Events in Religion and Philosophy

in German, Austrian and Swiss History

July

© 2000 by Paul A. Schons

July 1, 1646

Birth of Gottfried Leibniz in Leipzig. Leibniz is the inventor of differential and integral calculus. (Newton also invented calculus independently at about the same time. Leibniz was the first to publish.)

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz wurde am 1. Juli 1646 in Leipzig geboren und starb am 14. November 1716 in Hannover. Leibnitz war Philosoph und Mathematiker. Seine Arbeit als Gelehrter umfasste die Gebiete Physik, Recht, Geschichte, Logik und Politik. Er hielt mehrere diplomatische Posten unter verschiedenen deutschen Fuersten inne. Leibnitz entwickelte die Differential- und Integralrechnung, zur gleichen Zeit, jedoch unabhaengig von Newton. Seine philosophischen Schriften, einschliesslich "Theodicy" und "Monadology", popularisiert durch den Philosophen Christian von Wollf, waren orthodox und optimistisch. Sie behaupteten, dass ein goettlicher Plan fuer die Welt das beste waere. Leibnitz meinte, dass die grundlegenden Bausteine des Universums einfache Substanzen sind, wie z.B. unzaehlige Monaden, immateriell und hierarchisch geordnet. Sein Hauptwerk "New Essays on Human Understanding", eine wissenschaftliche Abhandlung ueber John Locke's Essay ueber menschliches Verstaendnis, schrieb er schon 1704, veroeffentlicht wurde es jedoch wegen Locke's Tod erst 1765. Leibnitz kritisierte Locke's Theorie, dass der Verstand bei der Geburt eine Leere darstellt und uebte somit einen grossen Einfluss auf die deutsche Aufklaerung aus. Moderne Studien konzentrieren sich auf Leibnitz' Beitraege zur Mathematik und Logik. Im 20. Jahrhundert veroeffentlichte Manuskripte zeigen Leibnitz als Gruender der symbolischen Logik. NN

July 1, 1881

Death of Rudolf Lotze in Berlin, Germany. Lotze was a philosopher who developed the philosophy of Theistic Idealism. He studied at the University of Leipzig. He later taught at the Universities of Leipzig, Goettingen and Berlin. His noted books are "Logik" (1843), "Mikrokosmos" (3 vols. 1856-64) and "Metaphysik" (1879).

July 3, 1904

Death of Theodor Herzl in Edlach, Austria (born in Budapest, Austrian Empire (now in Hungary)). Herzl's family moved to Vienna in 1878. He studied at the University of Vienna. He was a journalist for the newspaper, "Neue Freie Presse" in Vienna. In 1891 he was assigned as a correspondent in Paris for his paper. The fact that he encountered the same anti-Semitism in France that he had in Austria brought him to the realization that this was a very wide-spread syndrome and began to influence his thinking. He came to conclude that the only relief from discrimination for Jews would be the founding of a Jewish state. This led to his publication of "Judenstaat " in Vienna in 1896. He organized the international Zionist congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. He undertook extensive efforts to create a Jewish state in Palestine. The British government offered to cooperate if the location were Uganda, Africa. Upon his death in 1904 he was buried in Vienna, but when Israel was established, his remains were moved to Jerusalem in 1949 and reentombed on a hill named Mt. Herzl.

July 4, 973 Death of St. Ulrich von Augsburg (890-973)

St. Ulrich was born in 890 in Augsburg, Germany. He studied at the monastery in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 923 he became the bishop of Augsburg. He was a leader in the German church. It was he who in 926 managed the building of a stone wall fortifying Augsburg. He served as a general in defending Augusburg against attacks from Hungary. He later rebuilt many churches and monasteries destroyed during the attacks by the Magyars (modern Hungarians). He led his personal life in simplicity and poverty. It is told that at the end of his life, when he was to weak to say the mass, angles came to assist him. Ulrich died on July 4, 973. A spring named for him in Augsburg is said to have produced water which cured aliments of the eyes. Earth from his grave was said to be effective in driving away mice and rats. In the 11^th century the church of St. Ulrich was built above his grave. In the 15^th century the church was replaced with the church of St. Ulrich and Afra which still stands. St. Ulrich's marble sarcophagus is in that church. Ulrich was canonized by Pope John XV in 993. He was one of the first to be officially canonized by the Pope rather than gaining sainthood through local tradition.

