69.Aulus Vitellius, emperor of Rome, assassinated. After sharing in the debaucheries of Tiberius, and administering to the vices of Caligula, Claudius and Nero, he was proclaimed by his troops in Germany, in opposition to Otho. Though defeated in three battles, he triumphed in the fourth. He disgraced his reign by every species of licentiousness.
107.Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, torn in pieces by lions at Rome, by order of the emperor Trajan. His epistles are very interesting remains of ecclesiastical antiquity.
860.Ethelbald, who married hismother-in-law, died, after having to the priests atoned for his offence by building and endowing many abbeys and monasteries.
912.Alphonso III(the Great), king of Asturias, in Spain, died. He wrote a chronicle of the Spanish monarchs, and a short time before his death obtained a memorable victory over the Moors.
1192.Richardof England seized in his disguise at Vienna.
1492.Columbuscast anchor in the bay of St. Thomas; the anniversary also of the interment of his venerable bones more than three centuries after (1795) at Cuba.
1494.Matteo Marie Bojardo, an Italian lyric poet, died.
1560.John Dryander, a Hessian medical and mathematical writer, died. His discoveries in astronomy and his invention of mathematical instruments are important.
1560. First general assembly of the Scottish church was opened.
1603.Mahomet III, sultan of Turkey, died of the plague. He began his reign by ordering 19 of his brothers to be strangled, and 10 of his father's wives to be drowned. He invaded Hungary with an army of 200,000 men, but after some successes his progress was checked, and he sued in vain for peace.
1686. SirEdmund Androsarrived in Boston with a commission from king James as governor of New England. He was received with satisfaction only as he was less dreaded than Kirk.
1697.Thomas Firmin, an eminent English philanthropist, died. He devoted his time and money to charitable objects, and his benefactions were unequaled at the time when he lived.
1698.Bartholomew du Quentaldied; a Portuguese catholic priest, distinguished for his piety and learning.
1735. The Gentleman's Magazine announced the arrival of a dwarf in England from France, who at the age of 46, measured 21 inches in height.
1735. Part of the island of Portland sank into the sea.
1765. The dauphin of France died in his 36th year. He was a prince of benevolent character and exemplary piety, but little known in public life.
1766. Prayers were publicly read in all the popish chapels in Ireland for George III and family, being the first time prayers were made by Romanists for the protestant succession since 1688.
1770.John Senacdied; physician to the king of France, counselor of state, and superintendent of the mineral waters of the kingdom. He wrote several works on anatomy and medicine.
1782. The United States frigate Charleston, 40 guns, captured by the British ships Quebec and Diomede, 76 guns, after a chase of 18 hours.
1790. The fortress of Ismael taken by storm by the Russians under Suwarrow; of 12,000 Turks all were put to the sword but 400.
1791. Bank of the United States commenced discounting in Philadelphia; $300,000 were discounted. Branches were established in New York, Boston, Baltimore and Charleston, which commenced business in January, 1792.
1793.John Strangeways Huttondied at Philadelphia, aged 110. He was born on Long Island in 1682.
1793. The first ambassador from the Porte arrived in London.
1795. The remains of Columbus removed to Cuba. In the presence of the dignitaries and military of San Domingo, assembled at the Metropolitan cathedral, a small vault was opened above the chancel, wherein were found the fragments of a lead coffin, a number of bones, and a quantity of mould, evidently the remains of a human body. These were carefully collected and put into a case of gilded lead secured by a lock, and enclosed in a coffin covered with black velvet, and ornamented with lace and fringe of gold. (SeeJan. 19, 1796.)
1795. French underJourdanmade an attack on Kayserslautern, but were repulsed with a loss of 2000 men.
1803.Samuel Hopkins, an eminent New England minister, died. He published a work to show that it was the interest of all the American states to emancipate their slaves.
1804.Richard Humpton, adjutant general of the state of Pennsylvania, died. He was a native of England, who early entered the military service, and distinguished himself as a gallant soldier during the war of the revolution.
1809.Joseph Johnson, the fortunate publisher of Cowper's poems, died.
1815.Cambaceresarrested and sent to prison at Paris.
