John XXIII was born on 25 November 1881 in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII. The head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963, John XXIII was born Angelo Roncalli to a peasant family in northern Italy. He served as a Vatican diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey and France and as patriarch of Venice before being elected pope at the age of 76, widely seen as a transitional figure. Instead he surprised the world by calling the Second Vatican Council in 1962, aimed at renewing the Church and opening it to the modern world. His encyclical Pacem in Terris appealed for peace and human rights, and he helped to ease tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Affectionately known as the good pope, he was canonized in 2014.
Before and after
- 23 July 1881Founding of World Gymnastics
- 6 August 1881Birth of Alexander Fleming
- 19 September 1881Death of James A. Garfield
- 25 September 1881Birth of Lu Xun
- 25 November 1881Birth of John XXIII
- 28 November 1881Birth of Stefan Zweig
- 4 December 1881Founding of HEC Paris
- 1882Founding of Burnley F.C.
- from 1882 to 1918Kingdom of Serbia
More in Art, literature & culture
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1907Rise of cubism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.