Henry VIII (1521): Defender of the Faith It was on this date, October 11, 1521,* that Pope Leo X conferred the title Fidei Defensor, which is Latin for "Defender of the Faith," on England's King Henry VIII. That Medici pope, whose profligate spending and perverse pleasures were the outrage of Rome, was a staunch opponent […]

Henry Cavendish (1731) It was also on this date, October 10, 1731, that British physicist and pioneer chemist Henry Cavendish was born in Nice, France. The son of Lord Charles Cavendish, and nephew of the Duke of Devonshire, he entered St. Peter's College, Cambridge in 1749 at age 18, but left without graduating four years […]

Fridtjof Nansen (1861) It was on this date, October 10, 1861, that Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen was born Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen. He grew up in Frøen, on the outskirts of Christiania (now Oslo), at that time a rural area that hardened Nansen for his life's work. Nansen loved the outdoors and his parents instilled in […]

Giuseppe Verdi (1813) It was on this date, October 10, 1813 – the same year as Richard Wagner – that Italian opera composer Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was born in Roncole, Duchy of Parma, which was then under the occupation of Napoleon's army. This self-described "peasant from Roncole" began his education with local priests before […]

Temple of Apollo Dedicated (28 BCE), Christianity v. Paganism It was on this date, October 9, 28 BCE, that the Temple of Apollo was dedicated on the Palatine Hill in Rome. The "Apollo Palatínus" was built by Emperor Augustus and contained a library. As Platner describes it, This temple was the most magnificent of Augustus' […]

John Lennon (1940) It was on this date, October 9, 1940, that John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. John Lennon had working-class roots, but went to art school and loved popular music. Having gotten together with songwriting collaborator Paul McCartney, who introduced Lennon to George Harrison, and a drummer to be named later […]

The Council of Chalcedon (451) and the Split Personality of Jesus It was on this date, October 8, 451, that the fourth of the first seven Ecumenical Councils in Christianity, the Council of Chalcedon opened. Convoked by Byzantine Emperor Marcian, at the urging of Pope Leo I, over 24 days of sessions the 500 bishops […]

Cornell University Founded (1865) It was on this date, October 7, 1865, that US businessman Ezra Cornell, and respected scholar Andrew Dickson White, chartered and founded the Ivy League University in Ithaca, New York, known as Cornell. "Uncle Ezra," as he is affectionately known on campus, had a vision: "I would found an institution where […]

Anwar Sadat (d. 1981) It was on this date, October 6, 1981, in an act of religious intolerance like that victimizing William Tyndale, that Egyptian president Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat (حمد أنور السادات‎) was killed by Islamic fundamentalist extremists in Egypt. Born on 25 December 1918, Sadat's political activities got him jailed at least twice. There […]

William Tyndale (d. 1536) It was on this date, October 6, 1536, that William Tyndale, the priest and scholar who translated the Bible into English, was strangled and burned to death in Belgium – a victim of religious intolerance during the Reformation. He was born on an unknown date in 1484. Tyndale went to school […]