1849.William Miller, the founder of the sect of Millerites, died at Hampton, Washington co., N. Y., aged 68. He was a native of Pittsfield, Mass., and during the last war with England served as a captain of volunteers on the northern frontier. He began to speak in public assemblies upon the subject of the Millenium in 1833, and in the ten years which preceded the time which he had set for the consummation of all prophecy he labored assiduously in the middle and northern states, averaging, it is said, nearly one sermon a day for more than half that period. He wasuneducated, and not largely read in even the common English commentaries; his views were absurd and supported but feebly; yet he succeeded in building up a sect of some 30 or 40,000 disciples, which disappeared rapidly after the close of the "day of probation" in 1843, after which time Mr. Miller himself did not often advocate or defend his views in public.
1852. By a decree of the governor-general of British India, the province of Pegu was annexed to the British dominions.
1855.Thomas Cubitt, an eminent English builder, principally on works of great magnitude for the government, died, aged 68.
73. Festival ofSt. Thomas, the Christian apostle, whose counsels penetrated into India. He was killed by the Bramins, and buried at Meliapour, about ten miles from Madras.
1375.Giovanni Boccaccio, an eminent Italian writer, died; whoseDecameronhas been translated into all the European languages, although great pains were taken to suppress it.
1641.Maximilian de Bethune, duke de Sully, died; celebrated as the prime minister of Henry IV, and the most able and incorruptible statesman that France ever had. After the murder of the king he went into retirement, where he wrote hisMemoirs, a minute history of his own times.
1667.Milton'swidow disposed of her entire interest in theParadise Lostfor eight pounds; so that the sublimest poetical building in the world produced for its architect and his family, the sum of eighty dollars; ten pounds having been paid to the author in his life time!
1667. Sentence was executed upon many of those Scottish covenanters who had rebelled, it is supposed under persecution.
1670. The maiming of sirJohn Coventryfor reflecting on the moral character of Charles II, which caused the Coventry act.
1705.Catharine, of Portugal, died; queen of Charles II, of England, by whom she was treated unkindly.
1706. Tumultuous meetings in Edinburgh, occurred on account of signing the articles of union with England.
1719. First No. of theBoston Gazetteissued by William Brooker.
1741.Bernard de Montfaucon, a very learned French Benedictine, died; famous for his knowledge of ecclesiastic and pagan antiquities.
1774.Thomas Broughton, a learned English divine, died; author of theBibliotheca Historica Sacra, and one of the original writers for theBiographia Britannica.
1775. An act of parliament confiscating all American vessels found floating on the water, and forimpressingthe crews of American vessels into the British navy, without distinction of persons.
1777. There were at this time 300 American officers and 900 privates confined as prisoners of war in New York by the British. They were mostly confined in sugar houses and the most loathsome jails. In Philadelphia there were 500 privates and 50 officers. They were generally stripped of what clothing they had when taken, and were sometimes confined several days with scarcely any food in order to induce them to enlist to save their lives. Frequent instances occurred of persons thus perishing from hunger.
1780.James Harrisdied; an English gentleman of uncommon abilities and learning, whose writings have been greatly admired.
1782.Francis Philip de Reyrac, a French ecclesiastic, died; a learned and amiable character.
1791.Arnauld de Barquin, a French miscellaneous writer died; whose works are known in our language. HisChildren's Friendwas honored with the prize of the French academy, as the most useful book issued in 1784.
1807. The Danish islands of St. Thomas and St. Johns, in the West Indies, surrendered to the British.
1811.Peter Parker, the British admiral, died, aged 89.
1815.William Vincent, a learned English divine, died. As an author he is principally known by his commentary on Arrian's voyages of Nearchus.
1815.Lavalette, one of Bonaparte's ministers, escaped from prison in the disguise of his wife's dress, she having been permitted to visit him.
1831. Trial of the French ministers for high treason. The excitement was so great that a strong guard was required to save them from the popular violence. Above 70,000 men were under arms at one time. Their sentence was imprisonment for life, with the additional penalty of civil death on Polignac.
1832.William Bray, an eminent English antiquary, died, aged 97.
1833.John P. Hungerforddied; an officer in the revolutionary war, and afterwards a member of congress from Virginia.
1835.John Sinclair, an eminent British Statesman, died, aged 82. He was also a very voluminous author, and was distinguished for his patriotism and philanthropy. During a public life of upwards of fifty years, there is scarcely any topic inthe whole range of political, statistical or medical science, to which he did not turn his inquiring mind.
1840.Frank Hall Standish, an English author, died at Cadiz, aged 42. He wrote biography, travels, sketches and poems.
1845. The battle of Punjaub, between the English forces and the Sikh army, was fought, which issued in the defeat of the Sikhs, and the annexation of a large portion of their territory to that of the English.
