Possible birthdate of Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch scholar, and editor (authorities place his birth on the 26th, 27th or 28th). He sought to reform the church through scholarship and Christian instruction. Living in Basel, Switzerland (1514-1529) he became the world's first best-selling author following the advent of the movable-type printing press. His Greek New Testament greatly influenced many, including John Colet and William Tyndale in England, Martin Luther in Germany, and Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, but the satirical Praise of Folly was his most popular work in his life time.
Birth of Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, school teacher and poet, many of whose poems have become hymns. After some years of school teaching, she married a Congregational minister in 1845. One of her poems has become the hymn "More Love to Thee," which was written out of a broken heart upon losing a child. The original poem was not finished (the last line was pencilled in) and it was originally printed as a leaflet. William H. Doane composed the music.
Millar Burrows was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Becoming an archaeologist, he taught at several colleges and directed the American School of Oriental Research at Jerusalem. He is remembered for the book What Mean these Stones?
