1232 - Pope Gregory IX sent the first Inquisition team to Aragon in Spain, after turning its details over to the Dominicans the previous year.
1811 - Birth of William Hunter, American Methodist clergyman. The author of three collections of hymns, published during his lifetime, Hunter is best remembered today for the hymn entitled, "The Great Physician Now is Near."
1858 - In Pittsburgh, the Associate Presbyterian and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian churches merged to form the United Presbyterian Church in North America.
1899 - Future President William McKinley, 56, wrote in his notebook: 'My belief embraces the Divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization.' (McKinley had been "born again," at age 10, during a revival meeting, and later joined a Methodist church.)
1957 - The religious program "The Fourth R" aired for the last time over NBC television. Produced by several different religious organizations, this short-lived series aired on Sunday mornings.
© 1987-2010, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
