68. SaintMark, the evangelist, died at Alexandria.
1199.John, the 6th son of Henry II of England, seized the treasures of his late father, preparatory to taking possession of his throne and dukedom.
1284.Edward IIborn at Caernarvon, and styled theprince of Wales, the first who received that appellation.
1342.Benedict XII(James de Nouveau,the baker), died. When elected, unanimously, by the cardinals, pope of Rome, he had so little confidence in himself that he told them they had chosen an ass. His conduct, however, was firm and dignified, and gained him universal respect.
1513.Edward Howard, an English admiral, celebrated for his bravery, killed in an action with a French ship.
1520.Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator killed in one of the Phillipine islands, fighting for the king of the country, who had become his ally. Of all his fleet, only one ship and 18 men returned to Spain, from whence the expedition sailed.
1536. Conflagration of mount Ætna, which overwhelmed the church of St. Leon, and the physician Piazzi.
1576. Treaty between Holland and Zealand, being the two first provinces that united for their liberty. William of Nassau, prince of Orange, drew up the treaty, and may be considered as the founder of the United Provinces.
1595.Torquato Tasso, an illustrious Italian poet, died. He was excellent in every kind of composition, but theJerusalem Deliveredprocured him the offer of the laurel crown. He expired on the day appointed for the coronation.
1636.James Hay, earl of Carlisle, died. He was the first Scotchman raised to the English peerage, and was employed by James I in various embassies.
1660.Henry Hammond, an English divine, died. He published a commentary on the New Testament; and began a paraphrase and commentary on the Old Testament, which he did not live to finish.
1671. The city of Oxford, England, nearly destroyed by a great fire.
1728.John Woodward, an English natural philosopher, died. He was bound apprentice to a linen draper, but was attracted from the business by the charms of science.
1732. The corpse of bishop Atterbury who died in France arrived in the Thames. Four pieces of French silk brocaded with silver were found with the body, which the custom house officers seized!
1734.John Conrad Dippel, a German chemist and physician, died. He was an eccentric character, who pretended to have discovered the philosophers' stone, and yet was confined for debt. In pursuing his alchemical researches, he discovered Prussian blue, and the animal oil which bears his name.
1735.Samuel Wesley, an English poet, died. His writings made up in quantity what they lacked in quality. He wrote theLife of Christ, a heroic poem, in folio, and a history of the Bible in verse, 3 vols.
1764.Judah Monis, an Italian Jew, died at Northborough, Mass., aged 82. He was converted and baptized, and was the first Hebrew instructor at Harvard college.
1770.John Anthony Nollet, a learned Frenchman, died. His writings are valuable, and his experiments contributed much to the advancement of science.
1775. The Baltimoreans received the news of the battle of Lexington, and immediately seized upon the provincial magazines, containing 1500 stand of arms, &c.
1781. Battle of Camden, between the provincials, about 1200, and the British under lord Rawdon. In the beginning of the action the Americans had essentially the advantage; but the premature retreat of two companies occasioned a total defeat. Greene retreated in such order as to bring off all his wounded and cannon, and took 50 prisoners.
1781. British under Arnold and Philips took Petersburg, Va., after a smart action with baron Steuben. They burnt 400 hogsheads of tobacco, a ship, and several small craft.
1782.Adrian Balbi, the Venitian geographer, was born at Venice. The work by which he is best known is hisAbrégé de Géographie.
1792. The convention having determinedon adopting the proposition of M. Guillotin, to substitute decapitation for hanging, the first criminal was executed by this mode on this day. M. Guillotin was actuated by benevolent motives in proposing the machine, which was called from himguillotine, and from which himself narrowly escaped.
1800.William Cowper, an excellent English poet, died. He commenced publishing at the age of 50, and three years after produced theTask, which excited universal admiration. He was subject to religious delirium, and died in a state of absolute despair.
1805.Thomas Pownall, an English antiquary, died. He was successively governor of New Jersey, Massachusetts and South Carolina under the crown. His works are numerous, and display a great deal of information.
1810. Sweden excluded British goods, conformably to the continental system established by Bonaparte.
1812. Baltimore privateer schooner Surprise, Capt. Cothell, of 10 guns, captured the British brig Kutousoff, of 12 guns, laden with coffee, &c., and brought her safe to port.
1820.Patrick Colquohun, a distinguished Scottish magistrate, died. He was a writer on police and political economy, and his works possess great merit.
1832 & 1833. Spring navigation of the Erie canal opened.
1835.Jonathan P. Cushing, president of Hampden Sidney college, died, aged 40. The institution, over which he had presided 14 years, was greatly indebted to his services, and he was highly esteemed for his virtues.
1838. The second centennial celebration of the settlement of New Haven.
1838. The steamboat Moselle burst her boiler with a tremendous explosion. She had just left the wharf at Cincinnati for Louisville, with 225 passengers on board, of whom but 124 were saved.
1839.Samuel Smith, an officer of the revolution, died at Baltimore, aged 87. His name is connected with some of the most important events of that struggle for freedom, and is identified with the history of the city of Baltimore for a great number of years; that city being indebted to his enterprise for a large share of its commercial thrift.
1840.M. Poisson, a peer of France, and president of the academy of sciences, died at Paris, aged 58. His life was devoted to analytical discovery and scientific investigation, and he was styled the first geometrician of Europe.
1849. The parliament house and library of the British provinces, at Montreal, burned by a mob.
1849. The French republican armament against republican Rome reached Civita Vecchia.
1854. The slaves of Venezuela became freemen by virtue of an act previously passed for their emancipation.
1855. Lieut. Col.St. Vrain, with a detachment of United States troops, came up with and captured a camp of Apache Indians, on the Purgatory, near the Raton mountains.
871.Ethelred Idefeated the Danes, but died of his wounds. In his reign a great plague occurred.
1478.Lorenzo de Medici, duke of Florence, rescued by the populace from the hands of assassins. His brother Julian was less fortunate; he fell beneath their daggers. The duke was conducted back to his palace by the multitude with every demonstration of regard, while the archbishop, who became the tool of the pope for executing this foul and impious conspiracy, was suspended in his pontifical robes from the window of his own sanctuary.
