5 June 1493 A.D. Birth of Justus Jonas—Lutheran Scholar, German Reformer, Rector of University of Erfurt and Professor of Theology at University of Wittenberg

5 June 1493 A.D.  Birth of Justus Jonas—Lutheran Scholar, German Reformer,  Rector of University of Erfurt and Professor of Theology at University of Wittenberg.

Varied.  “Justus Jonas.”  Encyclopedia Britannica.  N.d. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305828/Justus-Jonas. Accessed Apr 28, 2014.

Justus Jonas, original name Jodocus Koch    (born June 5/6, 1493, Nordhausen—died Oct. 9, 1555, Eisfeld, Saxony), German religious Reformer and legal scholar. A colleague of Martin Luther, he played a prominent role in the early Reformation conferences, particularly at Marburg (1529) and at Augsburg (1530), where he helped draft the Augsburg Confession, a fundamental statement of Lutheran belief. He is best known for his German translation of the Latin writings of Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. An advocate of Erasmus’ Humanism, he introduced Greek and Hebrew into the curriculum on becoming rector of the University of Erfurt (1519).