July 4, 1842

Birth of the philosopher, Hermann Cohen, in Coswig, Germany. He founded the "Marburg School" of neo-Kantian philosophy.

Der Geburtstag Hermann Cohen's ist der 4. Juli 1842. Der deutsch-juedische Philosoph starb im Alter von 75 Jahren am 4. April 1918 in Berlin. Cohen war Gruender der Marburger Schule fuer neuzeitliche Philosophie gemaess Kant. Diese bevorzugte den reinen Gedanken und Ethik gegenueber der Metaphysik. Seine Sichtweise entwickelte Cohen waehrend seiner Zeit als Privatdozent an der Marburger Universitaet. Das Marburger philosophische System ist in “Logik der reinen Erkenntnis”, “Die Ethik des reinen Willens” und “Aesthetik des reinen Gefuehls” veroeffentlicht.

July 4, 1933

Heinrich Brüning agrees under pressure to dissolve the Center Party. (The Center Party has been a hindrance to the signing of the concordat between the National Socialist government and the Vatican.)

July 6, 649 Death of St. Goar.

St. Goar was born in Aquitaine (modern France) in about 585. He became a priest. He determined to live his life in isolated prayer. In about 618 he found a location at Oberwesel near Trier (modern Germany). Word of his holiness soon spread, however, and his isolation was interrupted by numbers of pilgrims to whom he gave pious advice, thus further developing his reputation and the numbers of pilgrims. At one point the Bishop of Metz is said to have offered him the position of Bishop of Trier. He declined in favor of returning to his life of isolation and prayer. He died in 649. The city on the Rhine, St. Goar, is named for him. His designation as a saint predates the formal practice of canonization by a pope. His feast day is July 6.

July 6, 1415

Jan Hus is burned for heresy in Constance, Germany.

Jan Hus wurde vor 1372/73 in Husinec, Boehmen, geboren. Um 1390 studierte er an der Universitaet Prag, wo er 1401 Leiter der philosophischen Fakultaet wurde. Beeinflusst von den Ideen von John Wycliff, einem Kritiker der katholischen Kirche, wurde Hus Fuehrer der tschechischen Reformbewegung. Von 1402 predigte er in der Bethlehem Kapelle in Prag. Seine Messen wurden alle in tschechisch gehalten und nicht in Latein, wie es zu dieser Zeit ueblich war. 1403 wurden die Schreiben Wycliffs als Haeresie verurteilt. Die katholische Kirche war zur dieser Zeit durch das grosse Schisma (1378-1417), es gab zwei Paepste in dieser Zeit, geschwaecht. Auf dem Konzil von Pisa wurden beide Paepste ihrer Aemter enthoben und ein neuer Papst Alexander V. gewaehlt. Der Bischof von Prag veranlasste, dass Alexander das Predigen in privaten Kapellen untersagte, u.a. war davon auch Hus Kapelle betroffen. Doch Hus predigte weiter, wofuer er dann exkommuniziert wurde. Trotz seiner Exkommunizierung predigte und lehrte er weiter. 1412 wurde Hus dann der Haeresie angeklagt. Zwei Jahre spaeter wurde das Konzil von Konstanz einberufen, um das Schisma und die damit entstandenen Probleme endgueltig zu loesen. Der deutsche Koenig Sigismund lud dazu Hus ein, der dort seine Ansichten erlaeutern sollte und garantiete ihm freies Geleit. In Konstanz angekommen, wurde Hus gefangengenommen und vom Konzil wegen Haeresie angeklagt. Hus weigerte sich, seine Thesen zu wiederrufen und wurde deshalb am 6. Juli 1415 zum Tode durch Verbrennen verurteilt.

July 8

Feast day of St. Kilian (ca.640 – ca. 689) St. Kilian was born in about 640, possibly in Ireland. He undertook missionary work to Germany. He began his work near Würzburg. He was killed by the pagans in the area in about 689. He is entombed in Würzburg.

July 8, 1881

Publication of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Morgenroethe".

July 8, 1885

The Marxist philosopher, Ernst Bloch is born in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Bloch was at the University of Leipzig when Hitler came to power. He fled to Switzerland in 1933 and then to the United States. In America he wrote the first two books of his three volume, "Das Prinzip Hoffnung". He returned to Leipzig in 1948. He proved to be too critical for the East German authorities, however, fell into disfavor, was prohibited from publication and finally defected to the West in 1961. In West Germany he became a professor at the University of Tuebingen.

