Month: June 2023

Martin Luther Marries a Catholic Nun (1525)

Eight years after he issued his 95 Theses and sparked the Protestant Reformation, Luther married former Catholic nun Katherina von Bora, with whom he raised six children. Though little is known about her, she is considered an important figure of the Reformation due to her role in helping to define Protestant family life and setting the precedent for clergy marriages. Von Bora was one of 12 nuns Luther helped escape from a convent in 1523. How was he said to have smuggled them out? Discuss

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893)

Sayers, an English writer, is considered one of the masters of the detective story. In 1915, she became one of the first women to graduate from Oxford University. In her first major work, Whose Body?, she created the witty and dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey, who would be featured in several later novels and short story collections. She later concentrated on theological works and scholarly translations. Which of Sayers’s previous jobs provided a setting for one of her novels? Discuss

Thermopylae

Thermopylae is a narrow coastal passage between Locris and Thessaly in Greece that has been the site of several battles. There in 480 BCE, Leonidas with his Spartans and their allies lost a heroic battle to the Persians under Xerxes. At the pass in 279 BCE, the Greeks held back the Gauls under Brennus, who ultimately broke through, and, in 191 BCE, Antiochus III of Syria was defeated there by the Romans. What does “Thermopylae” mean in Greek? Discuss

Philippine Declaration of Independence (1898)

After Spain’s defeat at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands. However, neither the US nor Spain recognized Philippine independence. Instead, the Spanish government ceded the islands to the US in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, sparking a period of hostilities between US and Filipino forces. When did the US finally recognize the islands’ independence? Discuss

John Augustus Roebling (1806)

Roebling was a German-American civil engineer and pioneer in suspension bridge design. After demonstrating the practicability of steel cable and establishing a plant for manufacturing it, he built the Allegheny Suspension Bridge, the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, and a number of other spans. His most ambitious project was the Brooklyn Bridge, but it also led to his death. Early in the construction process, he suffered a foot injury, developed tetanus, and died. Who took over in his place? Discuss

Robben Island

Robben Island is a mile-wide island off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Stone-age people lived there thousands of years ago when sea levels were lower and the area was easily accessible. Starting in the late 17th century, the island was used to isolate lepers and, later, political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela, who was held there from 1964 to 1982. In the 1600s, a ship laden with millions of dollars worth of gold sank off the island’s coast. Why has no one recovered the treasure? Discuss