July 20: Seventh-Day Adventism

Ellen White and her husband James were followers of the prophet William Miller. Miller's series of predictions of the end of the world in 1843-4 were embraced by tens of thousands of Americans, and their failure came to be known as the "Great Disappointment".

White, however, remained convinced that Miller's predictions had actually been correct, albeit misinterpreted. The Temple of God - she explained in her ministry and in more than 100 books' worth of writings - had been spiritually opened on October 22, 1844, and the end of the world was yet approaching. Her influential views led to the creation of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1861.

The anniversary of White's death in 1915 was earlier this week, on July 16.