Ernst Bloch, der von 1885 bis 1977 lebte, war ein deutscher Philosoph. Er war dem Marxismus zugewandt. Seine Hauptwerke waren die 3 Baende "Das Prinzip der Hoffnung "(1954-59). Nach seinem Exil in den USA waehrend des 2. Weltkriegs lehrte er seit 1948 an der Universitaet Leipzig. Er wurde allerdings zum Kritiker der Entwicklung des Marxismuses in der DDR. 1957 wurden seine Werke verboten. Daraufhin kam er 1961 in die Bundesrepublik, wo er an der Universitaet Tuebingen weiterlehrte.

July 9, ca. 751

July 9 is St. Agilof's day. St. Agilof was a bishop in Cologne, Germany. Although the circumstances of his death are not clearly documented, he is believed to be a martyr. He is entombed in the Cathedral of Cologne. Agilof was largely ignored for many years, but recently has been venerated once again. Agilof's feast day is July 9. His designation as a saint precedes the practice of canonization by the Pope.

July 9, 1553

Death of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, in Sievershausen, Germany. Maurice was a Protestant who was allied with the Roman Catholic Emperor, Karl V. He aided Karl in his battles against the Turks and the French. Later, however, he formed pacts with the German Protestant princes and with France against the Habsburg, Karl. Finally after 1552 he aligned himself with Karl once again to fight against the Turks.

July 9, 1587

Birth of the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, in Graz, Austria. Ferdinand was the leading proponent of the Catholic Counterreformation and defender of absolutist rule in the 30 Years' War.

July 9, 1788

In Prussia the Edict Concerning Religion was issued. The origin of the edict lay with the Rosicrucians and most specifically Johann Christoph Wöllner who had wide ranging influence with the King of Prussia. The edict demanded strict orthodoxy of all preachers in Prussia. It was followed by the Edict of Censorship in December, 1788. At one point, the philosopher Immanuel Kant was forbidden to publish or speak out on religious matters based on the edicts.

July 9, 1942

The family of Anne Frank goes into hiding in Amsterdam. Anne Frank became world famous for her diary which she kept while hiding from the Gestapo in Amsterdam. She had been born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929 to a Jewish family. When Hitler came to power the family moved to Amsterdam. After the German conquest of Holland, faced with deportation, the family went into hiding in a hidden back room. There the family lived for two years. Food and basic necessities were secretly brought to them by Gentile friends. In 1944 they were discovered by the Gestapo and transported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Anne was later transferred to the camp at Bergen-Belsen where she died of typhus in 1945.

Anne Frank, eigentlich Annelies Marie Frank, wurde am 12. Juni 1929 in Frankfurt am Main geboren und starb im Maerz 1945 im Konzentrationslager Bergen-Belsen an Typhus. Nach der Besetzung der Niederlande von Nazideutschland in 1941 Anne Frank war gezwungen , sich zusammen mit ihrer juedischen Familie vor den Nazis zu verstecken. In 1944 wurde die Familie entdeckt und nach Auschwitz deportiert. Sie hinterliess ein Tagebuch, in dem sie ihre gesammelten Eindruecke schildert. Es wurde in 50 verschiedene Sprachen uebersetzt.

July 10,

1846 Birth of Elisabeth Foerster-Nietzsche in Roecken, Germany. She was the sister of the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. She rewrote and distorted much of his philosophy after his death.

Elisabeth Foerster-Nietzsche war die Schwester des deutschen Philosophen Friedrich Nietzsche. Sie wurde 1846 in Luetzen, Preussen, geboren. In den 80iger Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts versuchte sie und ihr Mann Bernhard Foerster, eine rein arische Kolonie auf Paraguay zu gruenden, aber dieses Unternehmen scheiterte und Foerster nahm sich das Leben. Zurueck in Deutschland wurde sie zum Pfleger ihres Bruders nach dessen Nervenzusammenbruch 1889. Sie sicherte sich die Rechte an seinen Werken nach seinem Tod (1900). Ihr Ruhm begruendete sich auf ihren Misinterpretationen. Da sie die Oeffentlichkeit nicht an Nietzsches Werke heranliess, wurde erst nach ihrem Tod 1935 herausgefunden, dass sie Sachen zurueckgehalten oder ganze Passagen umgeschrieben hatte. Die Entdeckungen ihrer Faelschungen und des Orginaltextes hatten einen wichtigen Einfluss auf die folgende Interpretation von Nietzsches Philosophie.

