Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican minister and biblical scholar who spearheaded the evangelical ‘Low Church’ movement as a response to the liturgically and episcopally focused ‘High Church’ faction.

He was born in Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and was baptized at St Laurence’s parish church on October 24 of the same year. He was the youngest of four sons of Richard Simeon (who passed away in 1784) and Elizabeth Hutton. His oldest brother, also named Richard after their father, died young. The second brother, John, pursued a career in law, became a Member of Parliament, and was awarded a baronetcy. The third brother, Edward Simeon, served as a director of the Bank of England.

Simeon was educated at Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate at King’s starting in 1779, having been raised in a high church environment, he read The Whole Duty of Man and a book by Thomas Wilson regarding the sacrament, and after taking communion at Easter, he underwent a Christian conversion. In 1782, he became a fellow of King’s College and was ordained as a deacon. He earned his B.A. in 1783 and was ordained as a priest in the Church of England that same year. He began his ministerial work as the assistant to Christopher Atkinson (1754–1795) at St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge. Atkinson introduced him to John Venn, and through this connection, Simeon met Henry Venn, which reinforced his evangelical and Calvinist beliefs.

In 1783, Simeon was appointed to the position at Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge. This role, officially a curacy, came about after the passing of the Rev. Henry Therond. Simeon’s father facilitated his appointment with James Yorke, the Bishop of Ely, allowing him to become a curate-in-charge before turning 23. Initially, he faced unpopularity, as the congregation favored John Hammond, the previous curate and lecturer. Consequently, church services experienced disturbances, and Simeon faced insults in public. However, he remained there for the entirety of his life, ultimately attracting a large congregation.

Simeon passed away single on 13 November 1836 and was interred in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, on 19 November. His memorial, created by Humphrey Hopper at Holy Trinity, Cambridge, was characterized by architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner as an “epitaph in Gothic style.”