John Calvin (1509-1564)
John Calvin was the leading figure and force in the Reformation Movement in France and Switzerland. He was born in Noyon, France, and died in Switzerland. Banished from Paris in 1533, he took refuge in Switzerland where he published his famous, "Institutes of Christian Religion," Protestantism's classic statement of faith. In 1559 he founded in Geneva an academy where he taught theology. His zeal and writings brought into one body of doctrine, known as Calvinism, the reformed theology of the period.
