Today's American Minute

Thomas Cranmer (July 2, 1489-March 21, 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church, from which the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican statement of faith were derived. Thomas Cranmer was tried for treason and heresy under Mary I, imprisoned for over two years, then executed. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of...

Hernando Cortez (1485-December 2, 1547) was the Spanish explorer who conquered Mexico. In 1504, at the age of nineteen, Cortez came to the island of Hispaniola and was given a land grant by Governor Diego Columbus, Christopher Columbus' son. After establishing himself as a wealthy hidalgo, Cortez joined Diego Velasquez in the conquest of Cuba in 1511. There he became a gentleman farmer and alcalde (town mayor). In 1518, Governor Velasquez commissioned Cortez to lead an expedition to the Yucatan in Mexico, along with Captain Pedro de Alvarado. On February 10, 1519, before embarking for Mexico, Cortez addressed his force...

Hugh Latimer (c.1485-October 16, 1555) was bishop of Worcester, England, during the reign of King Henry VIII. He refused to condemn Martin Luther's writings and strongly supported the Protestant Reformation. He was imprisoned for a total of seven years, after which Queen Mary I condemned him to be burned at the stake. On October 16, 1555, while Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were being brought to their place of execution at Oxford, Latimer exhorted his companion: <Play the man, Master Ridley. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be...

Michelangelo (March 6, 1475-February 18, 1564) was one of the greatest artists in history. The son of Lodovico de Leonardo de Buonarroti Simoni, he lived during the Italian Renaissance and was known for his portrayal of living strength and energy in his paintings, sculptures and architectural designs. In 1508, he began painting the Sistine Chapel and finished with the completion of the Last Judgment, October 31, 1541. His sculptures include: David (1501-04), Moses (1513-16), Bound Captives (1513-16) and The Pieta' (1498-99), a touching depiction of Christ in His mother's arms after He was taken down from the cross. In his...

Criss-Cross (1475) originated from the Middle English Christ's-Cross, and earlier, 1390, from Cros-Kryst, was the mark + or X written before the alphabet. This originated from the Greek spelling of the name of Christ, which were X P, called "chi-rho." This is the origin of the use of X-mas for "Christmas." During Medieval times when many were illiterate, an individual would mark their name by the X, the Christ's Cross, and kiss it in front of witnesses to show sincerity. This was a written form of the oath, "So help me God." This was also the origin of signing Valentine...