December 10, 1520 Martin Luther takes a papal bull which threatens to excommunicate him and publicly burns it in front of the Elster Gate in Wittenberg. December 10, 1872 Birth of Ludwig Klages in Hannover, Germany. Klages was a professor at the University of Munich in natural sciences. He was the inventor of handwriting analysis. He … [Read more...]

December 9, 1437 Death of Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1433-1437, in Znojmo, Bohemia (born 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 … [Read more...]

December 8, 1672 Death of Johann Christian Baron von Boyneburg in Mainz, Germany. He was a diplomat of the archbishop-elector of Mainz, Philipp von Schönborn. He was a principal negotiator of the League of the Rhine (1658) by which an alliance was struck between several small German states and France to defend against the re-establishment of … [Read more...]

December 7, 983 Emperor Otto II of the (later so named) Holy Roman Empire dies. December 7, 1800 Death of Wilhelm Freiherr von Knyphausen in Kassel, Germany. 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 … [Read more...]

December 6 St. Nicholas Day in Germany. St. Nicholas Day, or Eve, is celebrated on December 6. This is the favorite holiday of all children – it’s a gift-giving day. When evening comes, St. Nicholas, a reverend gray-haired figure with flowing beard, wearing gorgeous bishop’s garments, gold embroidered cope, mitre and pastoral staff, knocks … [Read more...]

December 5 Feast Day of St. Nicetius von Trier (? – 566) St. Nicetius served as bishop of Trier during the turbulent times after the break up of the Roman empire and during the period when the Franks were beginning their domination of Europe. The city of Trier had been badly damaged during the years prior to Nicetius. The cathedral had been … [Read more...]

December 4, 1875 Birth of Rainer Maria Rilke in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic). Rilke is the most known and respected of the German-language poets of the 20th century. His life was a series of wanderings and experiments with new poetic structures. Rilke was widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense … [Read more...]

December 3, 1483 Birth of Nikolaus von Amsdorf in Torgau, Germany. Amsdorf was a professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg. He was a close friend of Martin Luther. After the trial at the Diet of Worms, he was one of those responsible for hiding Luther at the Wartburg. In later years he struggled against what he considered the too … [Read more...]

December 2, 1817 Birth of Heinrich von Sybel in Düsseldorf, Germany. Sybel was a historian who had studied with Ranke in Berlin. His early books show the critical method of Ranke. He became deeply involved in politics, however, and came to view history as a means to educate for specific purposes. He came to be a firm believer in Prussia's … [Read more...]

December 1, 1018 Death of Dietmar in Merseburg, Germany. The Saxon, Dietmar was an important chronicler of his age and his works are important documentation to the period. December 1, 1724 Birth of Karl Theodor, the Wittelsbach Elector (Holy Roman Empire) of the Palatinate. On December 30, 1777 the Bavarian line of the Wittelsbach … [Read more...]