A Chronology of Martin Luther's Life

1483 – Born at Eisleben, Germany, November 10

1484 – Parents, Hans and Margaretha Luder, move family to Mansfield, where Hans works in copper mines

1492 – Attends school in Mansfield

1497 – Attends school in Magdeburg

1498 – Attends school in Eisenach

1501 – Enters University of Erfurt

1502 – Receives B.A. at Erfurt

1505 – Earns M.A. at Erfurt; begins law studies; in thunderstorm on July 2, vows to become a monk; enters Order of Augustinian Hermits

1507 – Ordained and celebrates first Mass

1509 – Receives bachelor of Bible

1510 – Visits Rome

1511 – Transferred to Augustinian house at Wittenberg

1512 – Becomes doctor of theology

1513 – Begins lecturing on the Psalms

1515 – Begins lecturing on Romans; appointed district vicar over ten monasteries

1516 – Begins lecturing on Galatians

1517 – Begins lecturing on Hebrews; on October 31, posts 95 Theses on indulgences

1518 – At meeting of Augustinians in Heidelberg, defends his theology; in October, appears before Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg, but refuses to recant; in December, his prince, Frederick the Wise, refuses to hand him over to Rome.

1519 – Understands the “righteousness of God” as “passive righteousness with which God justifies us by faith” [some scholars date this discovery earlier]; in July, debates Professor John Eck at Leipzig and denies supreme authority of popes and councils

1520 – Papal bull Exsurge Domine gives Luther 60 days to recant or be excommunicated; writes his 3 seminal treatises, To the Christian Nobility, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, The Freedom of a Christian; burns papal bull and books of canon law

1521 – Excommunicated by the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem; at Diet of Worms in April, on trial before Emperor Charles V and other leaders of church and state, he refuses to recant writings; an edict (in May) condemns him as heretic and outlaw; after the Diet of Worms, he is “kidnapped” by Frederick the Wise, and hidden at Wartburg Castle; begins translating the New Testament

1522 – in March, comes out of hiding and returns to Wittenberg, helping to reestablish order there; finishes New Testament translation, first published in September

1525 – Writes Against the Heavenly Prophets, contending against Andreas Karlstadt and Thomas Müntzer; marries Katherine von Bora in June; writes Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes, criticizing the Peasants’ Revolt; writes Bondage of the Will against Erasmus

1526 – Writes German Mass; becomes a father (son Hans); begins writing against Zwingli’s views on the Lord’s Supper;

1527 – Fights sickness and intense depression; plague strikes Wittenberg; writes “A Mighty Fortress is our God”; daughter Elizabeth born; continues to write against Zwingli

1528 – Writes Great Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper; grieves over Elizabeth’s death; visits churches

1529 – Attends Marburg Colloquy with Zwingli and Southern Germans, but no agreement is reached on the Lord’s Supper; publishes Large Catechism and Small Catechism; daughter Magdalena born

1530 – Luther, as outlaw cannot attend Diet of Augsburg, held in attempt to end religious division in the Holy Roman Empire; Philipp Melanchthon, Luther’s co-worker, presents the Augsburg Confession, a statement of Lutheran beliefs

1531 – Begins lecturing on Galatians; son Martin, born

1532 – Writes On Infiltrating and Clandestine Preachers; is given the Augustinian Cloister for his home

1533 – Son Paul is born

1534 – Publishes complete German Bible; daughter Margaret born

1536 – Agrees to Wittenberg Concord on the Lord’s Supper, in attempt to resolve differences with other reformers, but Zwinglians do not accept it; writes Smalcald Articles to prepare for upcoming ecumenical council

1538 – Writes against the Jews in Against the Sabbatarians

1539 – Writes On the Councils and the Church

1542 – drafts his will ; daughter Magdalena dies

1545 – Writes Against the Papacy at Rome, an Institution of the Devil

1546 – Dies in Eisleben, February 18

1552 – Katherine Von Bora dies