July 10, 1874

University of Basel considers admission of women to doctoral programs. The proposal was rejected, but one of the professors, Friedrich Nietzsche voted in favor and requested that his vote be noted in the official record of the meeting.

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, 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.

Kaiser Ferdinand III. wurde am 13. Juli 1608 in Graz, Oesterreich, geboren. Er war Erzherzog von Oesterreich seit 1621, Koenig von Ungarn seit 1625 und von Boehmen seit 1627. Nach dem Tod seines Vaters Kaisers Ferdinand II. 1637 wurde er Kaiser des Heiligen Roemischen Reiches. Obwohl er in seinem Reich den Protestantismus nicht zuliess, einigte er sich mit den europaeischen Maechten, die sich dem Protestantismus zugewandt hatten, im Westfalischen Frieden von 1648, der den 30-jaehrigen Krieg beendete. Er starb 1657 und sein zweiter Sohn Leopold I. wurde neuer roemischer Kaiser.

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 14, 1093 Death of St. Ulrich von Zell (1029 – 1083)

St. Ulrich was born in Regensburg, Germany in 1029. He was educated in St. Emmeran. In entered the Abbey of Cluny (France) in 1061 and was ordained a priest. He then went out on a mission to spread the Cluny reforms. He founded the first Cluny priory in Bern, Switzerland. He then became the Prior of the Cluny Priory in Freiburg, Germany. Later he moved his operations to Zell in the Black Forest (southwestern Germany). Miracles were attributed to him during his lifetime in Freiburg and Zell. He died in the Black Forest on July 14, 1093. His designation as a saint predates the practice of canonization by a Pope. His feast day is July 14.

July 15, 1291

Death of Rudolf I in Limburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Rudolf was the first King of the Germans from the Habsburg dynasty. He was elected German king in Frankfurt am Main and crowned at Aachen on October 24, 1273. Pope Gregory X recognized the position only on the conditions that he would renounce any rights in Italy and lead a crusade.

July 15, 1410

Poland and Lithuania defeat the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Tannenberg. The Teutonic Knights was an order of Christian knights founded to spread and/or protect Christianity through military means. The full name of the order was, Haus der Ritter des Hospitals sankt Marien der Deutschen zu Jerusalem. They wore a white uniform with a black cross. In a very limited form the order still exists in Vienna, although the military aspect of the order has been gone for centuries.

July 15, 1458

Death of Bl. Bernhard von Baden (1428-1458). Bernhard von Baden was born near Baden-Baden, Germany in 1428. He was the margrave (Markgraf) of Baden but gave up his rights to lead a life dedicated to the church. He gave of his energy to initiate a crusade. A number of miracles were reported worked at his grave after his death. He was beatified in 1769 and the process of canonization was initiated in 1958.

July 15, 1704

Birth of August Gottlieb Spangenberg in Klettenberg-Hohenstein, Germany. A Pietist theologian. Rejected in Germany, he went to the United States and founded the North American branch of the religious movement, Unitas Fratrum.

July 17, 1048

The third German pope, Damasus II is installed pope. Originally named Poppo, he was born in Bavaria. He was the Bishop of Brixen in Tyrol when Heinrich III nominated him as pope. He was enthroned as pope on July 17, 1048 but soon after arival in Rome contracted malaria and died after 23 days in office on August 9, 1048.

July 17, 1505

Martin Luther, at age 21, enters the Augistinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany.

July 17, 1714

Birth of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in Berlin, Germany. Baumgarten was the philosopher who coined the term "aesthetics" and established it as a distinct field of philosophy.

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, der im Juli 1714 in Berlin geboren wurde, war der Begruender der stetik als Fachrichtung der Philosophie. In seinem Hauptwerk Aesthetica, das er in Latein verfasst hat, definierte er den Begriff der stetik. Immanuel Kant benutzte Baumgartens Theorien und behielt seine Definition fuer das ganze Feld der aeusseren Wahrnehmung bei. Baumgarten starb 1762 in Frankfurt an der Oder.

July 18, 1066

Death of St. Answer. St. Answer (ca. 1035 – 1066) was born in the far north of Germany in the area which is now the state of Schleswig-Holstein. He was a Benedictine monk who undertook missionary work among the pagans to the East of his homeland. He was martyred by stoning in 1066 along with 28 of his fellow missionaries. He was canonized in 1147 by Pope Eugene III. His feast day is July 18.

July 18, 1504

Birth of Heinrich Bullinger in Bremgarten, Switzerland. Bullinger worked with Zwingli and contributed to moving Switzerland to Protestantism.

July 18, 1870

The doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope is defined as dogma by the Roman Catholic Church. The final vote at the first Vatican Council was 533 to 2. The German, French and U. S. bishops were strongly opposed to the dogma and a large number of the representatives from those delegations had left the council before the final vote was taken.

July 19, 1876

Birth of Ignaz Seipel, a Roman Catholic priest, in Vienna, Austria. Seipel was twice the chancellor of Austria. He worked politically with the Fascist party in his struggle against the Social Democrats with the final effect of strengthening the Austrian Fascist movement.

Der roemisch-katholische Priester Ignaz Seipel wurde am 19. Juli 1876 in Wien zur Welt gebracht. Er starb am 2. August 1932 im Alter von 56 Jahren in Pernitz. Nach dem Zusammenbruch des Oesterreich-Ungarischen Kaiserreiches war Seipel einer der Fuehrer der Christlich Sozialen Partei. Von 1922-24 und von 1926-1929 war er Kanzler in Oesterreich. Er befuerwortete den Einsatz der faschistisch-paramilitaerischen Heimwehr im Kampf gegen die Sozialdemokraten und unterstuetzte somit ein Erstarken des Faschismus in Oesterreich.

July 19, 1898

Birth of the political philosopher, Herbert Marcuse, in Berlin, Germany. Marcuse is noted for his Marxist philosophy and Freudian analyses of 20th century Western society.

Der in Deutschland geborene amerikanische politische Philosoph Herbert Marcuse wurde am 19. Juli 1898 in Berlin geboren und starb am 29. Juli 1979 in Starnberg. Seine Philosophie, die den Marxismus kritisierte und sich eng an Freud anlehnte, war unter linksradikalen Studenten, insbesondere nach den Studentenrevolten 1968 in West-Berlin, Columbia Universitaet in New York und an der Sorbonne in Paris, beliebt. Marcuse war Mitbegruender des Frankfurter Instituts fuer Sozialforschung. Nach Hitlers Machtuebernahme ging er in die USA und nahm spaeter die amerikanische Staatsbuergerschaft an. Seine Hauptwerke sind “Eros and Civilization”, “One Dimensional Man” und “Counterrevolution and Revolt”.

July 19, 1950

The Organization, Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland (Central Council of Jews in Germany), is founded in Frankfurt am Main.

July 20, 1933

Concordat between Germany and the Vatican

July 22, 1822

Birth of the Augustinian monk, Gregor (Johann) Mendel, in Heinzendorf, Austria. Mendel set the scientific framework for the science of genetics.

Johann Mendel (Klostername: Gregor), der Moench in einem Augustinerkloster in Oesterreich entdeckte die grundlegenden Gesetze der Vererbung. Die revolutionaere Genenforschung, die wir heute erleben, begann im Klostergarten mit diesem Mann. Er durchfuehrte seine Experimente mit Erbsen und Bohnen. Er ist am 22. Juli 1822 geboren und starb 1884. Heute tragen die mendelschen Gesetze noch seinen Namen.

July 23, 2000 Death of Archbishop Johannes Dyba in Fulda

Archbishop Johannes Dyba was born in Berlin in 1929. He studied law and philosophy in Bamburg, at Duke University in the U.S.A., and at the University of Heidelberg. He completed his doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. He then began his studies for the priesthood at the University of Bonn. He was ordained a priest in 1959. He was then sent to study canon law at the Lateran University and the Papal Diplomatic Academy in Rome. He completed his doctorate in canon law in 1962. After 1967 he worked in the papal nuncios offices in Buenos Aires, Den Haag, Kinshasa and Cairo. In 1979 he was named an archbishop. He then became the apostolic pronuncio in Liberia, Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. In 1983 he was named bishop of Fulda. He was the military bishop of the German army.

