Albertus Magnus (d. 1280) It was on this date, November 15, 1280, that Albertus Magnus or Albert the Great, died at Cologne, in what is now Germany. Albert was born about 1206, the son of the Count of Bollstädt, and made his early studies at the University of Padua, where Latin translations from Greek of […]

Augustine of Hippo (354 CE) It was also on this date, November 13, 354, that Augustine of Hippo – Aurelius Augustinus – the brilliant Roman Catholic Church Father, was born in Tagaste (Souk-Ahras), in what is now Algeria. He had a wild youth until, at age 33, after fathering a son out of wedlock, Augustine […]

Joseph McCabe (1867) It was on this date, November 11, 1867, that Freethought writer Joseph Martin McCabe was born in Manchester, the product of Protestant East Anglians and Irish Catholic stock. He was named Joseph, after the saint, because he was, from infancy, promised to the priesthood. He entered the priesthood at age 16 and […]

King Henry VIII and the First Act of Supremacy (1534) It was also on this date, November 3, 1534, that England's Parliament passed the first Act of Supremacy, thus making King Henry VIII head of the English church. Under Henry's urging, and in 276 words, Parliament gave to the head of state the role until […]

Martin Luther's Reformation (1517) It was on this date, October 31, 1517, that the Protestant Reformation began in Germany, when 31-year-old Martin Luther posted his 95 theses at Wittenberg Cathedral. That document attacked papal abuses and the sale of offices and indulgences by church officials. Furthermore, Luther argued several other points: • that Christian salvation […]

Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon (539 BCE):The End of the Babylonian "Captivity" It was on this date, October 29, 539 BCE, that the city of Babylon fell to the army led by Cyrus the Great (576-7/529 BCE), Emperor of Persia.[1] The city of Babylon, which was located south of Baghdad in what is now Iraq, […]

Constantine the Great (312 CE) It was on this date, October 28, 312 CE, that Roman emperor Constantine the Great, aged 32, is said to have conquered in the sign of the Christian faith. After seeing a vision of the Chi-Ro [ΧΡ] — indicating "Christ," his priestly advisors gleefully told him — he crossed the […]

Peace of Westphalia (1648) Religion and the Thirty Years War It was on this date, October 24, 1648, that the Holy Roman Emperor, the French, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Swiss, the Swedes, the Portuguese and representatives of the Pope signed the Treaty of Westphalia, calling for "a Christian and Universal Peace," thus ending the […]

James Ussher and the Creation (4004 BCE) It was on this date, October 23, 4004 BCE, that the Earth was created by God. It is disheartening to report that many Christians will leave it at that. The exact dating of the age of the earth was arrived at by an Irish theologian, Archbishop of Armagh, […]

End of the World? The Great Disappointment (1844) It was on this date, October 22, 1844, that the world did not end. What may appear obvious at this late date, was believed by about 100,000 followers of Baptist preacher William Miller. Miller made meticulous calculations from the Bible – something Irish Archbishop James Ussher had […]