February 18
Martin Luther, born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben,
Germany, initially began studies leading toward a degree in
law. However, after a close encounter with death, he
switched to the study of theology, entered an Augustinian
monastery, was ordained a priest in 1505 and received a
doctorate in theology in 1512. As a professor at the newly
established University of Wittenberg, his scriptural studies
led him to question many of the church's teachings and
practices, especially the selling of indulgences. His
refusal to back down from his convictions resulted in his
excommunication in 1521. Following a period of seclusion at
the Wartburg castle, Luther returned to Wittenberg, where he
spent the rest of his life preaching and teaching,
translating the Scriptures and writing hymns and numerous
theological treatises. He is remembered and honored for his
lifelong emphasis on the biblical truth that for Christ's
sake God declares us righteous by grace through faith alone.
He died on 18 February 1546 while visiting the town of his
birth. [From "Commemorations Biographies," Lutheran
Service Book, LCMS Commission on Worship, ]
1229 The
Sixth Crusade:
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250)
signed a ten-year truce with Sultan
al-Kamil (1180–1238),
regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem with neither
military engagements nor support from the papacy.
1562 Religious wars in France between
the
Huguenots (French Protestants) and the
Roman Catholics (lasting until 1598) forced a band of
Huguenot colonists to leave France for religious refuge in
Florida.
1564
Michelangelo Buonarroti (b. 6 March 1475), Italian
Renaissance artist and one of the greatest artists of
Western history, died.
1571 A group of
Spanish Jesuits in the
Chesapeake Bay area were murdered by the Indians they came
to convert. Having arrived six months earlier, these
missionaries were led by
Juan Bautista de Segura. The massacre
ultimately led to the withdrawal of all Jesuits from Florida
as well.
1605
Abraham Ecchellensis (Latinized name of
Ibrahim al-Haqulani) was born in Haqil, Syria (d. 15 July 1664).
1678 John Bunyan’s
(1628–1688) Pilgrim’s Progress was
first published in England.
1688
Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania,
issued America's first formal protest against slavery.
1732 Johann Christian Kittel, hymnist and the
last pupil of J. S. Bach, was born in Erfurt (d. 17 April 1809,
Erfurt).
1781 Henry Martyn, missionary and Bible
translator in India, was born in Truro, Cornwall, England
(d. 16 October 1812).
1801 Peter Muhlenberg (1746–1807), son of Henry Melchior
Muhlenberg, was elected to the U.S. Senate.
1846 On the three-hundredth anniversary
of the death of Martin Luther, the church in Altenburg,
Missouri, was draped with yards and yards of black cloth. A
special preparatory service was conducted the week before,
and on the day of the anniversary there was a morning
service at 10:00 and an afternoon service at 2:00. In his
announcements from the pulpit Pastor
Gotthold Heinrich Löber (1797–1849) called Luther
“our father who rests in God, who has fallen asleep in the
Lord.” This information was taken from Löber’s
Vermeldungsbuch, his listing of church announcements that
begins on the first Sunday in Advent 1835 in Eichenberg,
Saxony. Turning the book upside down and beginning at the
back, Pastor Loeber used the same book for his announcements
in Perry County, Missouri. The announcements concerning the
anniversary of Luther’s death were made on Sexagesima Sunday
1846.
1847
Jonathan
(“Johnny Appleseed”) Chapman (b.
26 September 1774), American pioneer nurseryman, and
missionary for the
Church of the New Jerusalem, died.
1867 The Augusta Institute was founded
in Georgia in the basement of the Springfield Baptist Church
of Augusta. Established as a college for black students, it
moved to Atlanta in 1879, changing its name to the Atlanta
Baptist Seminary. In 1913 it became
Morehouse
College.
1872 J. W. Theodor Schlueter was born in
Scharmbeck, Hanover (d. 14 July 1950, Madison, Wisconsin).
He was educated at the Bremen Gymnasium and at Concordia
Seminary (Saint Louis). He served as a pastor at Fulda and
Courtland, Minnesota. He became a professor at Concordia
Theological Seminary (Springfield, Illinois) in 1905 and at
Northwestern College (Watertown, Wisconsin) in 1908, serving
until his retirement in 1927.
1874 William Sandys (b. 1792), English lawyer
and composer of "The First Noel," died.
1890 Adolph Arthur Grossmann, teacher and first
executive secretary of the Walther League, was born in
Fairfield, Minnesota (d. 19 February 1941).
1999 A fire destroyed the offices of
Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York (LSS-MNY)
in a Park Place office building.
2002 The Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland was installed as director of
Concordia Historical Institute in Saint Louis.