Erzbischof Johannes Dyba wurde 1929 in Berlin geboren. Er studierte Philosophie und Rechtswissenschaft in Bamberg, an der Duke-Universität in den USA und in Heidelberg. Er promovierte in Heidelberg 1954. 1953 begann er seine theologischen Studien an der Universität Bonn. Er wurde 1959 zum Priester geweiht. Er wurde zum Studium des Kirchenrechts an der Lateran-Universität und zum Besuch der Puapstlichen Diplomatenakademie nach Rom entsandt. Er promovierte zum Doktor des kanonischen Rechts 1962. Nach 1967 war er in den Apolstolischen Nuntiaturen in Buenos Aires, Den Haag, Kinshasa und Kairo tätig. 1979 wurde er zum Erzbiscof ernannt. Danach war er apostolischer Pronuntius in Liberia, Gambia, Guinea und Lierra Leone. 1983 wurde er zum Bischof von Fulda ernannt. Er war zugleich katholischer Militärbischof für die deutsche Bundeswehr.

July 25, 1564

Death of Ferdinand I in Vienna, Austria. The Spanish born Habsburg, Ferdinand, would become the Holy Roman Emperor, and the king of Bohemia and Hungary. In the "Peace of Augsburg" of 1555 he agreed to the right of regional princes to determine the religion of their own territories.

July 25, 2002 Death of Johann Joachim Degenhardt in Paderborn.

Archbishop Johannes Joachim Degenhardt was born in Schwelm, Germany in 1926. He studied Philosophy and Theology at the Universities of Paderborn and Munich. He was ordained a priest in 1952. He completed his doctorate at the University of Würzburg. He was ordained a bishop in 1968. In 1974 he was made archbishop of Paderborn. On February 21, 2001 he was raised to the rank of cardinal.

July 28, 1057

Death of Pope Victor II (Gebhard von Dollnstein-Hirschberg). He was born in about 1018 in Swabia. He became the bishop of Eichstätt in 142. In 1054 the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Heinrich III nominated him as Pope to succeed Leo IX. He was consecrated in 1055. He continued Leo’s reforms seeking to outlaw simony (the buying and selling of church offices) and working to enforce priestly celibacy.

July 28, 1804

Birth of Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach in Landshut, Germany. Feuerbach was a philosopher who had far reaching influence on the thought of the 19th and 20th centuries. He developed a view of the essence or religion as anthropological.

Ludwig Feuerbach wurde am 28. Juli 1804 geboren. Feuerbach ist einer der sehr einflussreichen atheistischen Philosophen der Neuzeit.

Feuerbach kaempfte aktiv das Christentum und ueberhaupt jede Religion. Ihm war wichtig nur das sinnlich Wahrnehmbaren und materielle Dinge. Wie viele grosse Atheisten studierte Feuerbach Theologie, erst an der Universitaet Heidelberg und spaeter Berlin und Erlangen. Der Philosoph Friedrich Hegel beeinflusste Feuerbach. Auf seiner Seite beeinflusste Feuerbach die Denkweise von Marx und Engels. Feuerbach starb 1872.

July 28, 1808

Birth of Solomon Formstecher in Offenbach, Germany. Formstecher was a philosopher and rabbi in Offenbach. His most noted book is "Die Religion des Geistes " published in 1841.

Der juedische Philosph Solomon Formstecher wurde 1808 in Offenbach geboren und starb 1889 in der selben Stadt. Er war Rabbi in Offenbach seit 1842. Sein Hauptwerk ist Die Religion des Geistes (1841), in dem er seine Theorie von nur zwei Grundreligion darlegte: die Religion der Natur (Paganismus) und die Religion des Geistes (Judaismus).

July 28, 1882

First performance of Richard Wagner's opera, "Parsifal" in Bayreuth.

July 28, 1902

Karl Raimund Popper was born on July 28, 1902 in Vienna, Austria. He completed his doctorate at the University of Vienna. Although his first book Logik der Forschung (1934) was published by the Vienna Circle (logical positivism) he did not remain with the limitations of the views of the Vienna Circle. He taught at Canterbury University College in New Zealand from 1937-1945. In 1945 he accepted a position at the London School of Economics as a professor logic and scientific method. He proposed the "falsifiability criterion" to replace the traditional idea of verification through replicability. Popper's books include The Open Society and its Enemies (1945), and Postscript to the Logic of Scientific Discovery. (1981-82). Sir Karl Popper was knighted in 1965. He died on September 17, 1994 in London.