1566.Diana de Poitiers, duchess of Valentinois, died. She captivated the heart of the king of France, Henry II, and for many years remained sole mistress, not only of his affections, but of the kingdom. Her unusual powers of mind, and firmness and dignity, constituted her the fittest sovereign of the two.
1595.Michael Neander, a learned German protestant, died. He was rector of the university of Ilfeldt 40 years, and published several learned works.
1607.Christopher Newport, with three vessels and 100 emigrants, forming the first permanent English colony, stood into Chesapeake bay, "which seemed to invite his entrance."
1616.John Somers, an English statesman, died. He was a patriot of the noblest and most extensive views, and justly celebrated as a man of learning, eloquent and refined.
1665. The great plague of this and the subsequent year broke out at St. Giles, London.
1726.Jeremy Collier, an English divine, died. In 1698 he made an attempt to reform the stage, which engaged him in a controversy, and exposed him to the satire of the wits of the day; but after a ten years' struggle he accomplished his object, and actually produced an amendment.
1734.John Baptist Morvan de Bellegarde, a French Jesuit, died. He wasexpelled from the order at Nantes, for being a Cartesian.
1777. Danbury, Conn., burnt, and the military stores destroyed, by a detachment of 2,000 British under Tyron. The place was guarded by 100 soldiers, who retired to await reinforcements. Eighteen houses, 800 barrels of flour, 800 barrels of pork and beef, 2,000 bushels of grain, and 1,700 tents were destroyed. The enemy were pursued and annoyed by a few hundred of the citizens under Wooster and Arnold; the former was killed.
1783.Eyre Coots, a celebrated commander of the East India Company's forces, died. He gained great renown by his victories over Hyder Ally; in one of which, near Porto Novo, with 10,000 men he defeated Hyder's army of 150,000.
1794. The Vendeans under Charette defeated by the French.
1794. Battle of Prisches; Austrians defeated by the French.
1794. Grand attack of the French upon the allies, from Trevers to the sea.
1805.William Woodvilledied; a distinguished English physician and medical writer.
1807. The planet Vesta observed in England by Groombridge, an ingenious and active astronomer, who had successfully devoted his leisure and fortune to the advancement of astronomy.
1815.Carsten Neibuhr, a Danish traveler, died, aged 82. He was employed by the Danish government in 1761, with four other learned men, to explore Arabia; was the only one of the company who returned, after an absence of six years, and was liberally rewarded. His publications were,Travels in ArabiaandDescription of Arabia.
1816.George Hardinge, an eminent English lawyer, died. He rose rapidly in his profession, became council for the East India Company, and attorney-general to the queen, and had a seat in parliament. His speeches and writings were numerous.
1831. Imprisonment for debt abolished in the state of New York.
1835Henry Katerdied at London. His experiments on the pendulum and Geodesic surveys rendered him famous.
1836. St. Jean d'Arc, in Palestine, surrendered to the Egyptian troops under Ibrahim Pasha. The governor of the fortress was provided with a safe residence in Egypt, and an annual pension of 75,000 piasters.
1837. The trial ofMeunierfor an attempt to assassinate the king of the French, terminated in his conviction. His sentence was commuted to perpetual banishment.
1838. Battle near Brugos, between Gen. Espartero and the Carlists under Negri, in which the latter were defeated, with the loss of 2,000 prisoners, their baggage and artillery.
1840.Bacchus, a negro slave, died at Friedland, in Virginia, aged 110. He had been in the family of his last owner more than 40 years; was employed as a teamster during the war of the revolution; and was in attendance with his team at the glorious and final siege of Yorktown. He saw Gen. Braddock as he passed on to his defeat, and could give a succinct account of that sanguinary action. The evening previous to his death he was walking about the farm, in the full possession of all his faculties of mind and body.
1840.John Thornton Kirkland, president of Harvard university, died, aged 70. His father was more than 40 years a missionary among the Oneida Indians, during which he was born at Little Falls, 1770. His rank was with the most eminent among the constant and serviceable friends of good principles, good learning and good men. Some of his productions will continue to be esteemed among the gems of our literature.
1843.Hodijah Bayliesdied; a soldier of the revolutionary war, and for some time an aid to Gen. Washington. Like others of that noble band, he too was a distinguished civilian.
1853.Russell Jarvisdied in New York, aged 63; widely known as a politician, and co-editor with Duff Green, of theUnited States Telegraph, at Washington.
1854. A day of humiliation was observed throughout England; divine service was performed in all the places of public worship, and collections taken for the benefit of the wives and children of the soldiers engaged in the war of the east.
1854.Gabriel Rosetti, an Italian poet and painter, died, aged 71. Setting up for a reformer, he was obliged to fly to England, where he spent the remainder of his days in teaching Italian.
1854.Henry T. Cochrane, a Scottish jurist, died; known as the biographer of his friend Lord Jeffrey.
1855. The emperor and empress of the French, having visited the queen of England, returned to France on this day.
1124.Alexander Iof Scotland, son of Malcom Canmore, died. He ascended the throne on the death of his brother Edgar, 1107, and from the energy and impetuosity of his character he was called thefierce. There were several rebellions and insurrections against his reign, which he put down with vigor. A conspiracy was formed against his life, and the traitors gotadmission into his bed chamber at night. He cut his way through them, and after killing six made his escape.
1192.Conrad de Montferratassassinated at Tyre.
1296. Battle of Dunbar, in which Edward I, of England, defeated the Scots under the king, John Baliol, who lost 20,000 slain. Baliol was taken prisoner to England, and confined in the tower.
1404.Philip(the bold), duke of Burgundy, died. He was a just and brave prince, but so profuse in his expenses, that his body was seized after death by his creditors, and it was with difficulty that his duchess could redeem it.
1573. The army or the States General seized Flushing, and hanged the Spanish commander.
1603. KingJames I, on his way to take possession of the English crown, was magnificently entertained at Winchinbrook by Sir Oliver Cromwell.
