Philipp Melanchthon

Philip Melanchthon was born in 1497. He was German and studied at Heidelberg and Tubingen Universities. In 1518 he became a professor of Greek at Wittenberg University. Naturally, he was heavily influenced by Martin Luther and quickly joined the ranks of the Protestant Reformation. Melanchthon became Luther's closest friend, and the two worked tirelessly throughout the Reformation despite some theological differences.

Melanchthon wrote the Augsburg Confession, which remains an important document in Lutheran churches. In 1521 he wrote Commonplaces, his primary theological work. This book underwent several revisions, and the final edition (1555) seemed to stray from Martin Luther's theology too much. Therefore, after the death of Luther in 1546, Melanchthon received numerous attacks from those who felt he denied the heritage of Luther. He died in 1560.