May 8
© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons
May 8, 1521
Birth of St. Peter Canisius, the first German Jesuit. Sometimes called the "Second Apostle of Germany" (St. Boniface is the first), he was the first German to enter the Jesuit order and founded numerous Jesuit centers in Germany.
May 8, 1899
Birth of Friedrich August von Hayek in Vienna, Austria. Hayek was a conservative economist educated at the University of Vienna. He later moved to England where he taught at The University of London and the London School of Economics. From 1950-1962 he taught at the University of Chicago. He ended his career at the University of Freiburg. He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974.
May 8, 1909
Death of Friedrich Holstein in Berlin, Germany. Holstein was a member of the Prussian diplomatic service who was stationed in the United States from 1865-1867. After the departure of Otto von Bismark he became the most influential voice on foreign policy during the reign of Wilhelm II. He never held the position of foreign minister, but for a time had the real influence in that area. He thus earned the nickname, "Die graue Eminenz". Holstein had been a friend of Bismarck's since childhood and it was Bismarck who brought him into the Prussian diplomatic service in 1860. After Bismarck's departure Holstein found himself at first more influential that the foreign minister but gradually he became more and more at odds with the impulsive policies of the emperor and finally was dismissed in 1906.
May 8, 1913
Death of Bl. Ulrika Franziska Nisch (1882-1913) Ulrika Franziska Nisch was born in 1882 in the village of Mittelbiberach-Oberndorf in the state of Württemberg, Germany. She was admitted to the Sisters of the Cross order in 1904. She worked in the kitchen of the order. She reported numerous visions of angels and saints. She was beatified in 1987 by Pope John-Paul II.
May 8, 1933
Death of Victor Mordechai Goldschmidt in Mainz, Germany. Goldschmidt was a mineralogist specializing in crystallography. He indexed and cataloged all known crystals and established tables of crystal angles. From the number series in crystal symbols he developed a theory of number and harmony which subsequently was applied in several fields of study.
May 8, 1945
VE Day
May 8, 1949
Work is completed on the new German "Basic Law". That body of law, with amendments, remains the German constitution.
May 8, 1991
Death of Rudolf Serkin in Guilford, VT (born in Eger, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic)). Serkin was a pianist who gave his first performance with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at age 12. After developing a reputation in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1939 and taught and performed successfully as an American. He was one of the founders of the Marlboro Festival in Vermont. His son, Peter, followed him as a concert pianist.
May 8, 1996
The first Goethe Institute in Eastern Germany is opened in Weimar.
May 8, 1997
German President, Roman Herzog, receives the Karlspreiz (Charlemagne prize) in Aachen, Germany for his contributions to a "Citizens Europe".
Roman Herzog wurde am 5. April 1934 geboren. Seine Familie lebte in Landshut in Bayern. Seit dem 2. August 1958 ist er mit Christiane Krauss verheiratet. Er studierte Rechtswissenschaft in München. 1958 wurde er zum Doktor der Rechtswissenschaft. 1964 habilitierte er sich. Er wurde Professor an der Freien Universität Berlin. 1971 wurde er der Rektor der Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften in Speyer. 1987 wurde er der Präsident des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. 1994 wählte die Bundesversammlung ihn zum Nachfolger von Richard von Weizsäcker. Herzog war der siebte Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
May 8, 2008
Former chancellor, Helmut Kohl, marries Maike Richter.