1610. Patent for Newfoundland granted to the earl of Northampton and 44 other persons, by the name of the treasurer and company of adventurers and planters of the cities of Bristol and London, for the colony or plantation of Newfoundland, from lat. 46 to 52 deg., together with the seas and islands lying within ten leagues of the coast.
1667.Miltondisposed of the copy right of theParadise Lostfor £5! It was with much difficulty that he could find any one to undertake the publication of it.
1702.John Barthdied; who by his bravery and skill rose to a high rank in the French navy.
1717. The Dissenters received £5,000 for damages done their meeting houses during the rebellion on account of the pretender to the English throne.
1742.Nicholas Amherst, an English political writer, died. He for a considerable time published theCraftsman, a paper conducted with unusual spirit and success, which guided the public taste and awed the administration.
1762. The Irish levelers suppressed by Lord Halifax.
1775. The Bostonians delivered up a large quantity of guns, &c., to the British general Gage.
1782.Edward Chamberlayne, an English statesman, died. He was one of the best scholars of his age.
1785. PrinceLeopoldof Brunswick, son of the reigning duke, having gone to the relief of the inhabitants of an inundated village on the Oder, near Frankfort, was upset in his boat and drowned. Thus dying as he had lived, in the highest exercise of humanity.
1792.John James Ankerstroom, a Swedish officer, executed for the murder of Gustavus, king of Sweden.
1794.William Jonesdied, a man who rose by the superiority of his genius, from a low station to a high judicial office in Bengal. By his unwearied industry and skill in the Asiatic languages, he successfully explored the hidden sources of oriental science and literature, and to whose translations we are indebted for many beautiful effusions of the Persian muse. As a linguist he has seldom if ever been surpassed. He was master of almost every language of Europe and Asia.
1794.James Bruce, the celebrated Scottish traveler, died. Being consul at Algiers, he found leisure to study the oriental languages, and formed the project of exploring the interior of Africa. He discovered the sources of the Nile.
1796.Charles Townsend, an English nobleman, was found dead in a post chaise on his return from Great Yarmouth, for which borough his brother Frederick had been elected to parliament. They both had exhibited marks of insanity, and in one of these paroxysms Charles shot himself.
1799. Battle of Cassano, in Italy; the French under Moreau totally defeated by the Russians and Austrians under Suwarrow.
1803.Toussaint l'Overture, a mulatto chieftain of St. Domingo, died. He possessed unbounded influence over the blacks of that island, and became the head of all power, civil and military, among them. He was treacherously betrayed by the French, and thrown into prison where he died.
1804.Jonathan Boucher, an English archæologist, died. He was an episcopal preacher in America, till the revolution drove him back to England. He prepared a glossary of provincial and archæological words, intended for a supplement to Johnson's Dictionary.
1806. The squadron under Miranda, intended to begin a revolution in South America, engaged two Spanish guardacostas. The Spaniards captured two schooners, having on board 22 officers and 30 men, all of whom were hanged or sent to the mines.
1813. The American army under Gen. Pike took York, the capital of Upper Canada. The British blew up the works, by which Gen. Pike was killed, as well as about 50 of the British, and 200 American soldiers killed or wounded.
1830. City of Guatemala nearly destroyed by an earthquake.
1834.Thomas Stotharddied; celebrated for his illustrations to theCanterbury Tales,Rogers' Italy,Pilgrims' ProgressandRobinson Crusoe.
1836.John Hart, an American physician, died. He joined the army at the outbreak of the revolution, and continued in it until it was disbanded. He was afterwards a member of the Massachusetts senate, and much esteemed as a physician and a patriot.
1836. Battle near Fort Brook, Florida, between the United States volunteer troops and the Indians. The Indians were defeated with the loss of 200 killed. Loss of the U. S. troops, 2 killed, 24 wounded.
1836. The celebrated Bible presented by Alcuin to Charlemagne, was sold at auction in London for £1,500 ($6,666). SeeDec. 1, 801.
1838. BaronessSchopenhauerdied at Jena; a woman of talent and celebrity, and author of various works, which were collected in 24 vols.
1838. Great fire at Charlestown, S. C., "which laid waste 145 acres of the most populous part of the city."
1849.William B. Cooper, ex-governor, and a highly respected citizen of the state of Delaware, died at his residence, Laurel hill.
1850. The Atlantic, first steamer of the Collins line, sailed from Liverpool.
1855. Col.Kinneyarrested in New York on a bench warrant, for beginning a military enterprise against Nicaragua.
1856. Ratification of the treaty of peace between England, France and Turkey, and Russia, which terminated the Crimean war.
1856.Robert Kelly, a New York merchant, died, aged 47. Having acquired a fortune and a high reputation as a merchant, he devoted his attention to science, acquired eight languages, and filled many important offices. His superior talents and untiring industry were under the direction of philanthropic and Christian impulses.
1060B. C.The 28th Jiar is kept as a fast by the Hebrews for the death of Samuel, which took place two years before the destruction of Saul.
492B. C.Menenius Agrippa, a Roman patrician died; celebrated for appeasing a sedition by a fable of the belly and the limbs.
357.Constantius, the third and surviving son of Constantine the great, visited Rome for thirty days, when he displayed the magnificence of a triumph.
1489.Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, murdered.
1494.Joan Boughton, a widow, was burned for heresy; said to be the first female martyr of England.
1521.Cortezhaving constructed 13 brigantines with sails and oars, and transported them on the backs of 8000 Tlascalans, they were launched on this day in the lake of Mexico, with religious ceremonies under a discharge of the artillery and small arms, followed by the singing ofTe Deumto the music of military instruments. They were provided with sails and twelve oars each, and a falconet, or small brass cannon. The final success of the enterprise was greatly indebted to these vessels.
1535.Albert Pio, a Spanish ecclesiastic buried with extraordinary pomp at Paris, in the church of the Cordeliers.
1552. The council of Trent was prorogued for two years; it did not assemble again until 1562.
1636.Julius Cæsar, an English statesman under Elizabeth, died. He was a man of great learning and integrity, charitable and benevolent.
