735AD: Death of The Venerable Bede (b.672), English historian and theologian, whose many scholarly works include the first comprehensive history of the British Isles, titled Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People).
1332: Birth of Ibn Khaldun (d.1406), the great Arab polymath whose theory of business cycles and the rise and fall of nations remains foundational to any serious sociological study.
1431: In the final act from her February trial, Joan of Arc is burned at the stake for heresy. In the years that follow her execution, the French peasantry attribute scores of miracles to her and she is eventually canonized as Saint Jean d’Arc.
1453: After a 53-day siege by the Moslem armies of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople falls to the Turks, closing the final chapter of the 1,500 years of the Roman Empire, and decisively ending the existence of Christianity in its Anatolian heartland. Ironically, the seeds of the defeat were planted by the massive depredations of the 4th Crusade some 200 years prior, when the city underwent another siege and sacking from its erstwhile Christian allies. The Ottoman Empire established this day remained a potent threat to Europe for nearly 500 years, until it was finally dismantled by the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Great War.
1541: Death of French religious reformer John Calvin (b.1509), one of the key figures of the Protestant Reformation, whose insights and writings on Christian doctrine remain the foundation of the Presbyterian and other Reformed churches. Much of his work occurred in Geneva, where his church became a center for a group of English dissidents under John Knox, among other groups dealing with the intellectual and religious ferment of the time.
1588: The Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 ships loaded with over 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon enroute to the English Channel on a mission to invade Britain, de-throne Elizabeth I, and restore a Catholic monarchy on the island. Under King Philip II, Spain was the unquestioned superpower of its day, having grown rich exploiting the gold and silver of the New World. For its part, England had recently welcomed back the explorer and privateer Francis Drake from his Spanish-bashing circumnavigation, and between him and Sir Walter Raleigh (with an assist from the weather), the Armada was not long for the world.
1672: Birth of Peter the Great (d.1725).
1703: After capturing a Swedish fort further up the Neva River, and determined to drag sclerotic Russian leadership and society into the mainstream of the Western European world, Tsar Peter I (The Great) commissions the city of Saint Petersburg as he lays the foundation stone of the Peter and Paul Fortress on Zyachay (Hare) Island in the Neva delta. He names the new city after his patron saint, and sets in motion a development process that brings in the finest Western European architects and planners to essentially create- tabula rasa- the northernmost, and most beautiful capital city in Europe.
1759: In the opening battle of the French and Indian War, the Virginia Militia, under the leadership of 22 year old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, defeats a French surveying party in western Pennsylvania.
1819: Birth of American poet Julia Ward Howe (d.1910), who wrote the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
1863: The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the nation’s first all-black regiment, leaves Boston to begin fighting for the Union.
1866: Death of General Winfield Scott, USA (b.1786). The old warhorse, also known as “Old Fuss and Feathers” served his country over the course of a 47 year active duty career, commanding forces in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Blackhawk War, the Second Seminole War, and for a short time after the opening guns, the War Between the States. He served 20 years as Commanding General of the United States Army (equivalent to the current Army Chief of Staff). He became a national hero after the Mexican campaign, which led to an unsuccessful run for the Presidency as a Whig in 1852. More important from his service in Mexico was his role in leading and training an entire generation of Army officers who would go on to distinguish themselves on both sides of the Civil War.
1911: Roy Harroun wins the inaugural Indianapolis 500 mile race, driving his Marmon Wasp at an average speed of 74.6 mph. As a point of reference, last Sunday’s (5/26) winner, French driver Simon Pagenaud, finished with an average speed of 175.794 mph; he also won the pole position with a speed of 229.992, still not up to the pace of Arie Luyendyk’s record-smashing 236.986 in 1996. Last year’s winner Will Power qualified started and finished 5th this year, averaging 175.766 mph.
