Historical Writings

(or the 19th) Pope Agapetus, sent as ambassador to the eastern emperor by Theodahad, king of the Ostrogoths, enters Constantinople. He will die there two months later.

Death of Rasmus Jensen, first Lutheran pastor in North America, at Port Churchill, Hudson Bay, Canada.

Death at Frome in Somerset, England, from apoplexy of author Elizabeth Singer Rowe. Her poems and fiction were Christian-themed, and she will be considered a pivotal figure in the development of the English novel, to which she contributed the figure of the chaste heroine.

Colonial missionary to the American Indians David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'Selfish religion loves Christ for his benefits, but not for himself.'

Charles Cardwell McCabe, the Methodist chaplain whose singing made Julia Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" famous, sings it for President Abraham Lincoln in the White House. Lincoln cries, "Sing it again." Afterward, the president remarks, "Take it all in all, the song and the singing, that was the best I ever heard." McCabe will later be elected a Methodist bishop.

Following the death of Pius IX, Italian cardinal Gioacchino Pecci, 67, was elected Pope Leo XIII. His papacy, possibly the century's most productive, was best known for his teaching encyclicals and for establishing in 1902 the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Led by Lucy Peabody and Helen Montgomery, women unite for a day of prayer for missions. This develops into an annual worldwide prayer event.

Death of Barlaam, Archbishop of Perm, who had been restricted and imprisoned at various times by Soviet authorities for his religious activities. In August 1941 he had been condemned to be shot, but the sentence was commuted to ten years in prison camps.

American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'One may know God's work for his soul without understanding it all... Let the heart be warm, at all costs to the head, in the getting of Christianity.'

Death of Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, 80, a British archaeologist who spent more than 40 years in the field. Woolley is remembered for having excavated Ur of the Chaldees, and for discovering the ancient Sumerian civilization.

Cuban authorities detain Seventh-day Adventist pastor Noble Alexander who spends the next twenty-two years in prison.

Death of Kathryn Kuhlman, 69, popular American radio and TV evangelist. A member of the American Baptist Convention, Kuhlman's preaching emphasized the healing power of the Holy Spirit.