"How any man who should inquire and know for himself can content himself with a faith or belief taken upon trust, is to be astonishing."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749) It was on this date, August 28, 1749, that Germany's greatest poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, was born in Frankfurt am Main. Initially trained in the law, from age 16, he took to letters under the influence of his mother. He joined the rebels of the Sturm und Drang (storm […]

Confucius (551 BCE) It was on this date, August 27, 551 BCE, by tradition, that the Chinese teacher and philosopher K'ung fu-tzu (孔子 Pinyin Kǒng Zǐ), known popularly by his Latinized name, Confucius, was born in the state of Lu. Though fatherless from the age of three, Confucius nevertheless acquired a good education and married […]

Georg W. F. Hegel (1770) It was on this date, August 27, 1770, that the great the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born in Stuttgart. After studying theology at the University of Tübingen, he tutored at Bern and Frankfurt, then lectured at the University of Jena (1801-06), before becoming headmaster of a Nuremberg […]

Declaration of the Rights of Man (1751) It was on this date, August 26, 1789, that the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" was Approved by the National Assembly of France. The document is so obviously of benefit to a constitutional democracy, and clearly does not endorse a Christian theocracy, that […]

Sir Robert Walpole (1676) On this date, August 26, 1676, the British statesman Sir Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford, was born in Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Educated at Eton College and Cambridge University, he entered Parliament in 1701 at the age of 25 and rose to become one of the greatest statesmen of eighteenth century […]

Charles Richet (1850) It was on this date, August 26, 1850, that French physiologist Charles Richet was born in Paris. The son of a surgeon, Richet entered medical school but anatomy and surgery bored him, so he wrote poetry and drama as a diversion. He became a hospital intern on a women's ward and there […]

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572) It was on this date, August 24, 1572, that the bloodiest massacre of Christians by Christians began in France – the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. The Reformation of the corrupt practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which had begun in Germany, had spread to France and gained many followers, including […]

World Council of Churches Formed (1948): What is a Church? It was on this date, August 23, 1948, that the World Council of Churches was formed in Amsterdam, Holland. Over 100 Protestant churches agreed to tolerate each other's existence at an ecumenical conference in 1937. The next year, a provisional committee met at Utrecht to […]

Ray Bradbury (1920) It was on this date, August 22, 1920, that prolific science fiction author Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois. His formal education ended when he graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. He became a full-time writer in 1943. Bradbury has published more than thirty books, including about […]