Karl Raimund Popper wurde am 28. Juli 1902 in Wien geboren. Er promovierte in Wien. Sein erstes Buch Logik der Forschung (1934) erschien in Wien, aber er distanzierte sich bald von den logischen Positivisten. Vor den Nationalsozialisten floh er 1937 nach Neuseeland. 1945 zog er nach Großbritannien, wo er Professor an der London Schoool of Economics wurde. Er schlug das "Falsifikationskriterium" vor, die empirisch-wissenschaftliche Theorien zu ersetzen. Unter seine Bücher sind The Open Society and its Enemies (1945), und Postscript to the Logic of Scientific Discovery. (1981-82). Popper starb am 17. September 1994 in London.

July 29, 1979

Death of the political philosopher, Herbert Marcuse, in Starnberg, Germany. Marcuse is noted for his Marxist philosophy and Freudian analyses of 20th century Western society. Marcuse was particularly influential among the protesters of the 60's and 70's. Marcuse worked in the Frankfurt "Institut fuer Sozialforschung" until the Nazis came to power in 1933. He then fled to the United States. During the war he was an intelligence analyst for the U. S. Army. Beginning in 1951 he taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, Brandeis University and the University of California at San Diego.

Der in Deutschland geborene amerikanische politische Philosoph Herbert Marcuse wurde am 19. Juli 1898 in Berlin geboren und starb am 29. Juli 1979 in Starnberg. Seine Philosophie, die den Marxismus kritisierte und sich eng an Freud anlehnte, war unter linksradikalen Studenten, insbesondere nach den Studentenrevolten 1968 in West-Berlin, Columbia Universitaet in New York und an der Sorbonne in Paris, beliebt. Marcuse war Mitbegruender des Frankfurter Instituts fuer Sozialforschung. Nach Hitlers Machtuebernahme ging er in die USA und nahm spaeter die amerikanische Staatsbuergerschaft an. Seine Hauptwerke sind “Eros and Civilization”, “One Dimensional Man” und “Counterrevolution and Revolt”.

July 30, 1976

Death of the theologian, Rudolf Bultmann in Marburg, Germany. Bultmann was a New Testament scholar who sought to demythologize the New Testament. He was a professor at the University of Marburg. From 1922-1928 the philosopher, Martin Heidegger, was also at Marburg and had considerable influence on Bultmann's thought.

Rudolf Bultmann wurde am 20. August 1884 in Wiefelstede geboren und starb am 30. Juli 1976 in Marburg. Er war ein fuehrender Gelehrter des Neuen Testaments, bekannt fuer sein Programm, das Neue Testament von Mythologie zu befreien, d.h. mythologische Begriffe zu interpretieren. Bultmann studierte Theologie in Tuebingen und hielt Vortraege an der Universitaet Marburg, Breslau und Giessen. 1921 veroeffentlichte er “Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition”, eine Analyse traditionell genutzten Materials. Er entwickelte seinen eigenen theologischen Standpunkt, naemlich dass christlicher Glaube nicht am historischen Jesu orientiert sein sollte, sondern am ueberweltlichen Christen.

July 31, 1527

Birth of Maximilian II. in Vienna, Austria. Maximilian became Holy Roman Emperor in 1546. He tried to instill tolerance between Catholics and the new Protestants.

Maximilian II, Heiliger Roemischer Kaiser, wurde am 31. Juli 1527 in Wien geboren und starb am 12. Oktober 1576 in Regensburg. Seine liberale Politik brachte einen Moment des Friedens zwischen Katholiken und Protestanten in Deutschland nach den ersten Kaempfen der Reformation. Maximilian unterdrueckte seine Sympathien fuer Luther, blieb jedoch ein humanistischer Christ, der einen Kompromis zwischen den rivalisierenden Glaubensrichtungen anstrebte. Er war Kunstliebhaber und verfehlte seine politischen Ziele, im In- und Ausland, weitgehend.

July 31, 1932

The new elections in Weimar Germany yield 37.4 percent of the vote for the National Socialist (Nazi) party. The Conference of Catholic Bishops' conference in Fulda would repeat the ban of the German church on membership in the Nazi party. (The party has, by this time, a private army of 400,000.)