1913: A peace treaty is signed ending the First Balkan War. The conflict aligned Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece against the Ottoman Turks in a successful attempt to separate Macedonia and Albania from Turkish control. A second Balkan war began a month later with Russian support. In response to Austrian moves designed to counter Russian influence in the region, Serbia increased its agitation against Germanic rule in favor of a pan-Slavism promoted by Russia. Strategic cooperation treaties begin to align the Great Powers into blocs. Serbia’s strategic planning for a third Balkan war looked to the summer of 1914 for its beginning.
1927: In Dearborn, Michigan, last day of production of the Ford Model T, as equipment on the assembly line is changed out to produce the new Model A. The Model T was the first car to be mass-produced, beginning in 1908. With over 15,000,000 produced, it was the best-selling car in the world until surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972. Interestingly, as part of its centenary celebrations in 2003, Ford produced six new Model Ts using long-warehoused original components and other parts made from original drawings.
1932:The Bonus March: a group of unemployed World War I veterans converges on Washington, DC to demand early payment of a promised bonus for their service in the Great War. The payment of Army bonuses was long established to make up for the difference in what a soldier earned in service and what he would have earned as a civilian. A 1924 law set the rates for the recently returned veterans, but for payments due of over $50, it was in the form of a note that would not come due for 20 years, in this case 1945. Over 3.6 million service certificates were issued based on this law. The financial hardship of Depression triggered an increasing number of calls for early payment of the bonuses, and as the issue gained traction in the press, more and more veterans came to Washington to back up the demands. As the veterans arrived, some with their families, they ended up creating in the low land area near the Anacostia River a plywood shantytown that became known as “Hooverville.” The group also became known as the Bonus Army as its protests grew more forceful.
1940: Completely overrun by the Wehrmacht, the Belgian King Leopold III capitulates to the Germans after 18 days of bitter fighting. Rather than fleeing to lead the government-in-exile, he remains in Belgium under house arrest for five years, including a forced deportation into Germany in 1944. The split between the king and his government remained bitter, even after the war ended, leading to his abdication in 1951 in favor of his son Baudouin, who reigned until his death in 1993.
1941: Three days after obliterating HMS Hood and making her way into the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck is crippled by a torpedo shot from an ancient Fairey Swordfish biplane from HMS Ark Royal, allowing the British battleships King George V and Rodney and their escorts to close the German vessel and open fire. A fierce gun duel rages for nearly two hours, after which Bismarck sinks from the combined effects of gunfire and intentional scuttling. 111 survivors are rescued by the British ships before leaving the area from a U-boat threat. The wreck of the Bismarck was discovered and documented in June of 1989 by Robert Ballard.
1953: New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest, 29,029 feet above sea level.
1967: After two years of PLO attacks and a continuing buildup of conventional forces along Israel’s border, King Hussein of Jordan and Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt sign a joint defense agreement. At the signing, Nasser was characteristically blunt: “Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight.”
1971: Death of Audie Murphy (b.1924), the most decorated U.S. soldier in history. Awards include: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star (2), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (2), Purple Heart (3), French Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre (2), Belgian Croix de guerre (2). At 5’5” and 110 pounds, he was rejected for service by the Navy and Marines. The Army initially slated him for cooking school, but he insisted on going into the infantry.
1980: John Paul II makes the first papal visit to France since 1814.
1987: 19-year-old German pilot Mathias Rust flies a Cessna 172 unscathed through hundreds of miles of Soviet air defenses and lands the machine in Moscow’s Red Square. The Soviets are not amused.
About the Author
Here to the north of you, in the area I am in, the name Calvin when applied to religion in our early history occurs fairly frequently, to wit:
The Hoosac valley, its legends and its history, By Grace Greylock Niles COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
CHAPTER X SAMUEL ROBINSON AND HISTORIC BENNINGTON 1749-1815
During 1834, Strict Congregationalism was disestablished in New England, and Deacon Joseph Hinsdill of the First Church of Bennington and several members of Calvin’s Society separated from the Old Church and built the First Presbyterian Church at Hinsdillville in 1838, now owned by the Methodist Society.
