Historical Writings

Death of Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinople, who had maintained that after the resurrection the body will be more subtle than air and no longer palpable, a position that the future Pope Gregory the Great vehemently opposed.

Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeats the Teutonic Knights on frozen lake Peipus.

Indian Princess Pocahontas, a convert to Christianity, marries English colonist John Rolfe.

Death at Upminster of William Derham, a Church of England clergyman and scientist, who had measured the speed of sound with more accuracy than had been achieved before.

Birth of Louis Spohr, German violin virtuoso and composer. He is best remembered today for composing the hymn tunes GERALD ("I Want a Principle Within") and SPOHR ("All Things Bright and Beautiful").

Pioneer Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'I am often drawn out in thankfulness to God, who hath saved a mother of mine and, I trust, a father also, who are already in glory, where I hope to meet them both."

The first complete performance of Beethoven's oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives takes place in Vienna.

Death of Robert Raikes, 76, the English philanthropist regarded by many as the founder (in 1780) of the modern Sunday School movement.

Matthew Simpson rides away from the medical profession in Ohio to become a Methodist itinerant preacher. At the time he still struggles even to speak with people. However he will become a notable educator and bishop.

Death in Bombay of Indian intellectual, evangelist, and philanthropist Pandita Ramabai.

Death in Calcutta, India, of Charles Freer Andrews, an Anglican priest and missionary to India, where he had assisted the poor and pursued social justice. He had been a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi.

In Washington, D.C., President Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated the Presidential Prayer Breakfast. (Its name was later changed to the Annual National Prayer Breakfast.)

East German authorities dynamite ruins of the Ulrich church in Magdeburg, despite Christian protests. Religious leaders' plans to rebuild the historic sanctuary are ignored. It dates back to 1023 but has been damaged in the war.

Pope Paul VI abolished the galero (red hat) and red shoes and buckles customarily worn by Roman Catholic cardinals.