1710.Thomas Betterton, an English, tragedian, died. He was a bookbinder previous to going upon the stage; and acquired a high degree of reputation as an actor.
1721. An order of the English council was issued to suppress Hellfire clubs.
1738. Shakspeare's tragedy ofJulius Cæsarperformed at Drury Lane theatre, for the purpose of raising a fund for the erection of a monument to his memory at Westminster.
1751.Thomas Gibson, an eminent English painter, died.
1752.Francis Oudin, a French Jesuit, died. He was professor of theology at Dijon, and an author.
1754.Washingtonattacked a French encampment at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela. The night was dark and rainy, and the enemy completely secure. His troops having surrounded the camp, fired and rushed upon the French, who immediately surrendered.
1760. Battle of Sillery, in Canada, between the British garrison at Quebec, 3000, under Gen. Murray, and the French under Levi, consisting of 10 battalions of regulars, 6000 Canadian militia, and a body of Indians. The British general finding himself in danger of being outflanked, retreated to his fortifications, with the loss of 1000 men. The French loss was still greater, and they reaped no essential advantage from the victory.
1772. The countsStruensee, andBrandt, the favorite of the king of Denmark, executed at Copenhagen. Their alleged crime was an intrigue with the queen of Denmark, princess Caroline Matilda, sister of George III, of England.
1779.Simon Barnard, a celebratedaid-du-camp of Napoleon, and for some time chief of the engineer corps of the United States, was born at Dôle, in France.
1786.Gustavus, king of Sweden, read the eulogy of Creutz, the poet and statesman, who died a short time previous. Creutz signed with Franklin a treaty of amity between the United States and Sweden, 1783.
1788. Maryland, the 7th state in succession, adopted the constitution of the United States; votes 63 to 12.
1789. Mutiny on board the ship Bounty on her voyage from Otaheite, whither she had sailed to procure fruit trees to stock the West India islands. The vessel had on board 1015 plants of the bread fruit tree. Lieut. Bligh and 19 of the crew were compelled to go into an open boat; "they reached the island of Timor in June, after a perilous voyage of 1200 leagues."
1789.Thomas Hutchins, geographer-general of the United States, died. He was a native of New Jersey, and was in England at the commencement of the revolutionary war, where he refused some excellent offers, and was subsequently imprisoned and lost £12,000 on suspicion of holding correspondence with Franklin in Paris. He afterwards returned to America, served under Greene in South Carolina, and published several historical and geographical works, with charts and maps.
1793. Battle of Duren; the French defeated by the Austrians under Clairfait, with a loss of 2000, and their military chest, 12 cannon, and 13 ammunition wagons.
1796. Action off Lizard point, between the British ship Indefatigable, sir Edward Pellew, and French frigate La Virginia, 44 guns; the latter captured.
1796.Charette, the Vendean chief, executed at Nantes. This afforded General Hoche an opportunity to subdue the royalists in France.
1797.Robert Parkerhanged for burglary at Knoxville, Tennessee.
1799. The French ambassadors were assassinated at Radstat. The infamy of this base action is shared by the French emigrants and Austrians.
1799. Battle of Adda, in Italy; the Russians under Suwarrow defeated the French under Serrurier, who, with his division, was taken prisoner.
1804. Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, in South America, taken by the British; the Dutch surrendered 2000 prisoners, 282 cannon, and several vessels.
1813. Spesutie island taken possession of by the British, situated near the head of Chesapeake.
1813. Privateer Yorktown, Capt. Riker, of New York, captured the British brig Avery, with a valuable cargo, and brought her safe to port.
1813.Michael Lavrionovitch Golenitcheff Kutusoff-Smolenski, the famous Russian field-marshal, died. He commanded the Russian army destined to oppose the invasion of Bonaparte in 1812.
1814.Bonaparteembarked for Elba from Frejus. He had landed at this place on his return from Egypt, when about to commence that astonishing career, which will be remembered in the history of Europe to the end of time; but which now, to all appearance, was about to terminate, and that at the very point from which it had started.
1851.Edward Codrington, a British admiral, died, aged 81. He distinguished himself under Howe and Nelson, but his name is chiefly renowned by the famous action of Navarino, where he had chief command.
1854. The American barque Hespar, bound for Antwerp, came in collision with the Bremen barque Favorite, for Baltimore, having 180 passengers on board, all of whom perished.
1854.William Henry Pagot, marquis of Anglesey, died, aged 86. He distinguished himself in several campaigns, especially in the Peninsular war, and was raised to the rank of field marshal.
1855.Giovanni Pianori, a hired bravo, attempted to shoot Louis Napoleon while riding in the Champs Elysees.
1856. The receipt of the ratification of the treaty of peace by all the foreign powers was announced officially in England, and a day of thanksgiving throughout the United Kingdom was appointed.
1857.Frederick Emerson, an eminent American instructor, died, aged 68. He was the author of a popular arithmetic used in the public schools.
997.Adalbert, archbishop of Prague, murdered. His zeal led him among foreigners as a missionary; after visiting Bohemia, he went among the Poles, by whom he was killed. Boleslaus purchased his body for its weight in gold.
1075.Waltheof, earl of Huntingdon and Northampton, executed by William the conqueror. He had married Judith, William's niece; and being considered by the English as the last resource of their nation, they most grievously lamented his death.
1205. KingJohn, along with wine of various kinds to be transmitted to Windsor,ordered to be sent immediately the romance of theHistory of England.
1594.Thomas Cooper, an English prelate, died; highly commended for his great learning and eloquence.
1643.Ferdinando, lord Fairfax, the father of the famous General Fairfax, defeated at Bramham moor, by the earl of Newcastle.
1649.Dockier, a prominent leader of theLevelers, in the times of the English commonwealth, was shot by order of the government.
