April 10, 1727 Birth of Samuel Heinicke (1727-1790) in Nautschütz, Germany. Heinicke became interested in the problems of the deaf after reading Surdus loquens, a book in which it was described how a Swiss physician had succeed in teaching deaf persons to speak. In 1778 he opened a school for the deaf. He developed the system of teaching … [Read more...]

April 9, 1486 The Habsburg, Maximilian I is crowned German king at Aachen. He would later become the Holy Roman emperor. Maximilian expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, though he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland … [Read more...]

April 8, 1586 Death of Martin Chemnitz in Braunschweig, Germany. A leading Protestant theologian, Chemnitz did much to unify the Protestants in the early Lutheran church. April 8, 1695 Birth of Johann Christian Günther in Striegau, Germany. Günther was one of the leading lyric poets of the age. He made the transition from the Baroque to … [Read more...]

April 7, 1250 Death of St. Hermann Joseph von Steinfeld. St. Hermann Joseph was born in about 1150 in Cologne, Germany. His contemporary biographer relates that he was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin from his youth on. Many charming legends are told of his youthful dedication to Mary. At age 12 he entered the monastery at Steinfeld, Germany … [Read more...]

April 6, 912 Death of Bl. Notker Babulus (der Stammler)(ca. 840 - 912). Blessed Notker was born near St. Gallen, Switzerland in about 840. He studied at the school of the Monastery of St. Gallen and became a monk there. He wrote a large number of works during his lifetime as a teacher at the monastery school. He was beatified in 1512 by Pope … [Read more...]

April 5, 1643 Birth of Karl IV Leopold in Vienna, Austria. Karl was the Austrian Field Marshal who commanded the Austrian, Polish and German troops who successfully defended Vienna against the attacking Turks in 1683. He died on April 18 1690. April 5, 1744 Death of Blessed Maria Kreszentia Höß. Maria Kreszentia Höß was the daughter of a … [Read more...]

April 4, 397 Death of St. Ambrose (ca. 340 - 397) St. Ambrose was born in about 340, most likely in Trier (modern Germany). He was the son of a Roman nobleman who was serving in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire as Prefect of Gallia. Upon the death of his father in about 354 St. Ambrose moved with his family to Rome. The family had … [Read more...]

April 3, 1841 Birth of Hermann Carl Vogel (1841-1907) in Leipzig, Germany. Vogel was a German astrophysicist who pioneered the use of the spectroscope in astronomy. He applied this instrument to chemically analyze planetary atmospheres and in 1871 he was the first to establish Sun's rotational period using the Doppler effect. He was the … [Read more...]

April 2, ca. 742 Birth of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) (ca. 742-814) Karl der Große or Charlemagne was born near Aachen in about 742. He was the king of the Franks. (The Franks were a Germanic people who had extended their influence over parts of modern France and Belgium by this date in history.) On Christmas day of the year 800 he was … [Read more...]

April 1, 1730 Birth of Salomon Gessner in Zürich, Switzerland. Gessner was a writer known for his rococo style. His most noted works are Idyllen (1756-1772) and Der Tod Abels (1758). Sir Walter Scott, and Lord Byron expressed admiration for Gessner's pastoral themes. April 1, 1815 Birth of Otto von Bismarck in Schönhausen, Germany. … [Read more...]