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On March 3, 1896 Quirinus Breen was born to Evert Breen and Antoinette De Fouw in Orange City Iowa. With his father acting as the pastor of a Christian Reformed church, the ideas of Christianity and the church were prominent in Breen’s adolescence and would later play a key role in Breen’s future studies.

Attending Chicago and Grand Rapids primary schools and later Calvin Preparatory School, Breen would receive his undergraduate degree at Calvin College and then move on to Calvin Theological Seminary. During his time in seminary Breen came into contact with Professor Ralf Janssen who inspired his pursuit of knowledge, introducing him to studies of philosophy and inspiring him to work as an objective secular scholar.

Resigning from the ministry Breen pursued an education in history, attending University of Chicago. With a focus on Church history, Breen received his graduate degree in 1931. At this time Breen began to teach history at Hillsdale College in Michigan, later moving to Albany College in Oregon in 1933. In 1938 Breen was called to University of Oregon where he would serve for the majority of his career.

At the University of Oregon Breen served as the chairman of the social science group. As an instructor, and later a professor, Breen taught courses on Greek, Roman and French history, focusing on the Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation eras.

During this time, Breen was also active in the American Society of the Church, the Renaissance Society of America, Mediaeval Academy of America, American Society for Reformation Research and the American Historical Association. Additionally, Breen acted as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Florence as well as a guest lecturer and various other universities across the United States. Upon his retirement from the University of Oregon in 1964, Breen moved back to Michigan with his wife Helen, and began teaching at Grand Valley State College. Ten years later Breen would pass on in Eugene Oregon, with March 25, 1975 marking the date of his death.

Breen’s work focused on the study of protestant reformers, early renaissance humanist scholars and scholars from the middle ages. Additionally he studied the Church and Christianity in relation to culture, faith and reason. His works include essays published in academic journals such as The Journal of the History of Ideas, The Review of Religion, Church History, Oregon Law Review, and Encounter among others. A book of his work was also published, titled, Christianity and Humanism: Studies in the History of Ideas. Containing a collection of his essays, this work was published in his honor by some of his students and colleagues upon his retirement.

Information obtained from:

Quirinus Breen, Christianity and Humanism: Studies in the History of Ideas (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), v-xvi.