July 9
1228: Death of Stephen Langton (b.ca.1155), Archbishop of Canterbury. It was Langton who formulated the original division of the Bible into chapters in the late 1100s.
1530: German reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter: "This is a definite sign that we are God's children, because we are men of peace."
1838: Birth of Philip P. Bliss, American gospel singer and songwriter. His best-remembered hymns include "Wonderful Words of Life," "It Is Well With My Soul," and "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning."
1843: Birth of Ralph E. Hudson, sacred composer and music publisher. His most enduring hymns include "At the Cross" and "Blessed Be the Name."
1896: Birth of William Cameron Townsend, American missionary and linguist. In 1942 he established what has become the largest evangelical missionary agency in the world --Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT).
[Source: William D. Blake. Almanac of the Christian Church, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.]
