Rudolf Christoph Eucken won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1908 — making him one of the few philosophers to win the award and one of the most forgotten today. He advocated what he called 'activism,' a spiritual philosophy centered on the primacy of the life of the mind over materialism. His books were bestsellers in Germany and widely translated. His ideas fell out of favor quickly after World War I. He was born in Aurich on January 5, 1846.
January 5, 1846
180 years ago
What Else Happened on January 5
Edward the Confessor died January 5, 1066 without an heir. Three men claimed the throne within months: Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada of Norway, William of N…
Charles the Bold spent his reign building Burgundy into something between a kingdom and an empire — richer than France, more powerful than most actual monarchie…
Charles the Bold fell at the Battle of Nancy and Burgundy fell with him. His body was found frozen in a pond, face down, three days after the battle. Without an…
Ludovico Sforza had been ruling Milan as regent when he invited the French king Charles VIII into Italy in 1494 — hoping French muscle would protect him from ri…
Felix Manz helped found the Anabaptist movement in Zurich — one of the earliest groups to insist on adult baptism and the separation of church and state. The ci…
A great fire swept through Eindhoven in January 1554, destroying most of the small Dutch market town. It was one of several catastrophic fires that struck Eindh…
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