1652. A great eclipse of the sun in England. The almanacs of the day did not let so favorable an opportunity escape for exercising their power over the ignorant, and accordingly their prognostics created such a terror among the inhabitants "and so exceedingly alarmed the whole nation," says Evelyn, "that hardly any one would work, nor stir out of their houses. So ridiculously were they abused by ignorant and knavish star-gazers."
1659.John Cleveland, an English poet, died. He was contemporary with Milton, and preferred before him by critics of the day, but has now sunk into oblivion.
1676.Michael Adrian de Ruyter, the famous Dutch admiral, died. He began his military career at the age of 11, and continued in the service nearly 60 years.
1685.Luc d'Acheri, a French ecclesiastic, died. He displayed great learning as an antiquary and an author.
1688.Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, died. Posterity awards to him the character of a brave, generous and patriotic prince, who devoted his attention to the commerce and general welfare of his people.
1735. The Turks defeated by the Persians under Thomas Kouli Khan, 60,000 slain.
1740.Charles Drew, executed at St. Edmundsburg, in Suffolk, for the murder of his father.
1740. The English parliament prorogued. It was at this parliament that the famous acts against horse racing and deceitful gaming were passed.
1743.Charles Irenæus Castel de Saint-Pierre, a French ecclesiastic, died; distinguished as a politician, a man of letters, and an author.
1746.Curtis Barnet, a British commodore, died.
1758. Action off fort St. Davids, East Indies, between the British under admiral Pococke, and the French fleet under count d'Ache. British loss, 29 killed, 89 wounded; French loss, 600 killed and wounded, and one of their vessels sunk.
1762. The book of Cornelius Nepos in Latin was issued from the Russian press, being the first in that language ever printed in Russia.
1779.John Ash, an English dissenting minister, died. HisComplete English Dictionary, until the appearance of Mr. Todd's octavo edition of Johnson's, was the best compendium of words that could be referred to.
1783.Bernard de Tanuccidied; professor of jurisprudence in the university of Pisa, and prime minister of Naples, an office which he sustained with dignity, ability and integrity, for 50 years, when he resigned.
1788. Election of representatives from New York to consider the federal constitution held.
1793. A French privateer with her prize, the Spanish ship San Jago, was captured by the English. Cargo valued at £1,500,000.
1805. The constitution of the Batavian republic changed for the third time; the state was divided into 8 departments, and a legislative body of 19 members, with a pensionary (Schimmelpenninck), chosen for the term of five years, who administered the executive power.
1810.Augustenburgh, crown prince of Sweden, and heir to the throne, seized with an apoplexy while reviewing some corps of cavalry, fell from his horse and expired immediately.
1813. United States frigate Essex, Capt. Porter, captured, near Albemarle island, in the Pacific, British ships Montezuma and Policy, of 10 guns each, and Georgiana, of 6 guns and 4 swivels.
1813. British admiral Cockburn burnt the store-houses at Frenchtown, Chesapeake bay, in which was a great quantity of goods belonging to Philadelphia and Baltimore merchants. He also burnt two vessels, and plundered the private houses.
1814. Action between the United States sloop of war Peacock, 20 guns, 160 men, and British king's brig of war Epervier, 18 guns, 128 men, off cape Carnaverel. The Epervier was captured in 42 minutes, with the loss of 8 killed and 15 wounded; the Peacock had 2 wounded. The Epervier had on board $118,000, exclusive of $10,000 which the crew plundered before she was boarded. The Epervier was sent in 1815 from Algiers, with American prisoners, liberated there, but never arrived.
1827.Rufus King, an American statesman, died. He was many years a senator in congress, and twice minister to England. All parties have borne testimony to the value of his services, and the eminence of his talents.
1849. The republicans at Rome repulsed the French republicans under the city walls.
1849. The emperorNicholasof Russia declared, by ukase, his purpose to assist Austria. (SeeApril 26th.)
1851.C. C. Pepys, earl of Cottenham, died in Italy, aged 70. He passed through all the honors of the law, and in 1836 became lord chancellor.
1854. Great excitement at Louisville, occasioned by the acquittal of Matthew F. Ward, who murdered Prof. Butler.
1855.Robert Hamilton Bishopdied, aged 78. He was a native of Scotland, was licensed to preach in 1801; on coming to this country, he assisted in rearing several institutions of learning in the western states.
1855.John Wilson, a celebrated landscape and marine painter, died at Folkstone, aged 81.
1855. The United States troops under Col. Fauntleroy, attacked a camp of Utah Indians near the Arkansas river, twenty miles north of the Puncha pass, killed 40, captured 6, and took a large amount of Indian property and plunder.
65.Marcus Annæus Lucanus, the Latin poet, died. He was the friend and favorite of Nero, but afterwards joined a conspiracy with Piso against the tyrant, and was compelled to destroy himself, which he did by suffocation in a bath.
313. Battle of Heraclea, in which the emperor Galerius Maximus was defeated by Lucinus.
534.Amalasontha, queen of the Ostrogoths, murdered by her husband Theodatus. She was universally regretted; as for learning and humanity she had few equals.
711.Tarik, a freed man of the Arabian viceroy of Africa, landed at the foot of the rock Calpe called afterwards by his name Gebal-Tarik (Gibraltar), and two days after by a great battle fought on the banks of the Guadalete put an end to the Gothic empire in Spain.
1156. The city of Moscow founded by Duke George I. Its present population is about 400,000.
1262.Alexander Newski, grand duke of Russia, died. He signalized himself by a great victory which he obtained on the banks of the Neva, over the northern powers.
1439.Richard de Beauchamp, the famous earl of Warwick, died at Rouen, in Normandy. He was the most distinguished warrior in the reign of Henry VI.
1483. The duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III), arrested the lords Rivers and Gray at Stony Stratford, on their passage with the young king to the capital.
1513.Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, on account of his near relationship to the house of York, beheaded.
1519. A skirmish at Edinburgh, called "Cleanse the Causeway," between the earls of Arran and Angus.
1524.Pierre du Terrail, chevalier de Bayard, buried. He was a distinguished warrior under Francis I, mortally wounded at the battle of Marignan.
1542. The new creed, called theKing's Book, approved by the houses of convocation, and made the standard of English orthodoxy.
