Historical Writings

Work on Salisbury Cathedral begins under the auspices of Bishop Richard Poore.

German reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter: 'The authority of Scripture is greater than the comprehension of the whole of man's reason.'

Death of Georg von Polentz. He had been the first Reformation bishop of Samland and Pomesania, a region in Prussia.

In England an order in council is issued, denouncing “Hell Fire” societies whose members allegedly held meetings to ridicule religion and offer blasphemous toasts.

Birth of Vernon J. Charlesworth, English clergyman and headmaster at Charles Spurgeon's Stockwell Orphanage. Today, Charlesworth is remembered as author of the hymn, "A Shelter in the Time of Storm."

John Bird Sumner is enthroned as archbishop of Canterbury. An evangelical, he had vigorously improved the diocese of Chester, consecrating over two hundred new churches; had voted for removal of restrictions on Catholics; and had written many books. In Records of Creation, he held that Moses' accounts of creation were credible and fit well with scientific findings. As archbishop he would deal even-handedly with the high and low church parties.

Death of George Washington Bethune, hymn translator, Reformed church pastor, while preaching in Florence, Italy. He will be buried in September and his hymn "It Is Not Death to Die" will be sung at his funeral.

English devotional author Frances Ridley Havergal, 33, penned the words to the hymn, "Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak."

Birth of Susan Strachan, missions pioneer. Working together with her husband Harry Strachan, in 1921 she helped found the Latin America Mission in Stony Point, NY.

Thousands of Genevans demonstrate for five hours against a religiously inspired ban on gambling. A shocked Karl Barth is appalled at their mindless slogans and comes out in support of the ban.

Death in New York City of Congregationalist clergymen and social gospel advocate Josiah Strong, who had sought to apply Protestant ideals to social problems. He had been a strong advocate of missions, believing that only redemption through Christ could change people's behavior. His most influential book had been Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis.

Soviets arrest Natalya Ivanovna Sundukova, daughter of a priest, on grounds that she leads a counter-revolutionary church cell in Stalinabad. She will be imprisoned and eventually shot for counter-revolutionary activity, dissemination of Christian teaching among prisoners, and refusal to work for the atheist regime.

Christian Missionary Alliance pilot Albert Lewis crashes his flying boat in a pass leading into Netherlands New Guinea's Baliem Valley (now in Irian Jarat). Before his untimely death, ten thousand souls had been brought to Christ in part because of his supporting ministry.

The 100th General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS) passed a resolution declaring that sexual relations within marriage -- without the intention of procreation -- were not sinful.

Death at Toulouse of Jacques Maritain, a leading neo-Thomist philosopher.