Samuel Augustus Ward (28 December 1847 ? 28 September 1903) was an American organist and composer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ward studied music in New York and became an organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark in 1880. He is remembered for his hymn "Materna" (1882) which was used for the anthem "America the Beautiful", with words by Katharine Lee Bates. However, Ward never met Bates, and he died in 1903 in Newark.
Samuel A. Ward, the composer, was the last in an unbroken line of Samuel Wards beginning with Rhode Island Governor and Representative to the Continental Congress Samuel Ward.
Samuel A. Ward had no children who lived to adulthood.[citation needed]
Samuel A. Ward was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
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