338B. C.Battle of Cheronea, on the Cephisus, and defeat of the Athenians and Thebans by Philip of Macedon.
338B. C.The army of Archidamus, the Spartan, overthrown in Lucania, and himself killed.
322B. C.Joint victory of Antipater and Craterius, near the walls of Cranon, in Thessaly.
10. Three Roman legions under Varus cut off in Germany. "Quintilius Varus, give me my legions again," exclaimed the father of his country. Varus, however, had shared the fate of his legions.
44. KingAgrippa(the Great), smitten with disease in the public theatre at Cæsarea, on the second day of the games exhibited in honor of Claudius.
1100.William II(Rufus), king of England, killed by an arrow. He possessed vigor, decision and policy, and acquired great wealth, by which he was enabled to purchase two French provinces. He founded Westminster hall.
1553. Thepeace of religionsigned at Passau, on the Danube, between the confederates under Maurice of Saxony and the emperor Charles V, which established the protestant church in Germany.
1563. That great scourge, the plague, began in London.
1651.Cromwell, after a week's siege, erected the colors of the commonwealth on the walls of Perth.
1675. Brookfield destroyed by the Indians. This town was situated in the country of the Nipnets, whom Philip finally succeeded in engaging to himself in his plan of a general extermination of the English colonies. The inhabitants being alarmed had scarcely time to flee to the principal house in the village, before the savages came pouring in, and fired every other house. The whole number of people thus collected together was about seventy. They withstood the assaults of the Indians two days, who kept up the attack night and day, and endeavored to fire the house by means of poles with firebrands and rags dipped in brimstone tied to their ends. They also filled a cart with hemp and flax, and other combustibles, and having set it on fire thrust it backward with poles spliced together to a great length. A storm of rain defeated this last scheme; and several companies of soldiers came to the relief of the besieged so unexpectedly that the Indians, although they had surrounded the town to cut off assistance, were disheartened and fled.
1676. KingPhilip, the Wampanoag, surprised in his quarters by a party of the colonists under captain Church; 150 of his men were killed, his wife and sons were taken prisoners, and he narrowly escaped with his life.
1684. A treaty of peace concluded at Albany, between the colonists and the Five Nations, who, since the peace of 1761, had extended their arms southward, and conquered the country from the Mississippi to the borders of the plantations; involving Virginia and Maryland in the calamities of their Indian allies, whom they were unable to protect.
1689.Innocent XIdied. He has been called the protestant pope.
1704. Battle of Blenheim, in Bavaria; the English and Austrians under the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, obtained a famous victory over the French and Bavarians, who lost 12,000 killed and drowned, and 13,000 prisoners, including marshal Tallard. (13th by some authorities.)
1713.Mensen Alting, a Dutch writer, died; author of an excellent description of the Low Countries.
1732.Rip Van Dam, upon whom the government of the province of New York devolved, finished his administration, on the arrival of William Cosby, with a commission over New York and New Jersey.
1748. Attack on fort Massachusetts by 300 French and Indians. Captain Williams sallied with 30 men and drove the enemy before him, when an ambuscade arose and attempted to cut off his retreat to the fort. By a quick movement he regained the place, and returned their fire with so much spirit that the enemy withdrew, carrying off their dead and wounded.
1763. Battle of Nuncas Nullus; the English defeated the troops of Mir Cossim, 28,000, took all their artillery and 150 boats laden with grain and stores.
1770. The Russians under Romanzow, defeated the Turks with great slaughter on the Pruth.
1776.Matthew Maty, an English writer, died. He published at the Hague, during six years, theJournal Britannique, containing an account of the productions of the English press, in French.
1786.Margaret Nicholson, supposing herself to be queen of England, made an attempt to assassinate George III. She was afterwards confined as a lunatic.
1788.Thomas Gainsboroughdied; one of the most celebrated English landscape painters of the last century.
1793.Marie Antoinette, queen of France and daughter of an emperor, taken from the temple prison in the night, and removed to a cell in the Conciergerie, 8 feet square, and partly under ground. As a matter of favor she was permitted to take under her arm a small bundle of clothing.
1798.John Palmer, a popular English actor, died on the stage during a performance, immediately on uttering the words, "There is an other and a better world."
1802.Bonapartedeclared consul of France for life.
1803.John Hoole, an ingenious English poet, died. He translated some of the best Italian poets, wrote three tragedies, and several other works.
1811.William Williams, one of the signers died, aged 81. He advanced money and obtained supplies for the army, and also contributed by his writings and speeches to arouse the spirit of freedom in his countrymen.
1813. Defence of fort Stephenson by 160 men with 1 six pounder, under Col. Croghan, then aged 21. The British, consisting of 500 regulars under Proctor, and about 800 Indians under Tecumseh, with 5 six pounders and 1 howitzer, were defeated with considerable loss.
1814. The remarkable steeple of Kelwinning, in Scotland, fell. It was built in 1140.
1815. Convention between the representatives of Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia, who declared Bonaparte to be the prisoner of the allies, and entrusted his custody especially to Great Britain.
1830.Charles X, of France, subscribed his abdication in favor of his grandson the young duke of Bordeaux.
1842.John Clifford, a lieutenant in the revolutionary army, died at Bethlehem, Hunterdon co., N. J., aged 94.
1843.Francis W. P. Greenwood, pastor of King's chapel, Boston, died at Dorchester, Mass., aged 50. He was also an accomplished scholar and naturalist.
1843.James Richards, professor of theology in the Auburn theological seminary, died, aged 75; an eminently useful man.
1849.Mehemet Ali, pacha of Egypt, died at Alexandria, aged 80. He was a powerful sovereign, and gave the sultan much trouble. He did more than any of his predecessors towards introducing improvements into his territories.
1849.Garibaldi, the Roman chief, escaped on board some fishing vessels at Cesenatico, on the Adriatic, accompanied by 300 followers. The remainder of his band surrendered to the Austrians.
1849.Stephen Longfellow, a New England lawyer of note, died at Portland, Me., aged 73. He was a member of the Hartford convention from Massachusetts, and distinguished for great acuteness and penetration. He compiled 16 volumes of theMassachusetts Reports, and 12 of theMaine, extending over a period of thirty years.
1852.Thomas Thomson, a Scottish author, died, aged 60. He was professor of chemistry in the university of Glasgow, and established a highly scientific reputation. In 1812 he began theAnnals of Philosophy, in London, which he conducted ten years.
1852. A violent earthquake occurred at St. Jago de Cuba, causing a great destruction of property.
479B. C.The fatal battle of Platea, between Mardonius the Persian and Pausanius the Spartan general. The other sanguinary victory over the Persians, on the promontory of Mycale was achieved the same day, third of Boedromion.
431B. C.An eclipse of the sun noticed by Thucydides, eight days after the first invasion of Attica under Archidamus, king of Sparta, at the head of 60,000 Peloponesian confederates, and whilst Pericles was in the act of embarking against Epidaurus, the sacred city.
678. A morning comet, shaped like a fiery pillar, seen in England. It was visible during three months, and caused the conversion of the South Saxons from paganism.
1274.Edward Ilanded in England from Palestine. He sailed from his winter mansion, Trepano, Sicily, on the 20th April, 1271.
1414.James Iof Scotland conveyed from the tower to Windsor; there this bird of song waswired infor three years.
1460.James II(with the fiery face), king of Scotland, killed by the bursting of a gun, aged 29, after a reign of 24 years.
1492.Columbusembarked in the carack Santa Maria, with two other vessels and 120 persons, from the Isle of Saltes, against Palos, in Andalusia, to find a western continent.
1546.Stephen Dolet, a learned Frenchman, a painter and a bookseller, burnt at Lyons for atheism.
1554. The first letter in Europe known to have been sealed with sealing wax bears this date, and was written at London, addressed to the rheingrave Philip Francis von Daun, from his agent in England, Gerhard Hermann. The wax employed in sealing this letter is of a dark red color, very shining, and the impress bears the initials of the writer.
1554. Battle of Marciano; the troops of Cosmo de Medici, under Medicini, defeated the French under Peter Strozzi, a Florentine nobleman, who was wounded.
1592. The English earl of Cumberland captured a Spanish carack, Madre de Dios (Mother of God), valued at $150,000.
1612.John Bond, a learned English commentator on the Latin classics, died.
1645. Battle of Nordlingen; the allies under Merci, defeated by the French under Turenne, Conde and Grammont. Merci was killed and Grammont taken prisoner.
1672.John Francis Senaudt, a Dutch theological writer, died.
1692. Battle of Steenkerken; the English under William III defeated with great slaughter by the French.
1712.Joshua Barnesdied; an eminent English critic and professor of Greek. He wrote theLife of Edward III, and several Latin and English poems.
1715. A cobbler of Highgate, London, was whipped from Holloway to that place for reflecting on the government.
1720.N. Heinsius, an eminent Dutch statesman, died. He was 30 years grand pensionary of Holland, and exerted the energy of his mind and the resources of his country to abridge the power of the French monarch.
1721.Grinlin Gibbondied, an eminent English sculptor and carver in ivory and wood. The place or country of his birth is not known. He was discovered by sir John Evelyn, who walking by accident near a poor solitary thatched cottage, had the curiosity to look in at the window, when he saw him carving a large cartoon or crucifix of Tintoret, a copy of which Evelyn himself had brought from Venice. His performances in marble and ivory were so very fine, that they often required to be defended by a glass case. Many of his flower pieces are light almost as fancy, and shake to the rattling of passing carriages. There is no instance before him, says Walpole, of a man who gave to wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each species.
1732. The first stone laid of the bank of England.
1761.John Matthew Gesner, a German scholar and critic, died. He published several valuable editions of the classics.
1763.Thomas Godfrey, an American poet, died, aged 27. He was a watchmaker, and said to have been the real inventor of Hadley's quadrant.
1768.Thomas Secker, archbishop of Canterbury, died; whose lectures and sermons are masterly compositions.
1777. Fort Schuyler, at the head of the Mohawk river, invested by the British, about 1,800, under St. Leger. The garrison consisted of 600 continentals under general Gansevoort, who maintained their position till the British abandoned the siege and returned to Canada, leaving their tents standing; their artillery, and ammunition and provisions fell into the hands of the Americans.
1780.Stephen Bonnot de Condillac, a distinguished French philosopher, died. His works are characterized by great clearness and sagacity, and were published in 1798 in 35 volumes.
1783. A new eruption of the Skaptar Jokul, in Iceland, poured forth fresh floods of lava, which taking different directions from the others, filled the bed of a river, and formed a large lake. By this single eruption, 9,000 persons lost their lives, being nearly one-fifth of the whole population of the island. This volcano, which commenced on the 11th June, continued for two years, and the lava was not cooled in some places, when visited eleven years after.
1787.John Baynes, an English politician, died, aged 29. He was distinguished for his early attainments and devotion to the cause of liberty.
1788.Louis Francois Armand du Plessis de Richelieu, marechal of France, died, aged 93. He had the courage, the fortune and the talents of a great general, the sagacity, prudence and penetration of a great statesman; but with these and many amiable qualities he chose to be nothing but a common courtier.
1792.Richard Arkwrightdied; inventor of the spinning jenny, one of the most useful machines in the world. He was originally a barber, but his invention enabled him at his death to leave a property worth £500,000.
1797.Jeffrey Amherst, a celebrated English admiral, died. He assisted in the conquest of Canada.
1802.Henry, prince of Prussia, died. He distinguished himself at the head of several Prussian armies, and in time of peace was engaged in literary pursuits. On the death of his elder brother, he was excluded from the throne by his nephew, and resided in France.
1804. The United States squadron under Com. Preble, attacked the shipping and batteries of Tripoli. During the action the Constitution was much injured; 13 were wounded and 1 killed; 3 of the enemy's boats were captured and 3 sunk.
1805.Christopher Anstey, an ingenious English poet, died.
1806.Miranda, having received a reinforcement from the British, landed in the gulf of Paria, for the purpose of effecting a revolution.
1806.Michael Adanson, an eminent French naturalist, died, leaving an immense mass of manuscripts which he had collected with the view of publishing an encyclopedia. He passed several years inAfrica making collections in natural history.
1812. Privateer schooner Atlas, of Philadelphia, captured in one hour British ships Pursuit, 16 guns, and Planter, 12 guns. The latter was recaptured.
1814. Fort Erie invested by the British, upwards of 5,000.
1814. 1,200 British crossed the Niagara, to attack Buffalo, but were repulsed by 250 riflemen under Morgan, and compelled to recross.
1814. Great disturbances in Spain, many members of the cortes arrested by order of the king.
1819. Barrow's straits rediscovered by Capt. Parry. He penetrated to Melville island. The lowest state of the thermometer was 55° below zero, Fahrenheit.
1823.Lazare Nicholas Marguerite Carnot, a distinguished French general, died. He possessed an uncommon talent for the mathematical and military sciences, and pursued a uniform and correct course in his politics, which enabled him to ride out the storm of the revolution, and the subsequent changes.
1848. Women's rights convention assembled at Rochester; demanded the rights of suffrage, property, preaching, teaching, &c., &c.
1849.Aaron K. Wooley, a Kentucky judge, died at Lexington, aged 49. He was a native of New Jersey, graduated at West Point, and studied law in Mississippi. He was some time state senator of Fayette county, Ky., and at the time of his death had been ten years professor of law in Transylvania university.
1849. GeneralOudinotsurrendered the civil administration of the Papal states into the hands of the pope's three commissioners, who entered on the work ofreaction.
1850.Jacob Jones, an American commodore, died at Philadelphia, aged 82. He stood nearly at the head of the list of post captains, two names only taking precedence. Capt. Jones, we believe, was a native of Delaware. He is one of the number who, in the war of 1812, contributed to establish the naval renown of our country. He fought in the Wasp one of the bloodiest naval battles in our history, and captured in 45 minutes the British brig-of-war Frolic of superior force, and under circumstances highly unfavorable to success. For this action the states of Delaware, Massachusetts and New York, each voted him a sword in commemoration of his gallantry, which was in no wise impaired by the subsequent capture of both the Wasp and the Frolic, when in a crippled condition, by a British 74. He was afterwards appointed to the Macedonian. Temperate himself, he deserves honorable mention as a promoter of temperance among his crew; many seamen were reclaimed by him.
1851. The steamer Pampero, with about 500 troops, composing the expedition against Cuba under general Lopez, left New Orleans at daybreak.
1854. ColonelLoring, a receiver of public moneys at Benicia, Cal., was murdered at the St. Nicholas hotel, New York, by Dr. Graham, of New Orleans.
1856.Edward Curtis, a prominent New York lawyer and politician, died. He was a native of Vermont, was graduated at Union college, and began his political career in 1834 in the New York common council. He was collector of the port under president Harrison.
1857.Eugene Sue, a celebrated French novelist, died, aged 49.The Mysteries of ParisandThe Wandering Jew, are known in all Europe and America.
57B. C.The decree recallingCicerofrom banishment, which passed the full senate, consisting of 417 members, was ratified in the field of Mars, by a vote of all the centuries; it was nearly the last genuine public act of Roman liberty.
882.Louis III, of France, died. He shared the throne with his brother Carloman, and ably defended himself against his enemies.
1060.Henry I, of France, died in consequence of taking an improper medicine; highly respected as a good warrior and a benevolent man.
1265. Battle of Evesham; the earl of Leicester defeated and killed by the forces under prince Edward, and the king released from confinement. No quarter was given, and the aged king only received his life by an unwonted energy of mind; exclaiming to his antagonist, "Hold, fellow, I am Harry of Winchester."
1347. The conquest of Calais by the third Edward, after a siege of 11 months, when the six citizens, with halters round their necks, surrendered the keys of their independence. The condemned lives of these men, whose patriotism has scarcely ever been equaled, were spared through the tears and intercessions of Philippa. The inhabitants were removed and the city repeopled with English, in whose possession it remained more than two centuries. The pay of the army was as follows: the marines and archers on foot received 3d.; the black prince £1; and the bishop of Durham, with the earls, 6s. 8d. per day.
1496.Bartholomew Columbus, theadmiral's brother, laid the foundation of St. Domingo.
1578. Battle of the three kings, in the west of Africa, which was invaded by Sebastian of Portugal, in which the Moors were victorious, but the three kings engaged in it lost their lives.
1583. SirHumphrey Gilbertlanded at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and took possession of it in the name of the queen of England.
1598.William Cecil, lord Burley, died. He was an eminent English statesman, memorable for his virtue and integrity, as well as his great abilities.
1609.Hudsondiscovered cape Cod, and under the supposition that it was an island, called it New Holland, in compliment to the country of his employers. The Dutch afterwards called it Staaten hoek. The Indians here were observed to have green tobacco, and pipes with clay bowls and copper stems.
1612.Hugh Broughton, an eminent Hebrew scholar, died. So classical was his Hebrew that a Jew predicted the turning of the whole Jewish race if the New Testament would be printed in such pure Hebrew.
1633.George Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, died, aged 71. He rose from humble circumstances to great dignity.
1651. Stirling castle and town taken by Monk for Cromwell.
1666. A disastrous hurricane in the West Indies. Lord Francis Willoughby perished with his fleet of 15 sail. The poor fellows who escaped the wreck, were seized with exultation by the French.
1696. GeneralFrontenacinvaded the Onondaga country.
1713.William Cave, an eminent English scholar and divine, died. He published a great number of useful works.
1723.William Fleetwood, an English bishop, died. "His character was great in every respect."
1747.Michael Maittaire, a learned French critic and bibliographer, died. He edited many of the classical authors, with useful indexes, and wrote several important works.
1759. Crown point on lake Champlain, taken from the French by Gen. Amherst.
1774.Christopher Coudrette, a French ecclesiastic, died. His chief work was a history of the Jesuits; he was an opposer of that order, and of the pope's bull, unigenitus.
1781.Isaac Hayne, a patriot of the revolution, hanged at Charleston by order of the British lord Rawdon, an act, under the circumstances, extremely unjust and merciless, and which his lordship attempted to justify in a pamphlet.
1783. CaptainJohn Darby, of the Astrea, arrived at Salem with the news of the ratification of the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain. He is said to have carried out the accounts of the first conflict at Lexington.
1789. Privileged classes abolished in France.
1792.John Burgoyne, a British general, died. He surrendered his whole army to general Gates at Saratoga, and returned to England. He was a member of parliament, and a successful dramatic author. (June 4, P. Cyc.)
1799.John Bacon, an English sculptor, died. He was apprenticed to a porcelain manufacturer, in which condition he devoted his leisure to statuary, and finally rose to great eminence in his profession.
1804.Adam Duncan, a gallant English admiral, died; celebrated for the victory he gained over the Dutch fleet at Camperdown, for which he was rewarded with a peerage.
1806.Mirandaarrived at Coro an hour before day; the place was abandoned, and through mistake his troops fired on each other.
1808. French assaulted Saragossa in Spain, and penetrated into a part of the town.
1808. The commencement of Wellington's famous retreat into Portugal.
1814. United States troops under Col. Croghan attacked the British and Indians at fort Mackinaw, but were repulsed with the loss of 50 killed.
1815.Bonapartedelivered a written protest for the prince regent of England, against being sent to St. Helena.
1821.William Floyd, one of the signers of the declaration of independence, died at Western, New York.
1835. The Spanish ministry having suppressed the Jesuits and confiscated their property, a royal decree to this effect was signed. By this decree 900 convents were suppressed in Spain, and their property applied towards the payment of the debts of the state.
1836. The famous bell of Moscow, the largest in the world, raised from the ground, where it had laid a great many years. Its weight is about 440,000 pounds, is 21 feet in height and 23 in diameter.
1842.John Banin, a popular Irish novelist, died near Kilkenny, Ireland.
1846.Fisher Ames Harding, one of the editors of theDetroit Daily Advertiser, died at Detroit.
1848.Daniel Wadsworth, a gentleman of highly cultivated taste and benevolence, died at Hartford, Ct., aged 77.
1848. Capital punishment except in cases of martial law, abolished in thePrussian assembly, also in the German parliament at Frankfort.
1851. At Leon, Nicaragua, Gen. Munoz, late minister of war, with a small body of troops, took prisoners president Pineda and most of his cabinet, sent them to a port in Tigre islands, and elected Justo Albuanez president.
1852.Alfred D'Orsay, the mirror of fashion, letters and art, died in Paris, aged 54.
1854. A severe battle was fought between the Chippewa and Sioux Indians.
1854.Bailey Washington, a surgeon in the navy, died at Washington, aged 67. He was a relative of general Washington, and entered the navy in 1810 as surgeon. He was with the Enterprise when she captured the Boxer, and was fleet surgeon under Rogers, Elliot and Patterson, in the Mediterranean.
1854.Jose Barundia, minister from Honduras, died at New York, aged 70. He was elected to the presidency of the confederation of Central America, when he adopted many of the laws of the United States, and devoted his salary to the promotion of public schools. He was the prime mover of the liberal party, and the first to raise the standard of rebellion against the Spanish government.
1857.Joshua Forman, founder of the city of Syracuse in New York, died in Rutherfordton, N. C., aged 71. He was one of the early promoters of the Erie canal, and first judge of the county of Onondaga, from which he removed about twenty years before his death.
57B. C.Cicerolanded from Durazzo at Brundusium, and was met there by his excellent daughter Tullia, on the 20th anniversary of her birthday.
1100. Inauguration of Henry I, of England, who instantly granted a charter to the nation, restoring the laws of Edwardthe Confessorto the same state in which they had been settled bythe Conqueror; and drove from his court theeffœminatiwith their enormous and disgusting train.
1391.Charles VI, of France, surnamed theWell-beloved, seized by a mental distemper, which, as it deprived him of the sovereign authority, afterwards led, in bad hands to the ruin of his kingdom.
1407.Robert Knolles, so famed in the French wars of Edward III, died at Scenethorp, Norfolk, but was buried at White Friars church, London, which he had built.
1501.Reginald Bray, an English architect, died. He was also a distinguished warrior and statesman, and in the latter capacity acquired the title of "the father of his country."
1604. By royal proclamation this 5th day of August was appointed a holiday in celebration of king James's delivery from the conspiracy of the Gowries.
1633.George Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, died. He assisted in the translation of theBible, being one of the eight divines to whom it was committed.
1704. Sanguinary battle at Hochstädt, in which the French, &c., were defeated by the confederates under Marlborough.
1717. Battle of Peterwaradein; the Turks defeated by the Austrians under prince Eugene, with great loss. (1716?)
1754.James Gibbs, an ingenious English architect, died; leaving a handsome property to public charities.
1759. Leipsic taken by the Austrians.
1778. The British burnt and destroyed their fleet off Rhode island on the appearance of the French fleet under count d'Estaing.
1781. Action off the Dogger bank, between the British fleet, 6 ships, 4 frigates and a cutter, under admiral Parker, and the Dutch, 8 ships, 10 frigates and 5 sloops, under admiral Zoutman. Both fleets were greatly damaged; the Dutch retired to the Texel; the British did not follow them.
1792.Lafayetteaccused of treason before the national assembly. He had previously been burnt in effigy in the Palais royal by the Jacobins.
1792.Frederic North, earl of Guildford, better known asLord North, died, aged 60. As adviser to George III in the American war, he became and continued to his death unpopular.
1796. Battle of Castiglione, between the French under Bonaparte and the imperialists under Wurmzer. The latter were defeated, with the loss of 500 killed, 2,000 captured, and 8 cannon.
1799.Richard Howe, a celebrated English admiral, died. He entered the navy at the age of 14; rose through the usual gradations to the highest rank, distinguished himself on many occasions, and died at the age of 75.
1812. Battle of Brownstown; the British regulars and Indians attacked the United States troops, 150 men, under Van Horne.
1813. American privateer Decatur, 13 guns, captured British schooner Dominica, 16 guns, by boarding.
1814. Division of the Scheldt fleet, in virtue of the treaty of Paris, between France and the allies.
1815. Massacre of the protestants at Nismes, in France; these enormities continued nine days.
1816. First state election held in Indiana.
1833.George Gibbsdied near New York. He was a practical mineralogist, and the collector of the extensive cabinet of minerals in Yale college.
1835.Thomas McCrie, a Scottish divine and ecclesiastical antiquary, died. He was distinguished for his patient research, candor and ability as a historian, and produced several works which have a high reputation.
1835.G. S. Newton, an eminent painter, died in England. He was a native of Halifax, N. S., became distinguished in his profession, and produced a number of works which are highly esteemed.
1839. The city of Cabul, Afghanistan, taken by the British, and the war in that country brought to an end.
1840. The city and island of Chusan, belonging to China, captured after a short resistance, by the British under brigadier general Burrell. The Chinese lost 25 killed; the British none.
1846.John Ward(Father of the City) died at St. Johns, New Brunswick, aged 92. He was born near New York, and adhering to the British interest, entered the army in 1776, and was frequently in action. At the peace of 1783, he embarked with his regiment, the Loyal Americans, to New Brunswick, where the corps was disbanded. He then embarked in commercial pursuits, and at the time of his death was the senior half pay officer, as well as the oldest merchant in the province. He filled several civil offices, and sustained an estimable character.
1849. The number of births in Connecticut for the year ending this day was 7,373; marriages 2,757; deaths 5,016.
1577. QueenElizabethgranted a license to John Day, and Richard Day, his son, during their lives, and that of the longest liver, to print thePsalms of Davidin metre.
1580.Andrea Palladio, a very distinguished Italian architect, died; many specimens of his designs yet remain.
1585.Davis, the navigator, reached the strait which bears his name, and cast anchor in Exeter bay, "beneath that brave mount, the cliffs whereof were orient as gold."
1637.Benjamin Jonson, the English poet and dramatist, died, aged 63. He was a bricklayer at the outset of life; but his inclinations turned to the building of monuments more imperishable than those of brick and stone. (16th,N. S.)
1638. Birthday ofNicholas Malebranche, a distinguished French philosopher. His works were highly esteemed for their genius and style; and for his manners, which were amiable and simple, he was greatly venerated.
1660.Don Diego Velasquez de Silvadied; a distinguished Spanish painter.
1662.Metacom, sachem of Pokanoket, afterwards celebrated under the English title of king Philip, made his appearance at the court of Plymouth, and solicited the continuance of the amity and friendship which had subsisted between the governor of Plymouth and his father and brother; and promised for himself and his successors to remain subjects of the king of England.
1674.Thomas Willett, the first mayor of New York, died. He is buried at Seekonk, Mass.
1695.Francis de Harlaydied; archbishop of Paris, the favorite of Louis XIV.
1701.Ulric Obrecht, a learned German critic and Latin historian, died. So extensive and various was his learning that he has been styled "the epitome of human science."
1706.John Baptist du Hameldied; a celebrated French philosopher and divine.
1725.Thomas Rawlinson(Tom Folio), an English antiquary, died. The sale of his collection of books and manuscripts, which were put up at auction after his death, occupied several weeks.
1745.David Wilkinsdied; an English librarian and antiquary, and a learned author.
1756.Eugene Aram, a self-taught English scholar, executed near York, for murder, and hung in chains on Knaresborough forest. He was a man of consummate abilities and wonderful erudition, but appears to have been a victim to covetousness.
1777. GeneralHerkimer, marching with the forces of Tryon county to relieve Gen. Gansevoort at fort Schuyler, was ambushed by a strong detachment of British and Indians, and defeated with the loss of 400. The Indians lost several of their great chiefs and 70 warriors.
1778. SieurGerard, ambassador from France, introduced to congress. He was the first ambassador from any nation to the United States.
1780. Battle of Hanging-rock; 600 Americans under Sumpter attacked and defeated the British, consisting of the prince of Wales' regiment and a large body of tories. The regiment was almost entirely destroyed; from 278 it was reduced to 9 men.
1788. The lastlit de justicein France, assembled at Versailles, by Louis XVI, to enforce upon the parliament of Paris theadoption of the obnoxious taxes proposed by Calonne.
1796. Battle of Roveredo; the French under Bonaparte defeated the Austrians under Wurmzer, after an action of 16 hours, and entered Trent. Austrian loss 6,000 men.
1796.James Pettit Andrewsdied; author of several English histories and other works of merit.
1799.Marie Eliezer Block, an able German naturalist, died. He was of obscure parentage, and self-taught. Besides other valuable works on natural history and medicine, he published aHistory of Fishes, 6 vols. folio, colored plates.
1806.Francis II, emperor of Germany and king of Rome, resigned his titles and annexed his possessions in Germany to the Austrian empire. Themilleniumof the empire, founded by Charlemagne, fell upon the holiday of Christmas, 1800.
1815. CommodoreDecaturarrived with his fleet off Tripoli.
1817.Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, a French statesman, died. He was distinguished for his knowledge and talents, as well as his excellent character and principles. On the return of Bonaparte from Elba he came to America, where he died.
1818.David Ferguson, a Scottish soldier, died at Dunkirk, aged 124, very much respected and beloved.
1824. Battle of Junin, in Peru; the royalists defeated by the united Peruvian and Colombian forces, under Bolivar. The combatants fought hand to hand, with lance and sabre, those engaged being cavalry only.
1840.Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, son of the late king of Holland, accompanied by about 60 men, made an attempt to effect an hostile descent upon France. The party landed about two leagues from Boulogne, directed their march to that city, and were soon taken prisoners. The prince was soon after placed in the castle of Ham.
1843. TheThousand Years' Jubileecelebrated in Germany, in commemoration of the settlement by which the empire was divided between the three brothers, sons of Philipthe Devout. The festival occurred on Sunday, and was very generally and appropriately celebrated, more particularly in the Prussian states.
1846. A revolution took place again in Mexico, in favor of the exiled Santa Anna. The troops in Vera Cruz and its vicinity first declared in his favor, and were soon followed by those at the capital, who deposed and imprisoned general Paredes, the president of the republic, and proclaimed Santa Anna, and the constitution of 1824.
1849. A treaty of peace was signed between Austria and Piedmont.
1851. An eruption having taken place in the volcanic mountains of Martinique, columns of smoke were seen to issue from eight distinct craters.
1855. A riot at Louisville, Ky., between the Americans and foreigners; several were killed on both sides, and rows of houses belonging to the foreign population were torn down and burnt.
480B. C.The immortal battle in the pass of Thermopylæ is placed upon this day; when Leonidas with 300 Spartans withstood the army of Xerxes. There was a skirmish also with the Grecian fleet at Artemisium. Diodorus fixes the victory of Gelon, under the walls of Himera, in Sicily, upon the same day.
445B. C.Dedication of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, on the 7th of Elul, in the 21st year of Artaxerxes.
44.Herod Agrippa, king of Judea, died suddenly upon his throne. He was a great builder, whose expenses exceeded his income, for his generosity was boundless, saith Josephus. He persecuted the Christians, and was one of those scourges of mankind who have been cut off with their vices.
461.Julius Valerius Majorian, emperor of Rome, assassinated. He was successful in his war with the Vandals, and universally respected for his virtues.
1106.Henry IV, emperor of Germany, died. He was a brave, but unfortunate prince, who, having humbled his enemies in 66 battles, was finally dethroned and reduced to indigence by his own sons.
1485.Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII, landed at Milford haven from Normandy, for the invasion of England, with 2,000 men.
1588. The Spanish armada, becalmed before Dunkirk, completely discomfited by the appearance of eight ships filled with pitch, sulphur and other combustibles, and having been set on fire as the breeze sprung up were directed by the English admiral against the different divisions of the Spanish fleet. The darkness of the night lent terror to the awful appearance of the approaching flames; and the crews, anxious only for their own preservation, weighed anchor or cut their cables, and suffered their ships to drive before the wind. In this confusion many of them ran afoul of one another, and several of them received such damage as to be unfit for future use.
1613. Dorchester, in England, destroyed by fire.
1667.John Wilson, first minister of Boston, died. He came over with governor Winthrop, 1630, and was ordained under a tree in Charlestown.
1679.La Sallesailed from the foot of lake Erie in the first vessel built upon that lake, with a crew of thirty men. His vessel was lost on its return from Mackinaw with its crew of six men, and a cargo of peltries, valued at fifty thousand francs.
1771.John Daniel Schoepflin, an eminent German philosopher, historiographer and antiquary, died. His reputation was so great, that his residence was solicited by the sovereigns of different countries.
1793. The first patient of yellow fever in Philadelphia, which raged there with great fury this year, died on this day. The number that died of the disease during its prevalence was about 3,500.
1804. Second attack on Tripoli by the United States squadron under Com. Preble. One of the prizes previously taken was blown up by the passage of a red hot ball through her magazine.
1806.Elizabeth Smith, an accomplished English lady, died. She understood most of the learned languages, and had a knowledge of the sciences.
1807.Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson, an Armenian diplomatist, died. He was in the service of the Swedish embassy at Constantinople, where he conceived the plan of a work on the Ottoman empire. It was completed, after a labor of 45 years, in 7 vols., and published at Paris.
1812. United States frigate Essex captured British king's brig George.
1819. Battle of Bojaca; the revolutionists of Venezuela and New Granada, under Bolivar, totally defeated the Spaniards, whose destruction was so complete that the viceroy fled, leaving the public treasure a prey to the conquerors. This battle decided the independence of New Granada.
1820.Eliza Bacciocchi, sister of Bonaparte, died. She married a captain in the army, who on the conquest of Italy was created prince of Lucca and Piombino; but she was the actual sovereign, and when she reviewed the troops, her husband discharged the office of aid-de-camp.
1821.Caroline Amelia Elizabeth, wife of George IV, of England, died, aged 53. She was abandoned by her husband, then prince of Wales, soon after their marriage, and the nation was repeatedly agitated by their disputes, for more than 20 years.
1830. The throne of France declared vacant by the chamber of deputies; after making various important modifications in the charter, they called to the throne Louis Phillippe, and his male descendants for ever.
1848. The great comet, whose revolution occupies 292 years, passed its perihelion in July, and was first seen on this day by a gentleman in Altona.
1854. The Turks entered Bucharest, which the Russians had previously evacuated.
1855. A severe and bloody riot occurred at St. Louis, Missouri, between the Irish and Americans, which continued for 48 hours, and resulted in the death of 10 persons, and the severe injury of 30 more.
1855. While two companies of militia were conducting to jail a prisoner named Debar, for the murder of a negro, at Milwaukie, the mob seized him and killed him without resistance.
1855.Richard Sheepshanks, a British astronomer, died, aged 61. He made great efforts in determining the latitude and longitude of places in England and Ireland, and contributed a series of papers to thePenny Cyclopediaon the science of astronomy.
70. Capture of Jerusalem by Titus, the 8th day of the month Gorpieus, (Elul) upon his daughter's birthday.
1419.Peter d'Ailly, a French ecclesiastic, died. He was of an obscure family, and rose by his merit to the office of cardinal.
1503.Alexander VI(Roderick Borgia), pope, died. He was of infamous notoriety before his elevation to the pontificate, and is supposed to have been poisoned by a draught which he had prepared for some of his guests.
1540. Nuptials ofHenry VIIIandCatharine Howard, his fifth spouse. By "a notable appearance of honor, cleanness and maidenly behavior," she won the heart of old Harry, whose marriage with Anne of Cleves was annulled the 9th of July previous.
1588.Edwin Sandys, archbishop of York, died. He assisted in the translation of what is called theBishop's Bible, and was one of the nine divines appointed by Elizabeth to dispute with nine catholics before the parliament.
1588. The English fleet under lord Howard attacked the Spanish armada. The engagement began at 4 o'clock in the morning and continued till 6 at night, and resulted in a total defeat of the armada. The Spanish admiral, apprehending the entire destruction of his fleet, resolved to sail northwards and make the circuit of the British isles. When he had roundedthe Orkneys, the fleet was dispersed by a storm; horses, mules and baggage were thrown overboard to lighten the ships, some of which were wrecked, some sunk in the North sea, others wrecked on the coast of Scotland, and more than thirty were driven by another storm upon the coast of Ireland, where many of the crews were barbarously murdered. The duke of Medina finally reached Santardu with sixty-five sail in a shattered condition, out of 150 sail of noble vessels which entered the British channel, many of them of the largest class.
1641. Though Sabbath, both houses of the English parliament sat to prevent the king from going to Scotland.
1776. Force of the northern American army, under Washington, 10,514 fit for duty, 3,668 sick, 2,946 on command, 97 on furlough—total, 17,225. The small pox was committing great ravages at this time, 5,500 having died of it since April; inoculation being prohibited in general orders.
1778. Fort Boonesborough invested by 450 Canadians and Indians. The fort was garrisoned by 50 men, who defended it with great spirit against every stratagem till the 20th, when the siege was abandoned, and its capture never again attempted.
1780. The combined fleets of France and Spain captured five East Indiamen and fifty merchant ships bound for the West Indies.
1792.John Leake, an English physician, died; founder of the Westminster lying-in hospital, and an esteemed author.
1794. The entrenchments of Pellingen, a series of redoubts raised by the Austrians in the most advantageous situations, in order to cover Treves, were carried by the French.
1804.Robert Macfarlane, a Scottish miscellaneous writer, died. He translated Ossian into Latin.
1805.Richard Worsley, governor of the isle of Wight, died. During a tour in Europe he made a fine collection of statues and antiques, of which he published a description.
1808.John Broome, lieutenant-governor of the state of New York, died, and was buried in the presbyterian church yard in Wall street, in the city of New York.
1811. British under admiral Stopford took Batavia and a great part of the island of Java.
1812. The United States troops under general Hull evacuated Canada and entered Detroit.
1814. First meeting of the British and American commissioners at Ghent, to treat for peace.
1816. The meetings of freemasons and other secret societies prohibited by the king of Naples under penalty of banishment, fine and imprisonment.
1827.George Canning, an eminent English statesman, died. He was of humble origin, but rose to the premiership by his great talents, and sustained himself against a powerful opposition.
1828.Frederic Bouterwek, a German litterateur, died; author ofGeschichte der neueren Poesie und Beredsamkeit, containing separate critical histories of thebelles-lettresof Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, England and Germany, from the revival of letters to the close of the 18th century, 12 vols.
1836.Frederick Carl Ludwig Sicklerdied at Heldburghausen; an eminent archæologist, and author of various learned works on archæology, antiquities and philology.
1838. The Chilian squadron of 32 vessels landed 5000 men at Ancon, and demanded two millions of dollars, which not being granted, they advanced and took Callao and Lima, after an action in which 2000 were killed. Gomarra was proclaimed president, and Orbegozo fled to the mountains. (SeeJuly 26.)
1840.Charles Ottfried Muller, of Gottingen, died at Athens, from an illness brought on by fatigue and exposure in copying inscriptions, and making excavations at Delphi. The object of his investigation was connected with a great work on which he was engaged, upon the general history of Greece. He was buried on the summit of a little hill above the academy. (July 31.)
1851.Samuel Emerson, an eminent physician, died at Kennebunk, Me., aged 87.
1853. A strike at Stockport, England, for an advance of ten per cent in wages, ceased, 20,000 workmen resumed their labors, having accomplished their object.
1856. Mrs.Matthews(madame Vestris), long a celebrated dancer and pantomimist, died in England, aged 59. Her maiden name was Lucia Elizabeth Bartolozzi; she married Armand Vestris in 1813, and it was under this name that she was well known in Europe and America. She married Matthews in 1838.
357B. C.An eclipse of the moon which preceded the departure of Dion from Zacynthus (Zante) upon his celebrated expedition against the tyrant Dionysius the Younger. He entered Syracuse with his little band of 800 veterans in September, and in three days became master of the empire. The deaths of Democritus andHippocrates, each 104 years old, and of Timotheus, the Milesian poet and musician, took place in that year.
378. The great and disastrous battle of Adrianople, second only to that of Cannæ, in which the Roman legions under Valens, were for the first time defeated by the Cythian Goths. The wounded emperor was removed to a cottage, which was fired, and he perished in the flames.
1342. SirWalter Mannyraised the siege of Hennebon in Brittany, so nervously and heroically defended by Jane, countess of Montford, against the power of France.
1611.John Blagravedied; an early English mathematician of considerable eminence and a laborious author on his favorite science.
1634.Noy, attorney-general to Charles I of England, died at London. He is supposed to have devised the plan of levying ship money, which went into operation the day after his death.
1641.David Baker, an English Benedictine monk and ecclesiastical historian, died. He collected the records of the ancient congregation of the black or Benedictine monks in England, 6 vols. folio, and his religious treatises filled 9 folio vols. in manuscript.
1694.Anthony Arnauld, a French theological and philosophical writer, died. He was one of the most learned men of his age, and did much for the improvement of morality in the catholic church. His works were printed in more than 100 volumes of various sizes.
1710. French and Spaniards defeated at Saragossa, with the loss of 5,000 killed, 7,000 prisoners, and all their artillery, and the allies entered the city.
1718. Action off cape Passaro, between the British fleet, 20 sail, admiral Byng, and the Spanish fleet, 27 sail of the line. The Spaniards were defeated with the loss of 21 of their ships, either taken or destroyed.
1719.Dominico de Angelis, an Italian scholar, died. He made the tour of France and Spain, and was everywhere received with honor by the learned.
1720.Samuel Ockley, an English divine, died; a very learned man, and well skilled in oriental literature.
1744.John Bridges, duke of Chandos, died. Few particulars are known of this peer, except of his munificence. The earlier part of his manhood was spent in reflection and observation; his middle age in business, honorable and useful; and his advanced years in deeds of benevolence. He erected the princely seat of Canons, near London, where he lived in a splendor to which no other subject had ever aspired. His liberality was equaled only by his generous forgiveness of injuries. Pope made him the subject of his satire, which Hogarth punished by representing the poet on a scaffold whitewashing Burlington house, and bespattering the duke of Chandos's carriage as it passed. Yet Pope's verse respecting the short-lived magnificence of Canons was prophetic: