741 Pope Gregory III died.

1518 Martin Luther appealed to the pope for a general council.

1532 Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, prolific German-Lutheran hymnist, was born at Frankfurt am Oder, Germany (d. ca. 1599). [German Wikipedia article]

1574 Georg Major, Lutheran theologian and friend of Luther, died (b. 25 April 1502 at Nürnberg, Germany).

1628 English preacher  John Bunyan, author of more than sixty books, including the famous Pilgrim’s Progress, was born in Elston, England (d. 31 August 1688).

1730 Alexander Roussel (b. 1702 in Southern France),  Huguenot preacher who worked underground as the “shepherd of the desert,” was martyred.

1757 William Blake, English poet and artist, was born in London, England (d. 12 August 1827).

1812 Ludvig M. Lindeman, composer, was born in Trondhjem, Norway (d. 23 May 1887, Christiania, Norway).

1829 Anton G. Rubinstein, composer and pianist, was born (d. 20 November 1894).

1858 John Nicholas Lenker, a member of the Board of Christian Extension of the General Synod from 1886 to 1894 and a professor at Trinity Seminary of the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Blair, Nebraska) from 1900 to 1904. was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania (d. 16 May 1929).

1863 Thanksgiving Day was first observed in the United States as an official holiday.

1882 Lauritz Larsen, president of the National Lutheran Council from 1920 to 1923, was born in Decorah, Iowa (d. 28 or 29 January 1923).

1902 Joseph Parker (b. 9 April 1830), English Nonconformist preacher, died.

1904 Jeremiah E. Rankin (b. 2 January 1828), American Congregational clergyman, died.

1922 James Mills Thoburn, Methodist missionary and bishop in India, died (b. 7 March 1836 at Saint Clairsville, Ohio).

1945 John Adam Fahling, Michigan pastor and author, died (b. 19 June 1892 at Conklin, Michigan).

1981 Herbert J. A. Bouman died at Maryville, Illinois (b. 21 July 1908, Freeman, South Dakota). He served as an LCMS pastor in Canton and Geneva, Ohio; Decatur, Indiana; and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was a professor at Concordia Seminary (Saint Louis) from 1954 to 1974. He also taught for one year at Christ Seminary—Seminex (Saint Louis) before retiring in 1975. In retirement he was active in translating German Lutheran theological literature and hymns into English.