Samuel Manning

Born in Leicester in 1822, Samuel Manning first worked in business before studying at Bristol Baptist College and later at the University of Glasgow. In 1846 he became minister at Sheppard's Barton in Frome, Somerset, where he served for many years and built a reputation as an energetic writer as well as a preacher.

Manning contributed widely to Baptist and general literature, and for a time edited the Baptist Magazine. His writing ranged from religious argument to literary editing, including a collection of John Milton's prose. In 1863 he became general book editor of the Religious Tract Society, a role that placed him at the center of a major Victorian publishing program.

He is often noted for planning the Religious Tract Society's popular illustrated travel series, books that combined accessible text with visual appeal for ordinary readers. Later he was chosen as one of the society's secretaries. He died in London on September 13, 1881.