Historical Writings

Pamphilius of Caesarea is beheaded for his Christian faith. He had founded a library in Palestine and trained many pulpils, including Eusebius, the first notable church historian.

Death of non-conformist pastor Francis Bampfield in Newgate Prison, having been held too long in a damp area. Once a Royalist, his loyalty to the crown had not protected him from the religious persecution of England’s King Charles II. Bampfield dies outside the Church of England, a “non-conformist” committed to Seventh-Day Baptist views.

English revivalist George Whitefield advised in a letter: 'Use the world, but let it be as though you used it not.'

In Baltimore, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church officially separated from its parent, the Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination later became part of the AME Church, reconstituted in 1816 under Richard Allen. It held its first national conference in 1821.

Death in Calcutta from cholera of Koilas Chunder Mookerjee, a young Hindu convert to Christianity who had suffered considerable persecution. Immediately after his baptism he had endeavored to evangelize fellow Indians.

English clergyman Sabine Baring-Gould, 31, first published the hymn, "Now the Day is Over." It was based on the text of Prov 3:24: 'When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid...and thy sleep shall be sweet.'

Conversion in Galeton, Pennsylvania, of Robert T. Ketcham under the preaching of Harry S. Tillis. He will become a leader in forming the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches.

William P. Merrill, 44, first published his hymn, "Rise Up, O Men of God," in the Presbyterian periodical, "The Continent."

Death in Japan of Nikolai, archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in Japan.

Under the leadership of Henrietta Szold, 52, the Hadassah Study Circle at New York's Temple Emanuel reconstituted itself. Szold afterward made this sisterhood of U.S. Jewish women a nationwide Zionist organization. Szold herself headed the group until 1926.

Death in Princeton, New Jersey, of B.B. (Benjamin Breckinridge) Warfield, a renowned Calvinist theologian and the author of The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Although feeling weak, he had taught classes that day. He had cared for his invalid wife for thirty-nine years after she was struck by lightning.

Murder of Archbishop Luwum for his Christian faith in Uganda under the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin.