John, St, also called John the Evangelist 1st century AD
One of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ

Born probably in Bethsaida, Galilee, he was the son of Zebedee and the younger brother of James. Formerly a fisherman, he was one of those closest to Jesus, among the first to be called, and with him at the Transfiguration and at Gethsemane. In Acts and Galatians he is described as one of the 'pillars' of the early Jerusalem Church. Some traditions claim he was slain by the Jews or Herod Agrippa I, but he may have spent his closing years at Ephesus. He wrote the Revelation, the Gospel, and the three Epistles which bear his name (although his authorship of these works has been disputed by modern scholars). His feast day is 27 December.