1544.Thomas Audley, an English statesman, died; appointed chancellor in the place of sir Thomas More.
1572.Pius V(Michael Ghisleri), died. He was an Italian of the Dominican order. It was under his auspices that the battle of Lepanto was fought, in which the Turks were so signally defeated.
1598. The edict of Nantes signed and sealed by Henry IV of France, re-establishing the protestant religion where it had been interrupted, and restoring its churches, houses and revenues.
1614. CaptainJohn Smitharrived on the coast of New England, it being his first voyage to North Virginia, as the country was then called. He explored the coast in open boats, from Penobscot to Cape Cod, and trafficked with the Indians. It was on his return from this voyage that he presented a map of the country to prince Charles, who declared that it should be called New England.
1632. Battle of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria; the imperial troops of Germany, under count de Tilly, defeated by the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus, and the general mortally wounded in defending the pass of the Lech.
1632.John Tzerclaes, count de Tilly, died; a Dutch officer, who distinguished himself in the wars with the Turks, and with Denmark.
1637. The puritans forbid by royal proclamation to emigrate to New England.
1655.Eustache le Sueurdied; one of the best French historical painters of his time.
1655.Christopher Bennetdied; a distinguished London physician, and writer on medical subjects.
1667. The Dutch fleet attacked Burnt island, in Scotland, but were repulsed.
1690.Rene le Pays, a French poet, died; well known at court by his miscellanies.
1696.Robert Plotdied; an eminent English philosopher and naturalist.
1707.George Farquhar, an ingenious comic writer, died. He was the son of an Irish clergyman, and held a commission inthe army. His comedies are sprightly and diverting.
1712.Philip Limborchdied; a Dutch professor of divinity, and author of a history of the inquisition.
1724.William Dawes, an English nobleman and prelate, died. He was learned, benevolent and pious, and author of several religious works.
1735.Daniel Duncandied; one of the most eminent physicians of his time. He was known in almost every part of Europe as a practitioner and an author.
1745. Battle of Fontenoy, in Belgium, between the British and Hanoverians, under the duke of Cumberland, and the French under count de Saxe. The allies were defeated with great loss.
1758. German Flats in the colony of New York attacked by French Indians.
1762. The celebratedJohn Wilkescommitted to the tower as the author of theNorth Briton, the 45th number of which was burnt by the common hangman.
1769. Battle of Choczine between the Russians and Turks.
1776. The eccentricEdward Wortley Montaguedied. He was the son of Lady Mary the author of the celebrated letters.
1781.Arnold, the traitor, made war upon 1,200 hogsheads of tobacco at Manchester, Va., and on his return to Petersburg conflagrated a large range of rope walks, a magazine of flour, all the vessels on the stocks, a number of warehouses, &c., and several fine mills. His progress was like that of the cannibal!
1789.Washingtoninaugurated first president of the United States.
1795.Jean Jacques Barthelemi, "the Nestor of French literature," died, aged 80. His principal work isTravels of Anacharsis in Greece.
1796.George Anderson, an English self-taught mathematician, died. His parents were peasants and he wrought as a day laborer till he attracted attention. He translated Archimedes' treatise on measuring the sands, and wrote a general view of the variations which have taken place in the affairs of the East India company. His intense application proved fatal to him at the age of 36, after which his widow received a pension, as a reward due to the merits of her husband.
1802. Lotea, in Spain, destroyed by the bursting of a reservoir, which inundated more than twenty leagues of the surrounding country, and "upwards of 1,000personsperished,exclusive of cattle, &c."
1810. The prince regent of Portugal prohibited the exportation of wine.
1812. Eruption of the Souffriere mountain, in St. Vincent, one of the Caribee islands. It was preceded by repeated earthquakes for 11 months. No flames had been emitted since 1718.
1812.Samuel Abbot, a Boston merchant, died. He was one of the founders of Andover theological seminary, and contributed altogether about $125,000 to that institution.
1812.Henry Lemoinedied. He was a bookseller, but better known as a translator of the German contributor to theGentleman's Magazine, &c.
1816. A spot on the sun visible with the naked eye at Philadelphia. It was seen for several days.
1840.George Brummell, the celebratedBeau Brummell, died at Caen, in France, aged 62. He was the associate of George IV when prince of Wales, and was for a long time at the head of fashion and manners in England. He passed the latter part of his life in poverty, and towards the close of it, was confined in a madhouse.
1843.Jacob Ridgway, a wealthy mechanic, died at Philadelphia. He was in early life a shipcarpenter, and subsequently American consul at Antwerp. His property was estimated at $6,000,000. He was noted for liberality to mechanics and tenants.
1854. The first rail road opened in Brazil, the emperor and empress being present at the inauguration.
1854.James Montgomery, the poet and journalist, of Sheffield, died, aged 82.
1855.Henry Rowley Bishop, a noted English music composer, died, aged 68. He was the most distinguished representative of the English school of composition, and was knighted in 1842.
1857.W. B. Buchanan, an American poet, died, aged 63. He was long a correspondent of theNational Intelligencerand other papers, residing in Virginia.
305.Diocletian, the Roman emperor, abdicated the throne in the presence of the soldiery and a multitude of people, at Nicomedia, in the 21st year of his reign. When afterwards solicited by a friend to resume the purple, he calmly replied, that if he could show thecabbageswhich he had planted at Salona with his own hands, he should no longer be urged to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness for the pursuit of power.
475.Henghist, the Saxon, caused 300 English noblemen to be murdered.
1119.Henry Iof England obtained a great victory over the Normans at Brenville.
1291. All the Italian merchants in the realm of France, called money lenders, seized by order of Philip the fair, for their ransoms.
1308.Albert I, emperor of Germany, assassinated by his nephew, John, duke of Swabia. The Swiss were led by his oppressions to assert their liberty.
1515.Henry VIIIand queen attended by nobles went a maying and were entertained by the noted forester Robin Hood.
