I am looking for the copyright date of the hymn tune "Quietude" by
Harold Green, 1871-1931.  One hymnbook I have it in says "copyright
used by permission of the Africa Evangelical Fellowhip/South Africa
General Mission, London. The other simply says Harold Green, c. 1925. 
The big thing I need to know is if it was written before 1923 so it
would be public domain.

Hello,

Whether or not a work copyrighted before 1978 falls into the public
domain depends solely on the published copyright notice date (or, for
unpublished works, the date of copyright registration), not when the
piece was actually written.

As it happens, the work appears to have passed into the public domain
in 1953, without the copyright ever having been renewed.

Had the piece been published after January 1, 1978, the following law
(current) would apply, and since Mr. Green died in 1931, the work
would have passed into the public domain last year:

"(a) In General.-Copyright in a work created on or after January 1,
1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the
following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of
the author and 70 years after the author's death.

(b) Joint Works.-In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more
authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for a term
consisting of the life of the last surviving author and 70 years after
such last surviving author's death."

§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1,
19784
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html#302

The work was copyrighted *before* 1978, however, so the following law
applies:

"Works Originally Created and Published or Registered before January
1, 1978

Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on
the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date
of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In
either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from
the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first
term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of
1976 extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that
were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights
restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these
works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years. Public Law
105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal
term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20
years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of
protection of 95 years.

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976
Copyright Act to provide for automatic renewal of the term of
copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977.
Although the renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright
Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these works unless a
renewal application and fee are received and registered in the
Copyright Office.

Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional. Thus, filing
for renewal registration is no longer required in order to extend the
original 28-year copyright term to the full 95 years. However, some
benefits accrue from making a renewal registration during the 28th
year of the original term."

How Long Copyright Protection Endures
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc

I have been unable to find any record of copyright renewal for this
tune.  It and the lyrics (written by E. May Grimes) were copyrighted
in 1925 - the lyrics have long been listed as public domain.

Hope this helps!

--Missy

Thank you so much for your prompt and thorough reply!  I am so excited
to have found this service (I never knew such a thing existed!)