July 16, 1519: The Disputation of Leipzig, in which Martin Luther argued that church councils had been wrong and that the church did not have ultimate doctrinal authority, ends (see issue 34: Luther’s Early Years).
July 16, 1769: Spanish Franciscan friar Father Junipero Serra founds the San Diego de Alcala mission in California, the first permanent Spanish settlement on the west coast of America (see issue 35: Christopher Columbus).
July 16, 1931: Missionary C.T. Studd, one of the famous “Cambridge Seven” and evangelist to China, India, and Africa, dies (see issue 52: Hudson Taylor).
