April 14, 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer of the oratorio Messiah, dies at age 74 in London.
April 14, 1775: America's first society to abolish slavery organizes in Philadelphia.
July 27, 1681: During a bitter battle between Scottish Episcopalians and Presbyterians, five Presbyterian preachers are martyred in Edinburgh. The Church of Scotland became Presbyterian permanently in 1690.
