68 Death of Nero Claudius Caesar (b. 15 December 37), the Caesar to whom the Apostle Paul appealed for justice in Acts 25:10.

597 Columba of Iona, confessor, died (b. 7 December 521). Columba was an Irish missionary to Scotland and founder of a monastery on the island of Iona. Though more monk than missionary, he established churches that went on in time to evangelize the Picts and the English.

1155 During the first meeting of Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190) and Pope Adrian IV, Frederick managed, through making some concessions, to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor nine days later.

1536 The clergymen of England agreed to petition for the right to read the Bible.

1549 England’s first Act of Uniformity, passed by Parliament in January, took effect. The act ordered that religious services be consistent throughout the country, using Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer.

1572 Jeanne d’Albret, Protestant queen of Navarre, died (b. 7 January 1528). She was a defender of the Huguenots and the mother of King Henry IV.

1677 The Swedish Lutheran Church at Wicaco (Philadelphia) opened.

1717 Madame Guyon, a mystic who served as an inspiration to French bishop Francois Fenelon, died (b. 13 April 1648, Montargis, France).

1732 James Edward Oglethorpe (1696–1785) received a royal charter for the formation of the American colony of Georgia. The colony was to be a place of refuge for persecuted Protestant sects in England as well as for the law-abiding poor. Among those who settled in the colony soon after was a group of Salzburg Lutherans.

1784 John Carroll (1735–1815), the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States, was named superior of the American mission by Pope Pius VI.

1790 Robert Robinson died (b. 27 September 1735). Robinson was an English Calvinist clergyman who was converted to the Christian faith in 1755 following three years of turmoil after hearing George Whitefield preach.

1834 William Carey, pathfinder in England for modern missions, died in Serampore, India (b. 17 August 1761).

1846 Pope Gregory XVI died (b. at Belluno, then in the Venetian territory, 8 September 1765).

1852 Anders Haldorsen Gjevre, Norwegian Lutheran pastor and missionary to the Jews, was born in Vang, Valdres, Norway (d. 29 April 1930).

1855 Gustaf Dalman, German Lutheran scholar of Old Testament and rabbinics, was born in Silesia (d. 19 August 1941). [German Wikipedia article]

1872 William Ellis, missionary to the South Seas, died (b. 29 August 1794, London).

1885 The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Queensland, Australia, was organized.

1885 Emily Tubman of the southern United States died (b. 21 March 1794).

1899 A preliminary meeting for organizing the Slovak Synod was held at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

1902 Gjermund Hoyme, Norwegian American Lutheran leader and pastor, died (b. 8 October 1847, Valdres, Norway).

1911 Carrie Nation (b. 25 November 1846), American temperance leader, died.

1917 The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was organized.

1924 Fritz Reuter, hymnist and musician, died in New Ulm, Minnesota (b. 11 October 1863).

1928 Charles Scaer, professor at Saint John’s College (Winfield, Kansas), died (b. 11 October 1857, Convoy, near Van Wert, Ohio).

1934 Jan Kvacala, Slovak Lutheran historian, died (b. 1862).

1947 Roland Allen, missiologist, died (b. 1868).