Lewis Redner

Lewis Henry Redner was an American musician from Philadelphia, remembered above all for writing the tune commonly known as “St. Louis,” used for the beloved carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Reliable sources agree that he spent his working life in Philadelphia’s real-estate business while also serving as a church organist.

Accounts of his exact birth year differ, with some sources giving 1830 and others 1831, so it is safest to say he was born in Philadelphia in the early 1830s and died in 1908. He served at several churches during his life and was especially associated with Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, where he was active in music and Sunday school work.

That combination of ordinary professional life and committed church service helps explain why his story still feels approachable today: he was not known mainly as a full-time celebrity composer, but as a working musician whose single most famous tune became part of Christmas tradition for generations.