1848. The Asiatic cholera broke out with great violence among the United States troops at port Lavaca, Texas.
640. Alexandria taken from the Greeks, by the Saracens, under Amri, after a siege of 14 months. "I have taken," he addressed the caliph Omar, "the great city of the west. It is impossible for me to enumerate the variety of its riches and beauty; and I shall content myself with observing that it contains 4,000 palaces, 4,000 baths, 400 theatres, or places of amusement, 12,000 shops for the sale of vegetable food, and 40,000 tributary Jews." It is well known that the second Alexandrian library, established by Cleopatra, was then destroyed, to feed the baths. The collection consisted of 300,000 volumes, and those 200,000 rolls, brought by Mark Antony from Pergamus, with the accumulation of seven centuries.
937. A severe frost which lasted 120 days, began in England.
1332. Found in the library of St. Mary, at Florence, the whole of the New Testament in silk; at the end of it is this inscription in Greek: "By the hand of the Sinner, and most unworthy, Mark, in the year of the world 7840."
1483.William d'Estouteville, a Norman cardinal, died; who reformed the university of Paris.
1530. The famous protestant league of defence, against a decree of the imperial diet, was concluded this day.
1558. The great seal of England delivered to sir Nicholas Bacon, with the style oflord keeper, then first adopted.
1585.Virginia Accoramboni, celebrated for her beauty and poetical talents, was assassinated at Padua.
1592.Alexander Farnese, duke of Parma, and governor of the Low Countries, died of a wound given by Henry IV, of France, at the siege of Rouen.
1620. Landing of the first settlers at Plymouth. The total number of them was 101; of which 50 died during the winter.
1662.George Phillips, with three others, styled fanatics, executed for conspiring the death of Charles II.
1681.Richard Alleindied; a puritan of great learning, whose writings are mostly on theology.
1694.Francis Nicholsonmade governor of Maryland.
1699. The protestants of Germany here introduced the Gregorian ornew styleof supputation, by the omission of ten days, concluding this year.
1715. The Pretender (Chevalier de St. George), son of James II of Scotland, the deposed king of England, arrived at Peterhead, and was proclaimed king of England.
1719.Andrew Bradfordissued the first number of theAmerican Weekly Mercury, the first paper printed in Pennsylvania, and the second in the United States.
1722.Pierre Varignon, a distinguished French architect and mathematician, died. He was professor of mathematics, and an able writer on that science.
1723.James Basnage, a French protestant minister, died. He was a man of talent and erudition. His works are numerous and valuable, particularly hisHistory of the Jews, 15 vols.
1729.Michael Baron, the Roscius of the French theatre, died.
1753. A Mr.Braithwaitedied at Carlisle, England, at the age of 110. In 1652 he commenced singing in the cathedral, and at the time of his death had continued singing one hundred years.
1768.Charles Littleton, bishop of Carlisle, died; an eminent English antiquary.
1788.Percival Pott, a very eminent English surgeon, died.
1789. A number of ice islands, of great magnitude, discovered, which had been wafted from the southern polar regions. The ship Guardian struck them near the cape of Good Hope, on her passage to Botany bay. These islands were wrapt in darkness; they were 150 fathoms long, and more than 50 fathoms above the surface of the waves. A fragment from the summit of one of them broke off, and plunging into the sea, caused a tremendous commotion in the water, and dense smoke all around it.
1796. Kehl, a fortress on the Rhine, surrendered by the French, under Dessaix, to the Austrians, under the archduke Charles, after a siege of 51 days, and a blockade of 115. The garrison were permitted to withdraw, with their artillery and baggage, with drums beating and colors flying.
1798.Bonapartearrived at Suez, with several officers and men of science, and, having forded the Red sea, visited the fountains of Moses. Whilst here hereceived a deputation from the monks of mount Sinai, and countersigned the charter they had received from Mahomet.
1803. Louisiana taken possession of by the Americans.
1807. Embargo; the ports of the United States closed against British commerce.
1812.James Clinton, an American general, died. He was a firm and undeviating patriot of the revolution.
1812.Peter Henry Larcher, a French writer, died. He translated some of the principal Greek classics.
1813. The Indians attacked and defeated at Ecchanachaca, by the Americans under general Claiburn, who destroyed the town, 200 houses, with a large quantity of provisions.
