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October
31 in German History
--------------------------------- October 31, 994
Death of St. Wolfgang (924 994) St.
Wolfgang was born in Pfullingen, Germany (in the modern state of
Baden-Württemberg) in 924. He was born
to a noble family. He studied at the monastic school of
Reichenau and the cathedral school of Würzburg. In 956 he
became a teacher at the cathedral school of Trier. He entered
the Benedictine order in and was ordained a priest in 968. He
was then sent as an missionary to the Magyars (modern Hungary).
In 972 he was made the Bishop of Regensburg. In his capacity
as Bishop in Regensburg he counseled and taught the man who
would become Emperor Heinrich II (Holy Roman EmpireHeinrich was emperor from
1014 1024). He was very active
in the development and reformation of a number of
monasteries. It is reported that during his lifetime he
worked miracles of healing.
Later in life St. Wolfgang became a hermit
for a period of 7 years on the Lake now called the Lake of
St. Wolfgang (modern
Austria) (Wolfgangsee). He died in 994
at Pupping, Austria He was entombed in Regensburg at the
monastery of St. Emmeram. His tomb was regarded early on as a
holy place and miracles were reported worked there. He was
canonized in 1052 by Pope Leo IX.
In German folklore rain on St. Wolfgang's
day (October 31) is regarded as promising a good year. (An
St. Wolfgang Regen verspricht ein Jahr voll Segen.)
October 31, 1517
Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the
wooden doors of the Hofkirche in Wittenberg. The church still
stands, though the original doors are gone. The doors have
been replaced with bronze doors with the 95 theses embossed
onto them.
October 31, 1815
Birth of Karl Weierstrass in Ostenfelde,
Germany. While working in essential isolation from other
mathematicians, as a high school teacher from 1842-1854,
Weierstrass spend his lonely evenings working on the theory
of mathematical functions. Suddenly in 1854 he was able to
publish an article on Abelian functions which shook the world
of mathematicians noticeably. He was given an honorary
doctorate and an appointment at the Royal Polytechnic in
Berlin. He had essentially worked out the modern theory of
functions. Today he is even called the "father of modern
analysis".
October 31, 1817
Birth of Heinrich Graetz in Xions, Germany.
Graetz wrote the first standard work on the history of the
Jews. Graetz taught at the seminary in Breslau (now in
Poland). The title of his 11 volume history is Geschichte
der Juden von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart.
October 31, 1831
Birth of Carl von Voit in Amberg, Germany.
Voit was a physiologist who made significant contributions to
the understanding of human and animal metabolism. His 11
years of experiments determined the basic structure of
metabolism. He was a professor at the University of Munich.
October 31, 1835
Birth of Adolf von Baeyer in Berlin,
Germany. Baeyer was a chemist who synthesized indigo. He won
a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1905. He succeeded Justus von
Liebig in the chair of chemistry at the University of Munich
in 1875. Among his many discoveries was barbituric acid, the
generative compound of barbiturates. (He is not to be
confused with Friedrich Bayer, the founder of the Bayer
chemical company.)
October 31, 1939
Death of Otto Rank (original name Otto
Rosenfeld) in New York City (born in Vienna, Austria). Rank
was the psychologist who applied psychoanalysis to the
analysis of legend, myth and art. Within this framework he
wrote Der Künstler in 1907. He also wrote Der
Mythus von der Geburt des Helden (1909) and Das
Inzest-Motiv in Dichtung und Sage (1912). In his book Das
Trauma der Geburt und seine Bedeutung für die Psychoanalyse (1924)
he linked the trauma of birth and various later neuroses.
October 31, 1943
Death of Max Reinhardt (originally Max
Goldmann) in New York. He was one of the founders of the
Salzburg Festival. As a theater director Reinhardt was abroad
when the Nazis came to power. He remained away and in 1938
came to the United States.
October 31, 1949
The Federal Republic of Germany becomes a
member of the OEEC.
October 31, 1979
The expanded Lome Agreement is signed
between the European Community (EG, Europäische
Gemeinschaft, now called the Europäische Union) and 58
developing nations.
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