Historical Writings

In England, the College of St. Mary Magdalen was founded at Oxford University.

Publication of John Fisher's The Seven Penitential Psalms.

Ruthenian bishops of Lithuania formally read a letter drafted by an Orthodox synod held in Brest, submitting to Pope Clement VIII. They are then accepted into the Roman Catholic Church as "Uniates." Among concessions granted by the pope, they are allowed to retain priestly marriage, to recite the creed without the "filoque" clause added by Rome, and to observe the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian. The Uniates joined Rome rather than come under the rule of the newly-created Russian Patriarchate.

Eusebio Kino is ordained a priest in the Jesuit order at Eistady, Austria. He will become a missionary to Mexico and the area that will become the southwestern United States.

Birth of Isaac Pinto, translator of the first Jewish prayerbook published in America.

David Brainerd, 26, was ordained a missionary to the Indians in Colonial New England by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SPCK).

Less than two months after a skirmish at Concord, Massachusetts between American militia and British soldiers, the Continental Congress issues a call for all citizens to fast and pray and confess their sins that the Lord God might bless the land.

The World's Anti-Slavery Convention meets in Freemasons' Hall, London. Many Christians represent the anti-slavery societies of many nations but women delegates are rejected.

Death in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, of Thomas Arnold, a Christian and a prominent English educator.

Dr. D. B. McCartee, the first American Presbyterian missionary to settle in Central China, gets his first sight of the city of Ningpo where he will live and work for many years. His presence is the result of prayerful faith, the Board of Foreign Missions having prepared for the day when changes in international agreements would allow them to enter this region of China with the Gospel.

Death in Hartburn, Northumberland, England, of clergyman John Hodgson, author of a well-planned history of Northumberland, and, perhaps more importantly, a successful advocate for improved safety in the mining industry.

Death in Richmond, Indiana, of Sanford F. Bennett, American hymnwriter, author of the hymn "In the Sweet By and By" ("There’s a Land That Is Fairer Than Day").

Death at the White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota of John Johnson Enmegahbowh, the first recognized Native American priest in the Episcopal Church. He had worked tirelessly among the Ojibway people, especially in Minnesota.

The first edition of A.T. Robertson's monumental 'Grammar of the Greek New Testament' was released. Its 1400+ pages make it the largest systematic analysis of the original New Testament language ever published.

Death in Glasgow, Scotland, of James Denney. As a theologian and educator in the Free Church, he strongly defended the penal character of the atonement.

American missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'Earthly blessing is no sign of heavenly favor. Behold how many wicked prosper.'