On January 1, 1484, Ulrich Zwingli was born in Zurich, Switzerland. You’re probably asking yourself, “Ulrich who?” th Zwingli. Ulrich Zwingli. My 14 th great-grandfather (that’s 14 “great-“s). On my mother’s side. I bring this up for two reasons. The first is that it became news to me just this month that I am directly descended from a renowned Protestant Reform er, which is the other reason—Zwingli and Martin Luther were contemporaries (Luther was older by only 2 months), close in orbit, but not exactly colleagues (at the onset more like pen pals). These men grew into adulthood during a particularly fractious time ...