September 17, 530 The first pope of Germanic origin was elected. Boniface II was Gothic. (The Goths were an East Germanic people. The Germans of today descend from the West Germanic grouping.) Boniface II was appointed by his predecessor, Felix IV, rather than being elected. In protest against the process by which Boniface became pope and in … [Read more...]

September 16, 1736 Death of Daniel Fahrenheit in The Hague, Netherlands (born in Danzig, Germany (now in Poland). Fahrenheit was a Polish-German-Dutch physicist, engineer, and glass blower who is best known for inventing the alcohol thermometer (1709) and the mercury thermometer (1714), and for developing a temperature scale now named after him. … [Read more...]

September 15, 1757 Birth of Karl Philipp Moritz in Hameln, Germany. A novelist, Moritz is remembered primarily for Andreas Hartknopf and Anton Reiser which give insight into the period in which he lived. September 15, 1834 Birth of the historian, Heinrich von Treitschke, in Dresden, Germany. Treitschke was a professor of history and … [Read more...]

September 14, 1313 Death of St. Notburga von Rattenberg (ca. 1265 – 1313) (Rattenberg is near Innsbruck, Austria) St. Notburga is the patroness of servants and peasants. During her lifetime she is said to have been a servant to a wealthy and noble family and used her position to contribute to the needs of the poor in the area. She has been … [Read more...]

September 13, 1819 Birth of Clara Schumann in Leipzig, Germany. Schumann was a composer and the outstanding pianist of her century. Born Clara Wieck, she married the composer Robert Schumann in 1840 and took his name. The couple had 8 children. Clara and Robert were close friends with Johannes Brahms. September 13, 1872 Death of Ludwig … [Read more...]

September 12, 1683 Austrian, Polish and German troops successfully defend Vienna and defeat the attacking Turks. The Austrian commander in chief is Karl IV Leopold. September 12, 1739 Death of Reinhard Keiser in Hamburg, Germany. An early composer of operas, his style starts with Baroque and ends with Rococo. He studied music in Leipzig … [Read more...]

September 11, 1227 Death of St. Ludwig IV von Thüringen (1200-1227). Ludwig IV has never been formally canonized but has been regarded locally as a saint since shortly after his death. He led a pious life and was a good duke in Thuringia. He is remembered primarily due to the holiness of his wife, the very popular St. Elisabeth von Thüringen. … [Read more...]

September 10, 1855 Birth of Robert Koldewey in Blankenburg am Harz, Germany. Koldewey was an archeologist who found the remains of the city of Babylon in southern Iraq. He began digging on March 26, 1899, and continued to work there with little interruption for the next 18 years. One of Koldewey’s most dramatic discoveries was the foundation of … [Read more...]

September 9, 1770 Death of Siegfried Bernard Albinus in Leiden, Netherlands (born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany). An anatomist, Albinus was the first to understand the relationship of the circulatory systems of a mother and unborn child. Albinus became a professor of anatomy at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. September … [Read more...]

September 8, 801 St. Ansgar was born on September 8, 801 in Corbie (in modern France). In 823 he became a teacher in the newly founded monastery in Corvey in Westphalia (modern Germany). In 829 he founded the first Christian church in Sweden. He returned to Germany in 831 and became the first bishop of Hamburg. He continued his work of … [Read more...]