CHAPTER XII OLD SCHAGHTICOKE AND OLD CAMBRIDGE DISTRICTS 1759-1815
Later, in 1793, the Scotch-Irish followers of John Calvin founded the Presbyterian Church at Cambridge Village, although their “Old White Meeting-house” was not dedicated until many years later.
The First Presbyterian Church was founded by Thomas Lounsbury and other members of the Calvin Society, on Schaghticoke Hill Road, south of Hart’s Falls in 1805.
Interestingly, a web site called Religion News has an article entitled “The troubling trends in America’s ‘Calvinist revival’” by Jonathan Merritt on May 20, 2014, which reads as follows:
When Mark Oppenheimer declared that “evangelicalism is in the midst of a Calvinist revival” in The New York Times earlier this year, he was only partially correct.
According to a 2010 Barna poll, roughly three out of 10 Protestant leaders describe their church as “Calvinist or Reformed,” a proportion statistically unchanged from a decade earlier.
According to the research group, “there is no discernible evidence from this research that there is a Reformed shift among U.S. congregation leaders over the last decade.”
And yet, Oppenheimer is correct that something is stirring among American Calvinists (those who adhere to a theological system centering on human sinfulness and God’s sovereignty that stems from 16th century reformer John Calvin).
While Calvinist Protestants—including Presbyterians, some Baptists, and the Dutch Reformed—have been a part of the American religious fabric since the beginning, Oppenheimer points to a more vocal and visible strain that has risen to prominence in recent years.
They’ve been called the “young, restless, and reformed” or neo-Calvinists, and they are highly mobilized and increasingly influential.
This brand of Calvinists are a force with which to reckon.
But as with any movement, America’s Calvinist revival is a mixed bag.
None can deny that many have come to faith as a result of these churches and leaders.
The movement is rigorously theological, which is surely one of its greatest contributions.
Just as Quakers teach us much about silence, Mennonites teach us much about peace, and Anglicans teach us much about liturgy, so Calvinists spur us on with their intellectual rigor.
And yet, from where I sit, there are several troubling trends that must be addressed if this faithful faction hopes to move from a niche Christian cadre to a sustainable and more mainstream movement.
end quotes
Which actually sounds a lot like what might have been said about them back in the beginning, which makes for a fascinating story as we can see from this excerpt from “SCOTTISH CALVINISM: A DARK, REPRESSIVE FORCE?” by Donald MacLeod, Principal, Free Church College, Edinburgh, as follows:
INTRODUCTION
‘Scottish Calvinism has been a dark, repressive force.’
The thesis is a common one; almost, indeed, an axiom.
Few seem to realise, however, that the thesis cannot be true without its corollary: the Scots are a
repressed people, lacking the confidence to express themselves and living in fear of their sixteenth-century Super Ego.
The corollary, in turn, immediately faces a paradox.
Scotland has never been frightened to criticise Calvinism.
This is particularly true of our national literature.
John Knox has been the object of relentless opprobrium, the Covenanters have been pilloried as epitomes of bigotry and intolerance, Thomas Boston portrayed as a moron, the Seceders as killjoys and Wee Frees as antinomian Thought Police.
The phenomenon is unparalleled in the literature of any other part of the United Kingdom.
There has been no comparable English assault on Anglicanism.
Nor has there been a similar Irish critique of Catholicism.
Scotland has been unique in the ferocity with which its literature has turned on its religion.
The Kirk’s brood may have been rebellious.
They have certainly not been repressed.
******
The Burns-Scott tradition of anti-Calvinism reasserted itself with all its old virulence in the work of Orcadian poet, Edwin Muir (1887-1959), perhaps because he himself flirted with revivalist religion in his youth and experienced several evangelical ‘conversions’.
Even so, the persistent, almost obsessional bitterness of Muir, who never lived in any community which could be remotely called Calvinist, is hard to understand.
In his Autobiography, there is a revealing insight into the background to his biography of Knox:
‘As I read about him in the British Museum I came to dislike him more and more, and understood why every Scottish writer since the beginning of the eighteenth century had detested him: Hume, Boswell, Burns, Scott, Hogg, Stevenson; everyone except Carlyle, who like Knox, admired power.’
end quotes
Yes, indeed, a fascinating story!
As to the influence of Calvinism in our early American history, it is detailed in an essay entitled “The Calvinist Connection” by Dave Kopel, Liberty magazine, October 2008, pp. 27-31, as follows:
Many modern libertarians assume that religion and liberty are necessarily in opposition.
Many modern people in general assume that religion and revolution are opposed.
At times, of course, they are, but the history of the American Revolution indicates that more care is required in making this kind of judgment.
In the American colonies, the hotbed of revolution was New England, where the people were mainly Congregationalists — descendants of the Calvinist English Puritans.
The Presbyterians, a Calvinist sect which originated in Scotland, were spread all of the colonies, and the network of Presbyterian ministers provided links among them.
The Congregationalist and Presbyterian ministers played an indispensible role in inciting the American Revolution.
end quotes
Here to the north of you, where the history we are taught about early America when young varies from state to state, that above is what I learned as a child.
As to the why of that, the author of the essay provides as follows:
To understand why they were so comfortable with revolution, it helps to look at the origins of Calvinist resistance theory, from its tentative beginnings with Calvin himself, to its full development a few decades later.
Born in 1509, John Calvin was a small child in France when the Reformation began.
By 1541, he had been invited to take permanent refuge in Geneva, which provided a safe haven for the rest of his life.
Geneva was a walled city, and constantly threatened by the Catholic Duke of Savoy and others.
Pacifism was never a realistic option for Calvin, or any of the Swiss Protestants.
Calvin always believed that governments should be chosen by the people.
He described the Hebrews as extremely foolish for jettisoning their free government and replacing it with a hereditary monarchy.
He also came to believe that kings and princes were bound to their people by covenant, such as those that one sees in the Old Testament.
end quotes
So, we can see the political philosophy that underpins our constitutional frame of government based on Republican principles in fact harkens back to John Calvin.
Getting back to the essay:
In Calvin’s view, which was based on Romans 13, the governmental duties of “inferior magistrates” (government officials, such as mayor or governors, in an intermediate level between the king and the people) required them to protect the people against oppression from above.
Calvinism readily adopted the Lutheran theory of resistance by such magistrates.
end quotes
And what a world it would be were it to truly be that way today, where based on Romans 13, the governmental duties of “inferior magistrates,” government officials, such as mayor or governors, required them to protect the people against oppression from above.
In our world of today, at least in this corrupt third-world ****hole of the Soviet Socialist Republic of New York under Democratic Socialist governor Young Andy Cuomo, it is those governmental officials most likely to be the oppressors, which takes us back to Calvin, as follows:
In a commentary on the Book of Daniel, Calvin observed that contemporary monarchs pretend to reign “by the grace of God,” but the pretense was “a mere cheat” so that they could “reign without control.”
He believed that “Earthly princes depose themselves while they rise up against God,” so “it behooves us to spit upon their heads than to obey them.”
end quotes
Boy, would I love to see that dude go head to head and toe to toe with Nancy Pelosi, who incidentally sounded like she was out of her head or delirious and/or delusional on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on 30 May 2019, when she blurted out this inanity, “So let me just say this, immodestly, I probably have a better idea as to what the president has to be held accountable for than anyone,” followed by this gem, to wit: “The only person who knows better than I why this president is not above the law and must be held accountable is the president of the United States, he knows what his violations have been.”
HUH?
John Calvin, dude, here in America today, we are in big trouble and real deep **** because it very much appears that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has gone looney-tunes on us.
Any advice?