A protestant system of belief derived from John Calvin, which centres on justification by faith alone (rather than good works) and predestination (the notion that God has already decided whether someone will be admitted to heaven).
Calvinism
Fact of the Day
In late antiquity, alongside the Goths, Vandals and Huns, there was a tribe called the Alans.
Quote of the Day
"It's ever been the British way, that we are powerless to expel foreigners, but puissant and bold when it comes to making civil war.
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~ Gildas (6th century)
On This Day
1579 Thomas Gresham, merchant, financier, and founder of the Royal Exchange, died suddenly, apparently of apoplexy. He bequeathed his estate, after the death of his wife, to the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company to set up a college to provide free lectures to the public; Gresham College thus became London's first institution of higher education.
1916 The hospital ship Britannic, sister-ship of Titanic, hit a mine and sank, killing 30.
1918 Ten days after the Armistice, the German navy surrendered to the British in the Firth of Forth.
1920 The assassinations of British intelligence officers ordered by Michael Collins in the Irish War of Independence led to thirty-one dead (from both sides) in what became known as 'Bloody Sunday'.
1974 21 people were killed and 182 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs. The IRA was probably responsible, but the real culprits have never been found. The Birmingham Six, originally convicted of the bombings, were released because of dodgy police practices.
1981 The proceedings of the House of Commons were televised live for the first time.