1818.Philip Francis, an English statesman, died. He was an active promoter of the impeachment of the famous Warren Hastings, and was considered by some as the author ofJunius's Letters.
1822.William Lowndes, a distinguished orator and patriot, of South Carolina, died at sea.
1828.William Hyde Wollastondied, aged 62; one of the ablest and most renowned of English chemists and natural philosophers. Very little of his personal history is known, his biography not having been written (1846).
1832.Francis Huber, a Swiss naturalist, died, aged 82. He lost his sight at the age of 17. Notwithstanding this difficulty in the way of scientific pursuits, with the assistance of his wife, he wrote and published a very accurate work on the habits of bees, and some other works.
1835.Edmund Frydied in London, at a very advanced age. He was a member of the society of Friends, originally bred to the medical profession, but was more generally known as an eminent and learned type founder.
1835.David Hosack, an eminent physician, died at New York, where he was professor of the theory and practice of physic, and was held in high estimation as a man of talent, learning and worth.
1838.Hugh James Rose, a talented and eloquent English divine, died. Besides numerous works of which he was the author, he projected theBritish Magazine, and edited theTheological Library.
1842. 250 troops from Texas invading Mexico, were defeated and taken prisoners.
1854.Martin Joseph Routh, president of Magdalen college, died at Oxford, England, aged 99; a man of great learning, talent and virtues.
1854. The British parliament passed a law permitting the enlistment of foreigners, as officers and soldiers, in her majesty's service.
1855.Valerian Krasinski, one of the most distinguished members of the Polish emigration, and an eminent author, died at Edinburgh, Scotland.
486B. C.The accession of Xerxes the magnificent to the Persian throne,Nar. Era, 263. When Darius Hystaspes, his father, was cut off, he had reigned 36 years, from thethothofN. E.227, corresponding with the first day of JanuaryB. C.521. The year 485, in which he died, is remarkable for two facts, the conquest of Syracuse under Gelon, and a comic work by Epicharmus, who added the Greek letterschiandthetato his native alphabet.
176.Marcus Antoninusentered Rome in triumph, after his German victories on the Danube, accompanied by his monstrous son Commodus.
400. Naval battle of the Hellespont, and defeat of Gainas the barbarian; who was despatched in Thrace.
558.Childebert I, king of France, died. His great military exploit was the defeat of the king of Burgundy.
679.Dagobert II, king of Austrasia, assassinated.
1588.Henry de Lorraine, duke of Guise, assassinated by order of the king. He was a turbulent and seditious subject of Henry III, of France.
1620. The Plymouth settlers having fixed upon a place for a town, on a high ground facing the bay, where the land was cleared and the water excellent, as many as could conveniently went on shore, and felled and carried timber to the spot designated for the erection of a building for common use.
1622.Redemptus Barenzano, a Piedmontese monk, died. He was professor of philosophy at Anneci, and a correspondent of the great Bacon.
1631.Michael Drayton, an English poet, died. His works which were numerous, and of great merit, were collected in 1748 in one volume folio.
1632.John Cotton, the first minister of Boston, died. He was a good scholar and a pious, able and benevolent man.
1688.James II, king of England, escaped from England to Calais, in France, and was declared to have abdicated his throne.
1715. TheFreeholder, first No., appeared, in a great degree political. In this work the labors of Addison as an essayist were brought to a close.
1721.William Musgravedied; an eminent English physician and antiquary, and secretary of the Royal society.
1747. The colonial house and records at Boston destroyed by fire.
1757. British privateerTerrible, captain WilliamDeath, of 26 guns and 200 men, captured a large French ship, after an obstinate battle, in which he lost his brother and 16 men killed. A few days after he fell in with the privateerVengeance, 36 guns and 360 men, who recaptured the prize, and having manned her, both ships bore down on the Terrible, whose main was shot away by the first broadside. After a desperate engagement, in which the French captain and his second were killed, with two-thirds of his company, the Terrible was boarded, when no more than 26 persons were found alive, 16 of whom had lost a leg or an arm, and the other 10 were badly wounded. The ship itself was so shattered that it could scarcely be kept above water. There was a strange combination of names in this affair; theTerriblewas equipped atExecutiondock; was commanded byDeath, who hadDevilfor his lieutenant andGhostfor surgeon.
1777.Washingtonhad 2,898 men unfit for duty, "owing to their being barefooted and otherwise naked." His whole force fit for duty amounted to 8,200.
