December 20
107
Ignatius of Antioch, third bishop of Antioch, was
martyred, according to tradition, under Trajan and is
commemorated on this date (b. ca. 35).
1192
Richard the Lion-Heart (1157–1199)
was captured and imprisoned by
Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after
signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.
1488
Thomas
Müntzer, radical German
reformer, was born in Stolberg, Germany (d. 27 May 1525).
1522
Suleiman the Magnificent accepted the surrender of the
surviving
Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They
eventually resettled on Malta and became known as the
Knights of Malta.
1550
Matthias Greiter, singer and monk, died at Strassburg,
Germany, of the plague (b. ca. 1494, Aichach, Bavaria).
1560 The
Scottish Reformed Church, organized with the help of
John Knox, held its first assembly.
1566
Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher and the last
person to be executed for heresy in England, was born (d. 11
April 1612).
1576
Edmund
Grindal
(ca. 1519–1583),
Archbishop of Canterbury, sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth
protesting her order that he tell preachers throughout
England to stop speaking so often. She felt three or four
sermons per year were sufficient. Grindal's refusal to
enforce her wishes earned him house arrest.
1626
Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf, Lutheran scholar and
hymnist, was born at Herzogenaurach, near Erlangen (d. 18
December 1692).
1764
Erik
Pontoppidan, a Danish-Lutheran theologian and catechist,
died (b. 24 August 1698, Aarhus, Jutland).
1787 The United Society of Believers in Christ's
Second Appearing, the Shaking Quakers or
Shakers,
began a revival movement in colonial America that ignited
religious fervor among other denominations, especially in
Kentucky and other frontier regions.
1792
Davis Griffiths, missionary to Madagascar, was born in
Wales (d. 21 March 1863).
1803
Samuel Hopkins (b. 17 September 1721), colonial American
theologian, died.
1823
John H. Baden, Lutheran editor and founder of missions,
was born at Westeresch, Hannover (d. 10 July 1897).
1838
Edwin Abbott Abbott, Church of England author and
educator, was born in London (d. 12 October 1926).
1845 The Baldwin Institute was chartered in Berea,
Ohio, by Methodists. In 1854 the school changed its name to
Baldwin University. In 1914 the college joined with German
Wallace College and adopted the new name
Baldwin-Wallace College.
1849
William Miller, originator of the Advent Movement that
predicted a definite time for Christ's Second Coming, died
in Low Hampton, New York (b. 15 February 1782).
1856
Newberry College
was chartered in Newberry, South Carolina, under Lutheran
auspices.
1863
C. C. (Charles Cutler) Torrey, American biblical
linguist, was born (d. 12 November 1956).
1866
Gustav Adolf Fandrey, professor at the Wartburg
Theological Seminary and president of the Iowa Synod, was
born in Samter, Posen, Germany (d. 14 July 1930).
1934
Adelaide A. Pollard (b. 27 November 1862), American hymn
writer and religious mystic, died.
1936 John Thomas Link, professor at Concordia
Teachers College (Seward, Nebraska), died (b. 23 November
1873).
1937 Frederick Randt, Missouri Synod
vice-president, died (b. 5 March 1868, New York City). He
was educated at Concordia College (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and
Concordia Seminary (Saint Louis), graduating in 1889. He
served as pastor of various churches in Wisconsin and
Minnesota, the last at Zion Lutheran Church (Saint Paul). He
was also an instructor at the Wittenberg (Wisconsin)
Academy. He held various offices in the Minnesota District
from 1915 to 1929 and was elected fourth vice-president of
the synod in 1929, serving until his death.
