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#OTD August 29, 1572: In Lyon, France, following the onset of the St. Bartholomew Day’s Massacre, officials place Protestants under protective custody in the city’s convents and jails. It does not save their lives. Two days later, crowds will break in and massacre the prisoners

#OTD August 29, 70: Romans burn the gates, enter the Temple courtyards of Jerusalem, and destroy the temple by fire. Within three years, Jewish resistance ends in a seige of the Herodian fortress of Massada. Rather than be captured or executed, the zealots committed suicide

#OTD August 30, 1743: Baptism of William Paley, who becomes a famous Christian apologist. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God which made use of the watch and watch-maker analogy.

Titanic Passenger: Rev. John Harper - His last Sermon: John Harper, a Baptist minister, was traveling from London to Chicago with his daughter, Nina Harper, and Miss Jessie Leitch. Rev. Harper was on his way to Chicago to begin a series of revival meetings at Moody Church,

#OTD August 31, 1688: English Puritan writer and preacher John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, dies at age 60. Though one of England's most famous authors even in his own day, he maintained his pastoral duties to his death, which was caused by an illness he caught while

#OTD September 1, 1957: At a massive rally in Times Square, Billy Graham concludes his 16-week evangelistic crusade in New York City, attended by nearly 2 million people.

#OTD September 1, 256: North African bishops vote unanimously that Christians who had lapsed under persecution must be rebaptized upon reentering the church. The vote led to a battle between Cyprian, one of the North African bishops, and Stephen, bishop of Rome, who disagreed

#OTD September 2, 1973: Death of J. R. R. Tolkien, a linguist, novelist, and devout Catholic. His friendship helped lead C. S. Lewis to Christ and was a member of the literary club The Inklings. Among his writings were the fantasy favorites The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of

#OTD September 2, 1192: The Third Crusade, which had the mission of retaking Jerusalem (it had fallen to Muslim general Saladin in 1187), ends with the signing of the Treaty of Jaffa. Though Christians had not won back Jerusalem, Richard I (later king of England) negotiated

#OTD September 3, 1776: Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: “The love I bear Christ is but a faint and feeble spark, but it is an emanation from himself: He kindled it and he keeps it alive; and because it is his work, I trust many waters shall not

#OTD September 4, 1666: The Great Fire of London destroys old St. Paul’s Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the work took more than 200 years. In the 14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world, had one of the tallest

#OTD September 6, 1651: Obadiah Holmes, who had been arrested for preaching Baptist doctrine, is given 30 lashes with a three-corded whip in Boston Commons. During the beating, he was so filled with divine joy that he told the magistrates, “You have struck me with roses.”

#OTD September 7, 1722: Death of Elie Neau, a French Huguenot. Because of persecution, he had fled to the New World. Captured by a French corsair, he had been returned to France where efforts were made to force him to convert to Catholicism. Having refused to give way, he was

#OTD September 8, 1636: Massachusetts Puritans found Harvard College, America's first higher education institution, a mere six years after arriving from England. Two years after its founding, the college was named after John Harvard, a learned English Protestant minister who

#OTD September 9, 1952: The religious program 'This is the Life' premiered on Dumont (later ABC) television. This long-running series was produced under the auspices of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church.

#OTD September 9, 1561: The Colloquy of Poissy convened near Paris. Comprised of both French Catholic prelates and Reformed Protestant theologians led by Theodore Beza, the council led to a 1562 edict offering a greater measure of freedom to French Protestants.

#OTD September 10, 1819: Birth of Canadian hymn-writer Joseph Scriven. The accidental drowning of his bride-to-be the night before their wedding led to a life of depression; yet he also authored the hymn of comfort, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."