May 20, 1860 Birth of the biochemist Eduard Buchner (1860-1917) in Munich. He was given the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1907 for demonstrating that the fermentation of carbohydrates results from the action of enzymes in yeast. May 20, 1851 Birth of Emile Berliner (1851-1929) in Hannover, Germany. Berliner is best known for … [Read more...]

May 19, 804 Death of Alcuin, intellectual in the court of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) in Aachen. Alcuin was born in about 730 in York in England. He was educated at and became the master of the cathedral school of York. In 781 he made the acquaintance of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) and joined him at Charlemagne's capital of Aachen as the … [Read more...]

May 18, 1616 Birth of Johann Jakob Froberger in Stuttgart, Germany. Froberger was an outstanding composer of the early Baroque period. He composed at the court of Vienna from 1641-1645 and from 1653-1657. He composed primarily for the harpsichord and organ. May 18, 1782 Birth of Adolf von Lützow in Berlin, Germany. After Napoleon had … [Read more...]

May 17, 1490 Birth of Albert of Prussia (1490-1568) in Ansbach, Germany. Albert was the last grand master of the Teutonic Knights. He was named grand master in 1510 and thus lord of East Prussia. In 1523 Martin Luther advised Albert to dissolve the Teutonic Order and to create in East Prussia into a hereditary dukedom. The Holy Roman … [Read more...]

May 16, 1788 Birth of Friedrich Rückert in Schweinfurt, Germany. Rückert was a poet who taught oriental languages and literature at the universities of Erlangen and Berlin. He is remembered largely for his lyric poems. Collections of poetry by Rückert include, Deutsche Gedichte (1814), Kindertotenlieder (1834), and Liebesfrühling (1844). Gustav … [Read more...]

May 15, 719 St. Boniface receives the pope's permission to undertake a mission to christianize the area now known as Germany. Winfried (675-754) (church name Bonifatius or Boniface) was probably born in England in about 672 (though some think Ireland). He became a Benedictine monk and at age 30 was ordained a priest. He felt a calling to … [Read more...]

May 14, 1316 Birth of Karl IV (King Wenceslas) in Prague, Bohemia. Karl raised Bohemia to a central power and after his rise to the rank of German King, Bohemia controlled that position for centuries. Karl was the son of the powerful John of Luxemburg. In 1343 Karl's father gave him the regency of Bohemia. In 1343 through Karl's efforts Bohemia … [Read more...]

May 13, 1717 Birth of Maria Theresa in Vienna, Austria. Maria was the daughter of the Holy Roman emperor, Karl VI. Since Karl had no sons, he sought to bring his daughter to the rule of the Habsburg empire through a new regulation, Die Pragmatische Sanktion, which changed the custom of excluding women from the succession. Thus Maria became … [Read more...]

May 12, 1237 The crusading order "The Sword Brothers" is incorporated into the order, "The Teutonic Knights" by decree of Pope Gregory. Both orders had been involved in the crusade against the pagan Prussians. It was due to defeats and weakening of the Sword Brothers that they were merged with the Teutonic Knights. May 12, 1670 Birth … [Read more...]

May 11, 1686 Death of Otto von Guericke (1602-1686), a German scientist, inventor, and politician, in Hamburg, Germany. Von Guericke invented an air pump in 1650. That is not very remarkable, but what he did with it is. He pumped out vacuums. He was the first to learn that light travels through a vacuum, but sound does not. He was also the … [Read more...]