Martin Luther (November 10 , 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, a Catholic monk, and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe.

The Protestant Reformation
The German monk’s questioning of Catholic dogma leads to the Protestant Reformation.

In 1517 a German theologian and monk, Martin Luther, challenged the authority of the Pope and sparked the Protestant Reformation. His ideas spread quickly, thanks in part to the printing press. By challenging the power of the Church, and asserting the authority of individual conscience (it was increasingly possible for people to read the bible in the language that they spoke), the Reformation laid the foundation for the value that modern culture places on the individual.

Luther’s 95 Thesis