1517. A riot among the London apprentices, against foreign artisans, which resulted in the death and mutilation of many of the latter, principally Frenchmen. It commenced at 9 o'clock in the evening, and continued till 3 in the morning. The exertions of the city authorities, who had notice of the meditated riot, were unable to prevent or quell it. The next morning, several hundred youths, from 13 years upwards, were arrested, and ten gallows, constructed to move from street to street, prepared for their execution. The ring leaders were drawn, hanged and quartered; when an order came from the king to suspend the execution, and the remainder were pardoned.
1557. England made her first commercial treaty with Russia.
1607.Henry Hudsonsailed from Gravesend on his first voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage to India. In this voyage he discovered the island of Spitzbergen.
1619. The famous Calvinistic convocation, the synod of Dort, caused their decrees to be publicly read, and dissolved the council. (May 9? 29?)
1637. A court was summoned at Hartford, Conn., to take measures to secure the colony against the depredations of the Pequot Indians. They determined that an offensive war should be carried on against them, and voted to raise 90 men! The Pequots then numbered 5000 fighting men.
1660. The convention parliament having heard Charles's letters read by sir John Granville, voted that the government of England should be by king, lords, and commons.
1683.Robert Fitzgeraldreceived a patent in England for making salt water fresh.
1701.John Dryden, an illustrious English poet, died. "What he has done in any one species or distinct kind of writing would have been sufficient to have acquired him a great name."
1703. Battle of Pultusk, in Poland, in which the Swedes under Charles XII defeated 10,000 Poles.
1707. Union of England and Scotland consummated.
1708.Claude de Vertdied; he devoted much attention to the ceremonies of the church of Rome, of which he wrote a history.
1727.Francis Paris, a French ecclesiastic, died. He retired from office, bestowing his property upon his brother, in order to devote himself to the austerities of a religious life. After his death crowds flocked to his grave to touch his holy monument, till the authorities caused the church yard to be shut.
1737.John Alphonsus Turretinidied; professor of ecclesiastical history at Geneva, distinguished for his learning.
1755.John Baptist Oudridied; an admired French painter.
1760.William Duncandied; an ingenious Scottish critic, professor of philosophy at Aberdeen, and translator ofCæsar's Commentaries.
1771.Louis Petit de Bachaumondied; a native of Paris, known as the author of several literary works.
1772.Gottfried Achenwall, an eminent German lecturer on statistics, history and the laws of nature, died at Göttingen.
1774.William Hewsondied; an eminent English anatomist, and medical author.
1775.Israel Lyonsdied; a celebrated English mathematician.
1776. Dr.Adam Weishaupt, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, founded the secret society of the illuminati.
1785.Miles Cooperdied; a learned English divine and poet.
1786.Gibbonconcluded the fourth volume of hisHistory, immortal as its subject.
1789. The states general of France met at Paris, convened by the king to calm the troubles of the state, which he had not power to quell, and which had now assumed a menacing appearance towards royalty itself.
1790. Indian war commenced between the British and Tippo Saib, sultan of Mysore.
1807. Slave trade in the West Indies proscribed in the British parliament.
1808. A volcano broke out in the island of St. George, one of the Azores. A crater was formed in the centre of the island, amidst fertile pastures, 3,500 feet in height, and this beautiful island, before rich in cattle, corn and wine, became a scene of ruin and devastation.
1809.Gottlieb Conrad Pfeffel, one of the best poets of Germany, died. He became blind at the age of 21, a misfortune which he bore more than 80 years, and rendered himself a useful citizen by conducting a school where many excellent scholars were educated.
1813. British and Indians opened their fire upon fort Meigs, from a 24, a 12 and a 6 pounder, and a howitzer. They fired 260 shot, and wounded 8 men, 1 mortally.
1813.John Baptist Bessiers, duke of Istria, killed. He distinguished himself under Napoleon, by whom he was greatly lamented. He was killed in the combat that preceded the battle of Lutzen.
1813.James Delille, one of the most celebrated of modern French poets, died.
1814.Pierre Van Cortlandt, a distinguished revolutionary patriot, died at his seat at Croton river, aged 94. He was a member of the first provincial congress, and eighteen years lieutenant governor of the state of New York.
1823. The skeleton, entire, of a mammoth, was discovered at Ilford, in Essex, England.
1830. The Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the first steam boat that ascended that river.
1837. An official return stated that there were 70,000 English residents in France, and over 24,000 in Paris alone.
1838. Battle of Rio Pardo, in Rio Grande, between the troops of the emperor of Brazil, about 1,800 in number, and the republican forces; the former were completely routed.
1839.Herbert Marsh, professor of divinity in the university of Cambridge, England, died. He was the author of many learned theological works and controversial publications.
1848. Insurrectionary movements at Rome in consequence of the pope's refusal to declare war against Austria.
1854. Great flood in the Connecticut valley; the water was 29½ feet above low water mark, and 2½ feet higher than during the great flood of 1801. Hundreds of persons were driven from their dwellings and drowned.
1855. The French under Gen. Pelissier carried the Russian works at Sebastopol, in front of the central bastion, and held them against vigorous sorties, taking eight small mortars, and 200 prisoners.
1855. An extraordinary eruption of mount Vesuvius commenced, which in ten days had advanced ten miles from its original source.
1856.Ogden Hoffman, a distinguished member of the New York bar, died, aged 62. He served as a midshipman in the last war with Great Britain, after which he studied law, and took the front rank in his profession, and showed an eminent fitness for the public offices which he filled.
1856.George James Guthrie, an eminent British surgeon, died in London, aged 71. He published several valuable works on surgery.
373.Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, died. His parents were pagans; he became a Christian, and distinguished himself by his learning, and the zeal with which he opposed the Arian heresy.
1450. The duke of Suffolk, prime minister to Henry VI of England, beheaded in a boat at Calais. During his ministry England lost most of her possessions in France. Yet his murder was resented by the formidable rebellion ofJack Cade.
1487.Lambert Simnel, an impostor, crowned at Dublin, by the title of Edward VI.
1494.Columbusdiscovered the island of Jamaica.
