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John Donne was born on Bread Street in 1572. His father was a ironmonger and his mother was a had catholic roots back to Thomas More. He was privately baptized by his parents and was raised a Roman Catholic in this time of Protestant Reformation. He and his brother were sent to the University of Oxford for his education. He was taught by the Jesuits. After three years he left for the University of Cambridge, but he did not receive a degree there either. He would not take the oath of supremacy required of him. John Donne began to study law and this seemed at first his career path, but after his brother dies in prison for giving sanctaury to a Catholic priest, he begins to question his faith and write.
With a large portion of his family inheritance he spent his time womanizing, books, theatre, and travel until he becomes Lord Egerton's secretary. He then became the member of parliament for Brackley and sat in Queen Elizabeth's last parliament. However he committed his career to ruin when he married Anne More, Lord Egerton's niece. He was thrown in prison and when he got out he was forced out of his job and was near poverty until 1608 when he and Lord Egerton reconciled and Lord Egerton paid his dowry.
It is in this period that he worked for the future Bishop of Durham, Thomas Morton as a religious pamphlateer and writes his Divine Poems and Biathanatos which argued that suicide was not a sin. As he approached his 40's he gave up all his ties to Roman Catholicism and won the favor of King James I with his anti-catholic Polemic telling catholics that pledging alleigance to the king would not be disloyal to the pope. He began to rise again with the favor of the King by reluctantly taking anglican orders and becoming the Royal Chaplain. Unfortunately, his wife died at 33 and he wrote his last few love poems for her. He continued writing and was intrigued by death and after traveling to Germany as chaplain to the Viscout Doncaster, he became the Dean of St. Paul until his death. He wrote privately during this time, contemplating isolation and death. He was seriously ill when he preached his first sermon to the new king Charles I. He then died in 1631 a few weeks after preaching Death's Duell.