July 13

© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons

July 13, 1024

Death of St. Heinrich II. St. Heinrich II was born in 972 near Regensburg. He would become the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (often called the German Empire). He was the son of Heinrich, the Duke of Bavaria. After the death of his father, he became the Duke (Herzog) of Bavaria. In 1002 he became the King of Germany. After assisting the church in its struggles for unity in Italy, he was crowned “King of Italy” by Pope Benedict VIII. As was frequently the case, there were problems in Italy again later and the German King again crossed the Alps to restore order. On this occasion he was crowned emperor (February 14, 1014). During the 10 years of his reign as emperor, he worked continuously to consolidate the integrity of the empire and the church. Heinrich was entombed in the cathedral in Bamberg. The grave monument was created by Tilman Riemenschneider. (Heinrich had founded the Bishopric of Bamberg earlier.) Heinrich was canonized in 1146 by Pope Eugenius III. His feast day is July 13. Heinrich's wife, Kunigunde, who was also canonized, lies next to him in the cathedral in Bameberg.

July 13, 1501

The canton of Basel joins the Swiss Confederation.

July 13, 1608

Birth of Ferdinand III in Graz, Austria. He was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire during the 30 Years' War. He agreed to the Peace of Westphalia which ended the war.

July 13, 1773

Birth of Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder in Berlin, Germany. In association with the writer, Ludwig Tieck, Wackenroder introduced the Romantic movement in literature.

July 13, 1816

Birth of Gustav Freytag in Kreuzburg, Germany (now in Poland). A novelist, his most remembered work is Soll und Haben.

July 13, 1841

Birth of Otto Wagner in Graz, Austria. Wagner was an innovator in architecture.

July 13, 1877

Death of Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler in Burghausen, Germany. Ketteler was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1844 and was named Bishop of Mainz in 1850. He was deeply concerned about social issues, especially that of the well being of the working class. He was a member of the Frankfurt Assembly in 1848 and the Reichstag from 1871-72. At the First Vatican Council of 1869-70 he opposed the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope. His views on the working class are expressed in the book Die Arbeiterfrage und das Christenthum (1864).

July 13, 1889

Death of Robert Hamerling in Kirchberg am Walde, Austria. Hamerling was an epic poet. His two most significant epics are Ahasver in Rom (1866) and Der König von Sion (1869).

July 13, 1943

Professor Huber of the University of Munich is executed for involvement in the activities of the student protest group, "The White Rose".

July 13, 1951

Death of Arnold Schönberg in Los Angeles. Schönberg was the composer who developed the 12 tone scale. Alban Berg and Anton Webern are two of his students. In 1933 the rising Nazi powers dismissed him from his position at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin and he fled to the United States where he became a professor at USC and UCLA in California.