John Calvin

John Calvin

Period: Feb 9, 1500 to Feb 9, 1600

John Calvin born

Jul 10, 1509

Calvin was born in Noyon, France, 60 miles northeast of Paris, to Gerard Cauvin and Jeanne le Franc. Gerard Calvin died a few years later from testicular cancer. Calvin had three brothers.

Calvin enrolled in college

Jul 10, 1523

At age 14, John Calvin was enrolled the College de Montaigu to prepare for a career in divinity under his father's influence. Gerard Calvin wanted each one of his four sons to become a priest, then changed his mind, as he thought his son would earn more money as a lawyer than a priest.

Graduates from law school

Apr 11, 1532

Calvin went to a famous law school in Orleans in 1532, where he also became fluent in Greek. Learning Greek was a necessity if you wanted to study the New Testament.

Publishes first book

Feb 12, 1536

In 1536, John Calvin published his first edition of the "Institudes". In English, its full name was Institudes of the Christian Religion. It was a defense of his faith, as well as a resource for someone wanting to learn about the Christian Religion. In this book, he writes of how he experienced a religious conversion. It sold out in 6 months

Selected as pastor

Feb 12, 1537

After French military forces push him south to Geneva, Switzerland, Calvin became a pastor. Many churches wanted him, and when he preached, crowds would flood the church, wanting to meet him.

Publishes next book

Feb 12, 1539

In 1539, Calvin published the second version of the "Institudes". This book was much larger; the first book was 6 chapters, and this was 17 chapters long, and was far more in-depth than the first version of the book. Under this time, Calvin was under pressure to marry and start a family

Calvin marries de Bure

Apr 8, 1540

Although the exact date is uncertain because of the lack of knowledge of Calvin's personal life, John Calvin married Idelette de Bure around 1540. She was previously a widow and brought two children from her previous relationship. Calvin married under the condition that his wife learn French.

Calvin's church investigated

Jun 27, 1547

Calvin's church(St. Pierre Cathedral), was inspected after a suspected plot against the church and the state. Jacques Gruet was taken under arrest after his house was searched. After repeated torture, he confessed to threatening a group of important church leaders. He was then beheaded in public in July

Idelette dies

Feb 12, 1549

Exact time unknown, but Idelette de Bure passed away in 1549 after bringing Calvin two children into their marriage. The couple tried many times to have children of their own, but none of their kids survived childbirth. Prior to her death, Idelette fell sick in 1545. Calvin was devasted, "I have been bereaved of the best friend of my life..." was what he wrote in a letter.

Calivin founds school

Jun 5, 1559

Calvin created a school, the Academie, which is now the successful University of Geneva. The University of Geneva is currently ranked among the top 100 universities in Europe and in the world. Many of Switzerland's schools were based on its structure, which is why Switzerland is one of the World's leaders in education.

Calvin dies

May 27, 1564

Days after preaching his final sermon, John Calvin passed away at age 54. During his final years, many realized how powerful he was and his authority was not questioned. After gaining power in England and Switzerland, he wanted to try and reform his home country, France. In 7 years, he sent more than 100 ministers to France