John Bunyan was born in Elstow, a small town near Bedford, into a poor family that was looked down upon because they were seen as gypsies. He received little in the way of formal education and he was practically illiterate when he gave up school at an early age.
Once Bunyan had left school, his behaviour got progressively worse until he joined the army when he was sixteen. He stayed with them for two years. Soon after he left the army he met and married Elizabeth. She was a godly woman who encouraged him to learn to read and write. Bunyan learnt to read using religious books and what he read began to change him.
Bunyan was convicted of his own sinfulness during a sermon but this did not change him. Soon afterwards Bunyan had an experience of Jesus who asked him if he wanted to leave his sin and go to Heaven or keep them and go to Hell. Bunyan struggled with this for a long time. Finally, in 1653, as he was walking through a field, Bunyan suddenly realized the grace of God and his sinful condition and was he born again. His whole life was instantly transformed and he was soon baptized.
In 1655, he went into ministry. He became a tremendous preacher with an avid following. His life changed when Charles II took the throne. Charles promised religious freedom but only for the establish church of England. Towards the end of 1660, Bunyan was arrested and jailed for three months. He was told that if he promised not to preach any more, he would then be released otherwise he would be banished from England. He refused to accept these terms and spent a further six years in jail. Although he was then released for a short time Bunyan was soon jailed for a further six years.
During this time Bunyan studied the Bible. He also wrote at least twelve books whilst he was in jail. The best known of his books is Pilgrim's Progress, a telling tale of a sinner being drawn to Jesus Christ and avoiding the pitfalls of the world and of legalism, both of which attempted to destroy his journey.
When Bunyan was eventually released he became a pastor in a church at Bedford. The political climate had changed and he was able to preach openly and for over fifteen years this is what Bunyan did. On August 31 1688 he died. I have read a lot of nonsense about whether or not Bunyan was truly a Baptist. It matters not a jot what denomination he was, what matters is that he was a born again Christian who was obedient to God's call and was prepared to lay down his life and follow Christ. What could be seen as amazing is that someone would come out of legalistic religion and grasp life with everything he had.