On this Day... November 24

CEBU, Philippines – In 1859, the storm over evolution broke out when Charles Darwin published his "Origin of the Species." Led by Bishop "Soapy Sam" Wilberforce, the Christian community accused Darwin of nothing less than heresy. Yet though Darwin's theory was the most far-reaching to date, Lamarck, Lyell, and Malthus had all broached the subject before and escaped relatively unscathed. Darwin had labored for nearly 20 years to make a watertight case, during which time another naturalist, Walace, came up with what amounted to the same theory. By a gentleman's agreement their work was presented jointly to the Linnaean Society over a year before Darwin's book was published. Darwin rightly got most of the credit - and most of the insults, too.

• In 1789, Abe Lincoln's grandma was accused of fornication by a Kentucky court. Lucky Hanks, as she was then named, quickly became engaged to Henry Sparrow, whom she later married, and the charges were dropped. Officially it was her first offense, but she'd borne an illegitimate child five years earlier, when she was 19 and living in Virginia. That child was Nancy, the president's mother. Lincoln claimed he owed her everything and since he once said he believed illegitimate children are often brighter than "those born in legal wedlock," he clearly owed a debt to Grandma too.

- from Today's the Day!

By Jeremy Beadle

In Christian history -

• In 1880, in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 150 delegates from Baptist churches in 11 states met to form the Baptist Foreign Missions Convention of the United States. The Reverend William H. McAlpine is elected as the organization's first president.

- from This Day in Christian History

By William D. Blake

In the Philippines -

• In 1892, the means of travel and communications in Luzon was improved greatly with the inauguration of the 195-kilometer long railway line from Manila to Dagupan in Pangasinan. This led to the efficient delivery and transport not only of goods and people but also of information to the north via reliable and fast (eight hours at that time) mode of transportation the Philippines enjoyed during the last decade of the 19th century. The general plan for the establishment of the railroad line was introduced as a means of exploiting the untapped riches of the virgin islands of Luzon, which had been endowed with nature's blessings but only slightly stirred by trade and commercial activity, even during the galleon trade.

- www.kahimyang.info

In Cebu -

• In 1955, the first Marian Congress opened in Cebu with Bishop Julio R. Rosales presiding.

- from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos