Born: September 10, 1748, Chinley, Derbyshire, England.

Died: November 4, 1810, Manchester, Lancashire, England.

In 1763, Harrison entered Warrington Academy. After being ordained a Presbyterian minister, he served at Shrewsbury for a time, then moved to Cross Street Chapel, Manchester. In 1774 he began a school, and gained such repute as a master that when the Manchester Academy was established in 1798, Harrison was appointed one of the professors. About 1780 he planned to bring together a collection of tunes for use in the Manchester district, especially in his own chapel. No local collection had been issued for a long time, and after he had, as he said in the preface, trying in vain to induce others to undertake the work, he began it himself, though he said he “boasts no extraordinary talent in music.”