Historical Writings

Death of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, whose faith brought Christianity to many in the nation.

Death of Saint Hugh of Avalon. This noble-minded bishop of Lincoln had been beloved by the people because of his kindness to them and his fearless rebuke of wicked authorities. His tomb will become a pilgrim shrine.

Repose (Death) of Sergius of Malopinega, a Russian Orthodox monk who had labored to convert the people of the Chud region and was loved because of his kindness, courage, humility, and mercifulness, especially to the poor.

The Papal Chancery first adopted January 1st as the beginning of the calendar year. Previously, March was the first month, which explains why our modern names for the 9th-12th months begin instead with prefixes meaning "7" (sept-), "8" (octÂ) "9" (nov-) and "10" (dec-).

Western Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian school, formally opens to students in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Hymnwriter Frederick Faber announces he is migrating to the church of Rome.

Despite the martyrdom of his mentor, Joseph Mukasa, the day before, Denis Ssebuggwawo comes secretly to Catholic missionaries in Uganda and requests baptism, which is administered on the spot. Six months later king Mwanga will have him executed because of his faith.

Death of James McCosh, 83, Scottish-born theologian and educator. President of Princeton from 1868-88, McCosh was one of the first orthodox clergymen in America to accept and defend the theory of evolution.

In NY City, the United Lutheran Church was organized by a merger of three general Lutheran bodies in the U.S. and Canada. (In 1962, the ULC became one of the branches of Lutheranism which formed the Lutheran Church in America.)

The Evangelical United Brethren Church was constituted at Johnstown, PA by a merger of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Church. The new denomination originated in the work of two German Reformed pastors, Philip W. Otterbein and Martin Boehm, who had ministered among Pennsylvania Germans two centuries earlier.

"Our Goodly Heritage" debuted over CBS television. This Sunday morning Bible study program, hosted by William Rush Baer of New York University, aired a little over five years.

A religion law goes into effect in Belarus forbidding unregistered religious activity. It requires censorship of religious literature, forbids foreign church leadership and puts tight restrictions on what organizations can be registered.