Leonardo da Vinci (left), Renaissance artist, was born in Vinci, Italy. A profound thinker and scholar, da Vinci was one of the greatest minds of his day, and has been classed with Dante, Beethoven and Shakespeare as one of the four greatest intellects in the world of art and literature. The church remembers him as the artist who painted the widely imitated Last Supper, (notable for its grouping of figures) on which he labored three years (1494-97).
Birth of Lelia Naylor Morris, Methodist minister's wife and hymnwriter. In the 1890s she began writing songs -- both words and music. In these she was greatly encouraged and assisted by Dr. H. L. Gilmour. She became totally blind for the last 15 years of her life, and as her sight began to diminish her son erected a large blackboard with music staff lines on it, 28 feet long. But, after a year, completely blind, she was forced to write music with the aid of friends as her secretaries. Among her memorable songs is "What if it were today?"
Birth of Corrie Ten Boom, Dutch Christian devotional author and speaker. During World War II, her family was arrested in Holland by the Gestapo for having hidden Jewish refugees in their home, and spent years in one of Hitler's infamous death camps. There both her father and sister died, but through a miracle she was released and became famous for her devotional writings and speaking engagements. She was called to Heaven in 1983, on the date of her 91st birthday.
