June 1, 1971

Reinhold Niebuhr, the American theologian, died on June 1, 1971. He is the author of the "serenity prayer," a claim which someone must have questioned, for he said this about it: "Of course, it may have been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don't think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself." Niebuhr's wife asked T. S. Eliot to name their poodle pup. This was in 1955. Eliot declined, since he said, he was a "cat person."