February 17, 1665 Birth of Rudolph Jacob Camerarius (1665-1721) in Tübingen, Germany. Camerarius was the botanist who proved the existence of sexes in plants, identified the reproductive parts, and demonstrated the role of pollen. He was a professor of medicine and director of the botanical gardens at Tübingen. February 17, 1717 Birth … [Read more...]

February 16, 1514 Birth of Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514-1574) in Feldkirch, Austria. Rheticus was an astronomer and mathematician who was one of the first to accept the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. A professor at the University of Wittenberg, he went to Poland and studied with Copernicus in 1539-1540. He also did significant work on … [Read more...]

February 15, 1368 Birth of Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1433-1437, near Nürnberg, Germany. He was the last emperor of the House of Luxembourg. In 1396 he assembled and led an army against the Turks, who had penetrated as far as Serbia, but he was badly defeated in the campaign. It was Sigismund who invited Jan Hus to the Church Council … [Read more...]

February 14, 1515 Birth of Friedrich III (1515-1576) in Simmern, Germany. Friedrich was also called "Friedrich der Fromme". He was the elector of the Palatine of the Rhine. He became a Protestant in 1546. He assisted the development of Protestantism in Germany, France and Holland. February 14, 1722 Birth of Georg Christian Füchsel … [Read more...]

February 13 Feast Day of St. Jordan von Sachen (ca. 1200-1237) Jordan was born in ca. 1200 near Osnabrück, Germany. He followed St. Dominic (the founder of the Dominican order) as the general of the order. He held that office from 1222-1237. He was a very talented administrator and led the order in establishing its enduring structure. He saw … [Read more...]

February 12, 1777 Birth of Friedrich de La Motte Fouque in Brandenburg, Germany. Descended from a French noble family, Fouque was for a time a very popular writer. His best known works are Undine (1811) and Der Held des Nordens (1808). February 12, 1804 The philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) dies in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad in … [Read more...]