It was on this date, August 26, 1740, that French paper-maker and chemist Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, was born, one of 16 children of a prosperous paper manufacturer. With his younger brother Jacques-Étienne, the Montgolfier brothers conducted experiments with paper and fabric…
Monthly Archives: August 2014
August 22: Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy (1862) It was on this date, August 22, 1862, that French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy was born Achille-Claude Debussy, the eldest of five children, in St. Germain-en-Laye. A prodigy, he entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of…
August 16: James Cameron (1954)
It was on this date, August 16, 1954, that Canadian film director James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario. Director of The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), and…
Posted in Entertainer, Film
August 12: George Soros (1930)
It was on this date, August 12, 1930, that Hungarian-born American multi-billionaire, business magnate, investor and philanthropist George Soros was born Schwartz György in Budapest. His family name was changed in 1936 from Schwartz to Soros because of systemic anti-Semitism.…
August 8: Eating God
Quam singulari (1910): Christian Communion It was on this date, August 8, 1910, that “Quam singulari,” a decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, specified the age at which children are to be admitted to first Communion in the…
Tagged with: age of discretion, Aztec, Catholic Encyclopedia, Dionysos, eating God, Eucharist, first communion, Golden Bough, Huitzlipochtli, Isis, James George Fraser, living Body and Blood of Christ, Mexico, Mithra, Osiris, Paul von Hoensbroech, Quam singulari, reasoning powers, Roman Catholic Church, Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments
Posted in History, Religion, Theology
Posted in History, Religion, Theology
August 3: Étienne Dolet
Étienne Dolet (1509) It was on this date, August 3, 1546, that the French scholar and printer of books critical of religion, Étienne Dolet, was burned alive for his opinions. Dolet was born in Orléans in 1509, possibly also on…
Tagged with: bishop of Tulle, Francis I, martyr, Place Maubert, queen of Navarre, Religion of Etienne Dolet
Posted in Famous Freethinkers, Religion, Social Reformer, Writer
Posted in Famous Freethinkers, Religion, Social Reformer, Writer
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