November 4, 1716 Birth of Wilhelm Freiherr von Knyphausen in Luxembourg. In 1776 as a general with over 40 years of service, Knyphausen was appointed second in command to General Leopold von Heister commanding the Hessian troops fighting with the British against the colonial rebels in America. In 1777 Knyphausen assumed the command. He returned … [Read more...]

November 3 Feast Day of St. Primin (ca. 690 - 753) Primin was a West Goth who was appointed a traveling bishop in 720. He founded several monasteries during his lifetime. Among the monasteries he is said to have founded are Murbach, Neuweiler, Gegenbach, Schwarzach, Hornbach and Amorbach. The city of Pirmasens, Germany is named for him. He is … [Read more...]

November 2, 1528 Birth of Petrus Lotichius Secundus in Niederzell, Germany. He was a professor of medicine at the University of Heidelberg but is much more remembered as a poet of the Renaissance period. He wrote in Latin. November 2, 1739 Birth of Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf in Vienna, Austria. Dittersdorf composed instrumental music and … [Read more...]

November 1 Allerheiligentag (All Saints' Day). Allerheiligentag is a legal holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Northrhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate and Saarland. November 1, 1607 Birth of Georg Philipp Harsdörfer in Nürnberg, Germany. Harsdörfer was a Baroque poet and theorist. In the Baroque period in Germany many literary … [Read more...]

November 5, 1414 On November 5, 1414, the Council of Constance opened in Constance (Konstanz), Germany. The church had fallen into a rather major problem in that two rival popes had been elected (Gregory XII in Rome and Benedict XIII in Avignon). In attempting to deal with the situation there had been a Council in Pisa in 1409. But that made … [Read more...]

October 31, 994 Death of St. Wolfgang (924 – 994) St. Wolfgang was born in Pfullingen, Germany (in the modern state of Baden-Württemberg) in 924 to a noble family. He studied at the monastic school of Reichenau and the cathedral school of Würzburg. In 956 he became a teacher at the cathedral school of Trier. He entered the Benedictine order in … [Read more...]

October 30, 1466 Death of Johann Fust, a financial backer of Johannes Gutenberg. October 30, 1882 Birth of Günther von Kluge in Posen, Germany (now Poland). Kluge was a WWII German general who fought in Russia from 1941-1943 and replaced von Rundstedt on the Western Front in 1944. Suspected of being involved in the assassination attempt on … [Read more...]