From Inherit the Wind:
Matthew Harrison Brady: A fine biblical scholar, Bishop Ussher, has determined for us the exact age and hour of the creation. It occurred in the year 4004 BC.
Henry Drummond: Well, that's Bishop Ussher's opinion.
MHB: It's not an opinion. It is a literal fact, which the good Bishop arrived at through careful computation of the ages of the prophets as set down in the Old Testament. In fact, he determined that the Lord began the creation on the 23rd of October, 4004 BC, at 9am.
HD: Is that Eastern Standard Time, or Rocky Mountain Time? It wasn't Daylight Savings Time, was it, because the Lord didn't make the sun until the fourth day.
--According to James Ussher (Archbishop and Primate of the Church of Ireland in the 17th century) the universe's 6015th birthday is today. Many scholars over time have thought that the advent of Jesus' return, to preside over a seventh "sabbath" millennium of rule on Earth, would occur in the world's 6000th year: in Ussher's popular scheme, this date in 1997.
