February 5

© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons

February 5, ca. 1015.

Death of St. Adelheid von Vilich (ca. 960 – ca. 1015) St. Adelheid was born to a noble family in Vilich near Bonn, Germany. At a young age she entered the conventof St. Ursula in Cologne, Germany. Her family founded a convent at Vilich where she was made the abbess. She instituted the rule of St. Benedict at the convent. She was noted for her piety and miracles were attributed to her. St. Heribert, the archbishop of Cologne, brought her to Cologne and made her the abbess of St. Mary's Convent. She died in Cologne on February 5, ca. 1015. She is entombed in Vilich. Her tomb is a pilgrimage site.

February 5, 1505

Birth of Gilg Tschudi in Glarus, Switzerland. Tschudi was a Swiss historian whose Chronicon Helveticum detailed Swiss history during the period of 1000-1470. For several hundred years his works were accepted as the standard of the history of that period. In the 19th century the more critical analysis of history indicated that his works were often more creative than accurate. Tschudi died on February 28, 1572 in Glarus, Switzerland.

February 5, 1766

Death of Graf Joseph Leopold von Daun in Vienna, Austria. Von Daun was the Austrian commander during the Seven Years' War with Prussia (1756-1763). He undertook extensive reorganization of Austria's military and upgraded its power substantially.

February 5, 1808

Birth of Carl Spitzweg in Munich, Germany. Spitzweg was a painter of the Biedermeier period.

February 5, 1856

Birth of Otto Brahm in Hamburg, Germany. Brahm, a literary critic, cofounded the theater company "Freie Bühne" in Hamburg in 1889 and in 1890 a periodical also called Freie Bühne. The theater company and the periodical were his vehicles to introduce the Naturalist movement into German theater. Freie Bühne changed its name later to Neue Deutsche Rundschau.

February 5, 1919

The world's first airline, die Deutsche Luftreederie, began its service from Berlin to Leipzig.

February 5, 1966

Death of Ludwig Binswanger in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Binswanger was a psychiatrist who brought the principles of existentialist phenomenology into psychotherapy. He based his diagnoses on self-image. Works by Kreuzlingen include Erinnerung an Sigmund Freud (1956) and Grundformen und Erkenntnis menschlichen Daseins (1962).

February 5, 1994

Death of Hermann J. Abs in Bad Soden, Germany. Abs was a banker who played a substantial role in the "Economic Miracle" of the 50's in Germany. He had been with the Deutsche Bank in Berlin. In 1948 he was appointed to the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, distributing money from the Marshall Plan. He was head of the German team which negotiated at the London debt conference in 1951-1953. When the Deutsche Bank was reestablished in Frankfurt in 1957, Abs rejoined it and became the chair of the Aufsichtsrat in 1959.