1783.Samuel Cooper, one of the most celebrated divines and politicians of New England, died.
1783. GeneralWashingtondelivered up his commission to congress at Annapolis.
1789.Charles Michael de l'Epee, a celebrated French teacher of the deaf and dumb, died. He devoted his time and money to the education of indigent mutes. Sacrificing his own comfort to promote theirs. Some of his pupils obtained academical prizes by poetical and literary works.
1804. Battle of Biezun; the French under Grouchy defeated 8,000 Prussians, and took 500 prisoners and 5 cannon.
1814. Battle at Villaret's plantation, near New Orleans, between 2000 Americans under general Jackson and about 4000 British under general Keene. American loss 213; British loss 305.
1816. Bible societies prohibited in Hungary.
1825.Samuel Parkes, an English chemist, died. He was no less distinguished for his benevolence than for his ardor, diligence and perseverance in the pursuit of science.
1832. Civil war in Mexico terminated by a convention at Zalaveta, of delegates from the armies of Bustamente and Santa Anna.
1846.James Stevenson, one of the oldest of the Seneca chiefs, and a friend of Red Jacket, died on the Cattaraugus reservation, aged 81. He was the son of an English officer, who vainly tried to persuade his beautiful Indian wife to accompany him to England.
1854. Simoda, Japan, destroyed by an earthquake. A wave from the bay overflowed the town, and on its return left but 16 buildings out of a thousand standing.
361.Georgeof Capadocia, Arian bishop of Alexandria, was assassinated in consequence of his oppression.
705.Ælfrid, king of Northumberland, died.
1156.Peter(the Venerable), a French ecclesiastic, died. He was sprung of a noble family, and became general of the order of Cluni. He was a man of great learning and exemplary piety.
1247.Robin Hood, the English outlaw, has his death placed on this day (SeeNov. 18).
1460. Battle of Wakefield Green; the Lancasterians under Margaret queen of Henry IV, defeated Richard duke of York, who was slain.
1525.Vasquez de Gama, the Portuguese navigator, died at Cochin in Malabar. He discovered the course to the East Indies, by the cape of Good Hope.
1535.Euricius Cordusdied; a German physician and poet, the friend of Erasmus.
1560. At Lillebone, Lower Seine, France, a fiery meteor fell, attended with red rain.
1565. A Dutch church was opened at Norwich by order of queen Elizabeth.
1650. Edinburgh castle taken by Cromwell, said to be the first time ever reduced.
1664. A comet styled a blazing star appeared in England.
1704. First eruption on record of the peak of Teneriffe.
1728. Second newspaper established in Philadelphia, called theUniversal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences and Pennsylvania Gazette, by Samuel Keimer. The first press had been established by Bradford about six weeks after the city was founded.
1736. Plot discovered to destroy the whole family of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel.
1740.Daniel Waterland, an eminent English divine and polemical writer, died.
1771.Charles John Francis Henault, an eminent French chronologist, died. His great work, the result of forty years' study, has gone through many editions and been translated into the Chinese and several European languages.
1775.John Campbell, king's agent for the province of Georgia, died. He was an eminent writer on biography, history and politics.
1793. The French convention decreedthat the houses in Toulon should be leveled with the ground.
1794. South Hadley canal, or Connecticut river, opened. It was constructed to overcome a fall of 53 feet in the river; is upwards of 2 miles in length, including a cut of 300 feet in length through solid rock, 40 feet deep and 18 wide. The descent into the river was made by an inclined plane 230 feet in length, traversed by a carriage with six wheels, which was regulated by a water wheel. It was altogether quite an original affair.
1798.Robert Merry, author of thePains of Memory, died at Baltimore.
1800. An attempt to assassinate Bonaparte at Paris by an infernal machine.
1804.Martin Vahl, a Norwegian naturalist, died. He extended his researches over various parts of Europe and the African coast.
1805. American exploring party under Capts. Lewis and Clark, went into winter quarters in huts on the shore of the Pacific, near the mouth of Columbia river.
1806. Battle of Nasielsk; the Russians under Kaminski defeated by the French under Davoust.
1806. Battle of Kursonet, on the Wrka; 15,000 Cossacks defeated by the French under Nansouty.
1808.Thomas Beddoes, an eminent English physician, died. He is known by his perseverance in making experiments to cure consumption by the application of pneumatics.
1814. Preliminaries of the treaty of peace between England and the United States signed at Ghent.
1824.Christopher Aretin, a learned German writer, died. On the abolition of the monastries in 1803 he was appointed to examine their libraries.
