430 - Death of Latin Father St. Jerome, ca.75. Converted at 19, Jerome spent the last half of his life rendering the Scriptures into the contemporary ("vulgar") Latin of his day - hence the "Latin Vulgate" - as well as preparing commentaries on nearly every book of the Bible.
1770 - English revivalist George Whitefield, 56, died in Newburyport, Mass., while on his seventh visit to America. Regarded as the most striking orator to come out of 18th century English revivalism, Whitefield's last spoken words were: 'I had rather wear out, than rust out.'
1943 - Pius XII issued the encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu," which encouraged Catholic scholars to devote more attention to biblical exegesis in their teachings and writings. One of the long-term effects of this encyclical was the publication in 1970 of the New American Bible.
1951 - Billy Graham's "Hour of Decision" first aired over ABC television. Broadcast on Sunday nights 10:00-10:30, the program aired through February 1954, before entering syndication.
1952 - The complete Old and New Testament of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible was first published by Thomas Nelson and Sons. (The RSV New Testament had first appeared in 1946.)
© 1987-2009, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
