Wigglesworth, Michael (1631-1705), was a Puritan pastor, doctor, and poet of colonial New England. He is best known for his somber poem The Day of Doom: or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment (1662). Wigglesworth believed that many people were disobeying God and that God judged both individuals and nations. He wrote The Day of Doom as a warning to the New England colonists. His crude but dramatic ballad presented theology to the colonists in a form they could easily read and memorize. The Day of Doom became a best seller. Wigglesworth was born on Oct. 18, 1631, in England and moved to America with his parents at the age of 7. In 1656, he settled in Malden, Massachusetts, and served as minister and physician. He died on June 10, 1705.
