On this day in 1643, The Westminster Assembly convened for the first time in London in the Henry VII Chapel of Westminster Abbey.  The assembly  was appointed by the Long Parliament and sought to restructure the Church of England.

On this day in 1489, Book of Common Prayer author and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer was born at Aslockton, Nottinghamshire.

On this day in 1978, Cornelius Joshua Wilson, a priest of West Indian descent, was elected Bishop of Costa Rica on the first ballot at a special diocesan convention.

On this day in 1999, twenty-fifth Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold began his official visit to Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church.

On this day in 973, Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg from 923, died. Twenty years later he would become the first person canonized by a pope.

On this day in 1835, Archbishop of Dublin and poet Richard C. Trench was ordained a priest.

On this day in 1535, Sir Thomas More, who had recently resigned as Lord Chancellor of England, was executed for treason. He had sided with the pope against Henry VIII in the matter of the king's divorce. He was sentenced to be hanged, but Henry commuted the sentence to beheading.

On this day in 1824, Bishop William White laid the cornerstone for the original St. Mary's Church in Hamilton Village, Philadelphia - the Episcopal Church at Penn.

On this day in 1220, Thomas Becket's shrine was dedicated in Canterbury and became a popular pilgrim attraction.

On this day in 1984, Bishop Robert C. Rusack of Los Angeles ordained Dr. Duc Xuan Nguyen as the first Vietnamese priest in the Anglican Communion.

On this day in 1829, the Diocese of Kentucky held its the first convention at Christ Church, Lexington.

On this day in 1228, Archbishops of Canterbury Stephen Langton died.

On this day in 1863, Clement C. Moore died. He taught Green and Hebrew Literature at  General Theological Seminary  for 28 years. He also authored "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas...) in 1823.

On this day in 1533, Pope Clement VII excommunicates England's King Henry VIII for remarrying after his divorce.

On this day in 2000, the 73rd General Convention adopted the new name of Episcopal Relief and Development for the former Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief.

On this day in 1819, Charles Kingsley, priest and author, was born in Devonshire, England.  Kingsley's most famous work is "The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby."

On this day in 1857, "The Voice that Breathed O'er Eden" was written by John Keble, English priest and poet and a prominent leader of the Oxford movement.

On this day in 1833, John Keble preached a landmark sermon at St. Mary's in Oxford and the Oxford Movement began in England.

On this day in 1779, Clement C. Moore was born. He taught Green and Hebrew Literature at General Theological Seminary for 28 years. He also authored "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas...) in 1823.

On this day in 1986, Los Angeles Bishop Robert C. Rusack died.

On this day in 1996, David Hogan, a composer whose Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis Mt. St. Alban were commissioned for the consecration of Washington National Cathedral, was killed in the explosion of TWA flight 800 to Paris.

On this day in 1649, Edward Winslow, governor of the Plymouth Colony, helped organize the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England.

On this day in 1997, Frank T. Griswold was elected the 25th presiding bishop by 214 bishops gathered at historic Christ Church in Philadelphia.

On this day in 1725, John Newton was born. Newton converted to Christianity while working on a slave ship and was ordained in 1764. His habit of penning one hymn per week yielded over 250 works including Amazing Grace.

On this day in 1997, the 72nd General Convention approved the new autonomous Anglican Province of Central America, which includes the Dioceses of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama.

On this day in 325, the Council of Nicea adjourned. The council issued the Nicean Creed and helped define Trinitarian thought along with the truth of Christ’s, fully divine and fully human, nature.

On this day in 1991, the House of Deputies of the 70th General Convention elected Pamela Chinnis of Washington, D.C., to be the first woman ever to sit as its president.

On this day in 1603, James VI of Scotland was crowned James I of England.

On this day in 1833, Britain's House of Commons banned slavery.  The House of Commons banned the slave trade in 1807. When William Wilberforce, who had spent most of his life crusading against slavery, heard the news, he said, "Thank God I have lived to witness [this] day." He died three days later.

On this day in 1869, England's Disestablishment Bill was passed, officially dissolving the Church of Ireland. It is from this act that we get the word "antidisestablishmentarianism," which was the organized opposition to the legislation.

On this day in 1901, B.F.  (Brooke Foss) Westcott, English New Testament textual scholar and Bishop of Durham, died.

On this day in 1789, William White became the first Presiding Bishop.

On this day in 1974, two retired and one resigned bishop ordained eleven women deacons to priesthood in Philadelphia's Church of the Advocate.

On this day in 1966, residents of Alabama burned Beatles' records and other products after John Lennon proclaimed the Beatles to be "more popular than Jesus."