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January
19 in German History
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January 19 - feast day of St. Agricius von Trier (ca. 260 ca.
329)

Tradition relates that Agricius had been the Patriarch of Antioch and
was sent to Trier, Germany by Pope Sylvester at the specific request of
St. Helena (mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great, who ruled from
Trier). He became the Bishop of Trier. Some legends have it that it was
he who brought the relics of the Apostle, Matthias and Christ's robe to
the Trier. (Those relics are still today held in the cathedral in Trier
and in the Church of St. Matthias.) Agricius's recognition as a saint
predates the practice of formal canonization by a pope. His feast day
is January 19. Excavations have demonstrated that it was during the lifetime
of Agricius that the imperial palace was converted to the Cathedral of
Trier. (Materials from the building during the residence of Helena there
and the reign of Constantine may be seen today in the Bishop's Museum
in Trier.)
January 19, 1576
Death of Hans Sachs in Nürnberg, Germany. Sachs was the greatest
of the "Meistersinger". He became the star of Richard Wagner's
opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He wrote over 4,000 songs as
well as plays. Noted among his works are Die Wittembergisch Nachtigall
(in praise of Martin Luther), and Der farent Schüler im Paradeis
(1550).
January 19, 1747

Birth of Johann Elert Bode in Hamburg, Germany. Bode was an astronomer,
the director of the Berlin Observatory. Through his enunciation of observations
made by Daniel Titius, the law of mathematical expression of the relative
mean distances between the relative mean distance from the sun to the
planets became known as Bode's Law.
January 19, 1874

Death of August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben near Höxter,
Germany. Fallersleben was a poet who gained lasting recognition as the
author of the lyrics of Germany's national anthem. Fallersleben wrote "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" in 1841 (music from
a theme by Haydn). The second verse of the original is currently the German
national anthem:
"Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit für das deutsche
Vaterland!
Danach lasst uns alle streben brüderlich mit Herz und
Hand!
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit sind des Glückes Unterpfand.
Blüh im Glanze dieses Glueckes, blühe deutsches Vaterland!"
January 19, 1863
Birth of Werner Sombart in Ermsleben, Germany. Sombart was a professor
of economics at the universities of Breslau and Berlin. His economics
were at various times colored by Marxism, anti-Marxism, and Nazi theories.
January 19, 1915

On the morning of January 19th 1915 two German Zeppelin airships, the L3 and L4 took off from Fuhlsbüttel in Germany. Both airships carried 30 hours of fuel, 8 bombs and 25 incendiary devices. They had been given permission by the Emperor Wilhelm II to attack military and industrial buildings. The Emperor had forbidden an attack on London due to concern for the Royal family to whom he was related.
The air war against Britain starts in WWI as Zeppelin dirigibles start
a bombing campaign against Britain. There will be 18 additional attacks
in 1915.
January 19, 1919
First election of the Weimar Republic. For the first time women have
the vote.
January 19, 1985
Death of Eric Voegelin in Stanford, California (born in Cologne, Germany).
Voegelin was a philosopher of history who sought to establish a comprehensive
philosophy of man, society and history. He was educated at the University
of Vienna and then became a professor there. Fleeing the Nazis he came
to the United States where he taught at Harvard University, Bennington
College, the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University. After
the war he returned to Europe and taught at the University of Munich.
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