St. Bede the Venerable
St. Bede the Venerable is famous for being an author, a teacher, and a scholar in the area that is now England. He was particularly interested in calendar calculations and trying to calculate the date of Easter, and is one of the main reasons that the B.C./A.D. calendar system became popular. He's also the only native of Great Britain to be declared a Doctor of the Church . Lifetime: ~672 to 735 Region: England Patronages: English writers; English historians Iconograpy: Writing a book; Feather pen; Biretta Feast Day: May 25 (Western); May 27 (Eastern) Little is known about Bede's early life, and most of what is known is from an autobiographical chapter in one of his books. Nothing is known about his parents except that, when Bede was seven, they sent him to live and study at a monastery, a practice which was common among Irish nobility at the time, and possibly among his own people as well. When that monastery opened a sister monastery nearby, he transferre...