November 27, 1621

John Donne is elected Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, with a big house to go with it.

Using his remarkable facility with language to reach the people of London, Donne preached against lust, fornication, and other sins, everything that the young Donne had embraced wholeheartedly! By all accounts he was a terrifying figure in the pulpit: he would use an hourglass to time his sermons, often reminding the congregation that time was running out – as the sand fell in the glass, for them to be saved.