into accessible volumes at a time when Americans were eager for dependable information about towns, regions, and the country as a whole.

Hayward also wrote The Book of Religions, a broad survey of religious sects and denominations that remained in print through multiple editions. Taken together, his bibliography shows a writer interested in organizing knowledge clearly and practically, especially on geography, public information, and religion.