Religion
Birth of Horatio Alger
Horatio Alger, Jr. was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on January 13, 1832.
Founding of Columbia University
On January 4, 1754, King’s College (later Columbia University) was founded in New York.
Happy Birthday “Hammerin’ Hank”
On January 1, 1911, Henry Benjamin Greenberg was born in New York City, New York.
First Performance of “Silent Night”
“Silent Night” was first performed on Christmas Eve in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, in 1818.
Birth of John Greenleaf Whittier
Author and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier was born on December 17, 1807, at his family’s rural homestead in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Death of Herman Melville
On September 28, 1891, author Herman Melville died in his New York City home.
Birth of Bernard Revel
Rabbi and scholar Bernard Revel was born on September 17, 1885, in Prienai, Russia (present-day Lithuania).
Death of Dante Alighieri
The “Supreme Poet” Dante Alighieri is believed to have died on September 14, 1321.
Happy Birthday, Mary McLeod Bethune
Educator and activist Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina. She founded a private school for African Americans and was a member of several African American women’s organizations, sometimes called the “Female Booker T. Washington.”