Today in Christian History   1637 Controversial colonial religious leader Anne Hutchinson, 46, was convicted of spreading heresy and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mrs. Hutchinson afterward relocated in Rhode Island with her family and friends. 1793 During the French Revolution, "Christianity" was abolished on this date. Reason was deified, and as many as 2,000 churches were afterward destroyed throughout France. 1828 Birth of American biblical lexicographer Joseph Henry Thayer. A Congregationalist pastor, Thayer's main interest was New Testament language and in 1886 he published his definitive "Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament." 1837 American Presbyterian abolitionist and newspaper editor Elijah P. Lovejoy, 35, was murdered. Forced earlier to move his business from St. Louis to Alton, Illinois, Lovejoy was shot during the night by an anti-abolitionist mob while defending his presses. 1847 Birth of Will L. Thompson, American songwriter. With a major interest in sacred music, Thompson's pen has left the Church two enduring hymns: "Jesus is All the World to Me" and "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling." © 1987-2001, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from Almanac of the Christian Church