Alfred Nobel (1833) It was on this date, October 21, 1833, that Swedish chemist Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm. It is one of the ironies of his life that a man who made his fortune in the invention and manufacture of weapons of war – dynamite and other nitroglycerine derivatives – bequeathed among […]

Consecration of Chartres Cathedral (1260) It was on this date, October 17, 1260, that one of the finest examples of high Gothic art, Chartres Cathedral in northern France, was consecrated under King (Saint) Louis and Pope Alexander IV. It is known officially as the "Cathedral of Our Lady in Chartres," (French: Cathédrale Nôtre-Dame de Chartres) […]

Lenny Bruce (1925) It was on this date, October 13, 1925, that American comedian Lenny Bruce was born Leonard Alfred Schneider on Long Island, New York. As the name might suggest, Bruce grew up a tough Jewish kid who expressed his ethnicity with humor. "You and I know what a Jew is," he said. "One […]

The Knights Templars Arrested (1307): Unlucky 13? It was on this date, October 13, 1307 – and presumably on a Friday – that King Philip IV ("the Fair") of France arrested all of the Templar Knights. The religious order had been the subject of rumors of blasphemy and irreligious practices, but in fact the Knights […]

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 […]

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' […]

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 […]