1519.Leonardo da Vinci, a celebrated Italian painter, died. He distinguished himself in early youth by the variety of studies which he accomplished. He afterwards became the head of the Florentine school of painting.
1520.Sebastian Brandtdied; counsellor of Strassburg, a lawyer, and author of a curious poem.
1550.Joan Bocher, of Kent, England, burnt for heresy.
1568.Mary, queen of Scots, aided by the gallant George Douglass, escaped from the castle of Lochleven, where she was confined after the murder of Darnley.
1595.Anthony, titular king of Portugal, died at Paris, a fugitive from the victorious arms of the Spaniards.
1606.Fernand de Quirosdiscovered the New Hebrides islands.
1611. The Half Moon, in whichHudsonmade his memorable voyage of discovery, sailed in company with another vessel to the East Indies, under captain Laurens Redel, and was lost. (March 6.)
1635.Horace Vere, an English general, died. He was created baron Tilbury by Charles I for meritorious services.
1667.George Withers, an English pastoral poet, died. He was so zealous a partisan of democracy, and of Cromwell, that the authorities frequently placed him in a straight jacket. His poems were numerous and quaint.
1679.James Sharp, archbishop of St. Andrews, assassinated for his zeal in the cause of the episcopacy in Scotland.
1691.George Mackenzie, a Scottish lawyer, died. He figured conspicuously in trials of witchcraft, which puzzled the best heads in those days, and it is probable that he dealt with that sin most thoroughly, for he received the appellation of "the blood thirsty advocate." He was a literary character, however, of no small note, and was among the first Scotchmen who wrote the English language in a style approaching to purity.
1711.Lawrence Hyde, earl of Rochester, died; deservedly respected as an able statesman.
1753.Leonor Jean Christine Soulas d'Allainvaldied; a native of Chartres, in France, and author of several comedies of merit.
1774. Permission was given to the society of antiquaries to open the stone coffin of Edward I, and it was found that the body was in a perfect state of preservation, and measured 6 feet 2 inches. It had been placed in wax.
1777.David Wooster, a revolutionary officer, died of a wound received in pursuing the British from Danbury (April 27). He graduated at Yale college, and at the commencement of hostilities was appointed to the chief command of the Connecticut troops.
1785.John Lewis Moreau de Beaumont, a French political author, died. His works are much and deservedly admired.
1795. The number of prisoners confined in the 12 prisons of Paris amounted to 2338.
1802.Bonaparteconstituted first consul for a second term of ten years.
1808. Embargo laid on American shipping in France.
1808. The royal family of Spain sent prisoners to France. At the sight of this procedure, there was a general insurrection of the inhabitants of Madrid, who attacked the French soldiers with knives, and a bloody contest took place, which was only quelled by scouring the streets with grape shot. The Spaniards finally desisted on seeing their resistance fruitless. It is estimated that 4,000 French and 6,000 Spaniards lost their lives.
1808.John Collinsdied; author ofThe Evening Brush, an oral entertainment of story, song and sentiment, which he delivered many years with great success, in all the principal towns in Great Britain. In this sort of entertainment he has had many followers, among whom the most noted was Charles Matthews.
1809. Battle of Amaranta, in Portugal, in which the Portuguese were defeated by the French under Soult.
1813. Battle of Lutzen, between the French army under Bonaparte, and the allies, under the kings of Russia and Prussia. The attack was commenced by the allies under Blucher upon the French centre, with a fury irresistible. The battle was for a long time maintained by both armies with obstinate energy. It was the more desperate and deplorable, says sir Walter Scott, that on the one side fought the flower of the Russian youth, which had left their universities to support the cause of national honor and freedom; and on the other, the young men of Paris, many of them of the best rank, who bravely endeavored to sustain their country's long pre-eminent claim to victory. Both combatted under the eyes of their respective sovereigns, maintained the honor of their country, and paid an ample tribute to the carnage of the day. The victory finally resulted to the arms of the French, by the superior generalship of their great leader, and the determined bravery of his troops. The allies sustained a loss of 20,000, and among them several experienced officers. The French loss was severe.
1817.Catharine Rushdied at Philadelphia, aged 110 years, 11 months.
1821.Hester Lynch Piozzi, an Englishauthoress, died. She is known as Mrs. Thrale, the friend of Dr. Johnson.
1825.Adam Seybert, an American statistical writer, died at Paris. He was a member of congress from Philadelphia, and a man of science.
1836.Jeremiah Holme Whiffen, an English poet, died. He belonged to the society of friends, published a variety of miscellaneous poems, a translation of the Spanish poet Garcilasso de la Vega, and of Tasso.
1840.Thomas Manning, an eminent English linguist, died, aged 67. Having made several ineffectual attempts to penetrate China, his services were solicited by the British government, to accompany lord Amherst in his embassy to that country. He made himself one of the first Chinese scholars in Europe, and collected one of the finest Chinese libraries to be found in that quarter of the world.
1844.William Beckford, author of the Arabian tale entitledVathek, with many other works, died at Fonthill, England.
1855.George Head, a British commissariat, died, aged 73. He published several valuable works, relating to different parts of the world, where his duties called him, and was knighted in 1831.
1856.James Gates Percival, an eminent American poet and philosopher, died in Wisconsin, aged 60. He was a native of Connecticut, graduated at Yale college, and studied medicine, but devoted himself to the cultivation of poetry, and the pursuit of science. He assisted in preparingWebster's Dictionaryfor the press, and superintended the publication ofMalte Brun's Geography. He afterwards made a geological survey of Connecticut, and in 1854 was appointed state geologist of Wisconsin, in which service he died. Although distinguished for his attainments in philology and general science, he will be chiefly remembered as one of the eminent American poets.
1324. A poetic festival at Toulouse calledjeux floraux, to which all the poets of theLangue d'Ocwere invited, where the composer of the best poem was to receive a violet of fine gold. The celebrated troubadour, Arnaud Vidal, won the prize.
1381.John Ball, a priest and compeer of the notorious Wat Tyler, preached to Tyler's army from the proverbial rhyme: