April 30 Walpurgis Night, or Witches' Sabbath--a legendary event on the Brocken Mountain in the Harz chain, made famous in Goethe's Faust. April 30, 1790 Death of Samuel Heinicke in Leipzig, Germany. Heinicke became interested in the problems of the deaf after reading Surdus loquens, a book in which it was described how a Swiss … [Read more...]

April 29, 1767 Birth of Karl Philipp Fürst von Wrede in Heidelberg, Germany. Karl was a German general who, however, formed an alliance with Napoleon until 1813 (the year of the battle of Leipzig in which Napoleon was first defeated in battle). He then switched sides and joined the coalition of nations against France. April 29, … [Read more...]

April 28, 1849 On this date the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm rejected the title of "Kaiser" as offered to him by the Frankfurt Parliament a month before. He also rejected the new constitution of the parliament, finding it to be subversive. April 28, 1853 Death of Ludwig Tieck in Berlin, a leading writer and theorist of the romantic … [Read more...]

April 27 Feast day of St. Peter Canisius. Peter de Hondt (St. Peter Canisius) was born in Nimwegen (Germany at that time, now the Netherlands). In 1536 he began his studies at the University of Cologne. In 1543 he became the first German to enter the order of Jesuits. He founded the first Jesuit house in Germany in Cologne. During his lifetime … [Read more...]

April 26, 1774 Birth of Leopold Freiherr von Buch in Angermünde, Germany. Buch's travels and reports were instrumental in the development of the study of geography in the 19th century. He studied at the Freiberg School of Mining. For a short time he was the inspector of mines, but soon turned full time to his researches in geology. April 26, … [Read more...]

April 25, 1849 Birth of Felix Klein (1849-1925) in Düsseldorf, Germany. Klein was a German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the connections between geometry and group theory. His 1872 Erlangen Program, classifying geometries by their underlying symmetry groups, was a hugely … [Read more...]

April 24 Feast Day of St. Marianus von Regensburg Marianus (? - 1083) was born in Ireland. He left his home on a Pilgrimage to Rome but only got as far as Germany. He became a Benedictine monk in Bamberg. He then moved to Regensburg where he founded the Monastery of St. Peter and became the Abbot. April 24, 1662 Death of St. Markus Roy … [Read more...]

April 23, 1500 Birth of Johannes Stumpf in Bruchsal, Germany. Stumpf was one of the leading Swiss chroniclers of his age. His Gemeiner loblicher Eydgnoschafft Stetten, Landen und Völckeren chronikwirdiger Thaaten Beschreybung of 1547 to 1548 gives detailed information on that period in Switzerland. April 23, 1708 Birth of Friedrich von … [Read more...]

April 22, 1724 Birth of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) in Königsberg, Germany (now in Russia). Kant would become one of the most influential philosophers of all times. His Critiques are the best known of his works, Kritik der reinen Vernunft, Kritik der Praktischen Vernunft. In ethics Kant is known for his categorical imperative. April 22, … [Read more...]

April 21, 1488 Birth of Ulrich von Hutten near Fulda. Von Hutten was a staunch supporter of Martin Luther both with his pen as a satirist and with his sword as a knight. In 1522 when German knights rose up against the princes, von Hutten fought with the band of Franz von Sickingen. C. F. Meyer immortalized him in his novel Huttens letzte Tage … [Read more...]