Historical Writings

(probable date) Death of Augustine of Canterbury, the missionary who had persuaded the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex and Kent to follow Christianity.

Pope Gregory IX appoints Dominican friars to be inquisitors in Aragon. He will appoint others for the kingdoms of Navarre, Castile, and Portugal.

Death in Rome of Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians.

Birth of William Hunter, American Methodist clergyman. The author of three collections of hymns, published during his lifetime, Hunter is best remembered today for the hymn entitled, "The Great Physician Now is Near."

In Pittsburgh, the Associate Presbyterian and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian churches merged to form the United Presbyterian Church in North America.

Thomas Barnardo experiences conversion to evangelical Christianity. His most famous work will be the opening of orphanages for London's homeless boys and girls.

Lillian May Thomas, an African-American, sails from the United States for the Congo as a missionary.

Future President William McKinley, 56, wrote in his notebook: 'My belief embraces the Divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization.' (McKinley had been "born again," at age 10, during a revival meeting, and later joined a Methodist church.)

Pope Pius X issues his "Borromeo" encyclical (Editae saepe) in which he blames modern revolutions on "the would-be reformers of the sixteenth century" and characterizes them as enemies of the cross.

The religious program "The Fourth R" aired for the last time over NBC television. Produced by several different religious organizations, this short-lived series aired on Sunday mornings.