March 21st, 1656
James Ussher, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, indeed died in 1656. He was a highly regarded scholar and theologian, best known for his work in biblical chronology. Ussher is perhaps most famous for his attempt to calculate the age of the Earth based on the information provided in the Bible.
He was born in 1581 in County Westmeath, Ireland, and he became Archbishop of Armagh in 1625. Ussher is particularly well-known for his chronology work “Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti,” in which he calculated the creation of the world to have occurred in the year 4004 BC. While Ussher’s chronology has been largely discredited in modern times, his scholarly contributions were significant during his era.
James Ussher died on March 21, 1656, in Reigate, Surrey, England. His death occurred during a period of political and social upheaval in England and Ireland, marked by the English Civil War and the Interregnum under Oliver Cromwell’s rule.