1830.Stephania Felicite de Genlis, a celebrated French authoress, died, aged 84. For the last thirty years of her life, her inexhaustible pen continued to pour forth a variety of works of which space is here wanted to enumerate even their names. The whole of her literary progeny falls little short of an hundred volumes, and are characterized by fertility of imagination and purity of style.
1831. A volcanic island, recently formed near Sicily, disappeared.
1832. The citadel of Antwerp, with 3,500 troops, surrendered to the French, after a brave resistance of 26 days. The French had thrown up 14,000 metres of trenches, and fired 63,000 rounds, by which 695 were wounded and 108 killed.
1836.Francisco Espoz y Mina, a distinguished Spanish constitutional general, died.
1836. Great snow storm in England, which blocked up the roads so as to prevent all traveling, and many lives were lost. In some places the snow drifted to the depth of forty feet, and in others avalanches buried houses and their inhabitants.
1846.Erastus Root, a distinguished statesman in the state of New York, died while on a visit to New York city, aged 74.
1849.Patrick Frazer Tytler, the Scottish historian, died.
1849. Great fire at San Francisco; property destroyed valued at a million and a half of dollars.
1851. The principal room of the library of Congress was destroyed by fire.
The commencement of what is usually called the vulgar era, was four years prior to the date now used as the beginning of the Christian era.
98. Christ mass was first used as a festival.
283.Marcus Aurelius Carus, the Roman emperor, killed by lightning, beyond the Tigris.
400.Gainas, a Goth of great valor, killed. He became a general under Arcadius, and desolated Thrace, because refused a church for the Arians.
496.Clovis, the first Christian king of France, crowned at Rheims; a glorious day among the Franks.
800.Charles, king of France, crowned at Rome emperor of the West. It was the commencement of a new Roman era, and he took the name ofCharlemagne.
830.Leo V, emperor of Constantinople, assassinated. He was an Armenian, who became a general by his valor in the Roman armies, and prevailed on his troops to proclaim him emperor.
1066.William, the conqueror, was crowned at London, amid a tumult, and the better to secure the obedience of the citizens, granted them a charter.
1440.Gilles de Retz, the famousBluebeard, executed at Nantes for his horrible crimes. The ruins of his castle, La Verriere, are seen on the banks of the Erde, in the Lower Loire.
1476.Geleas Marie Sforza, duke of Milan, assassinated. He rendered himself unpopular by his ferocity and debauchery.
1618. The first house erected at Plymouth, Mass., by the puritan settlers, after having spent more than a month in selecting a place for settlement. The company was divided into 19 families, and to each person was assigned a lot, half a rod in width, and three rods in length, for houses and gardens.
1658.Cromwelldispersed severalcongregations, met to celebrate the birth of the Savior.
1676.Matthew Hale, a learned English judge, died. He was conversant with almost every branch of science, and has left valuable works in law, philosophy and religion.
1678.John Newtondied; an English mathematician and chaplain to Charles II.
1698.James Houbracken, the celebrated Dutch engraver, was born at Dordrecht.
1712.William King, an English poetical and political writer, died. His most useful work is an account of the heathen gods and heroes, necessary for the understanding of the ancient poets.
1715.James, the pretender to the English throne, landed at Peterhead, and formed his court.
1740.John Soanen, an eminent French ecclesiastic, having been deposed from his bishopric, died in exile.
1741.Robert Sandersondied; an English writer, distinguished as the continuator ofRymer's Fœdera, from the 16th to the 20th volume.
1758.James Hervey, an English divine of exemplary virtue and piety, died. HisMeditationsandLettersare well known.
1762. Great riot at Drury lane theatre, because the managers would not admit at half price after the 3d October.
1770.Henry Mill, an ingenious English mechanic, died. He is said to have been unrivaled in the science of hydraulics.
1777. Vermont became an independent state. It was first settled in 1725, and claimed as part of New Hampshire.
1796.Kosciusko, with other Polish prisoners, liberated by the emperor Paul, when he came to America.
1801.Hester Chapone, an elegant English poetess and moral writer, died. Her works will long be popular.
1813. Violent eruption of mount Etna.
1816. Treaty between the United States and the dey of Algiers.
1822. A hurricane in Iceland, which overthrew the churches. The new volcano of Oefields Jokkelen, spouted burning stones and ashes.
1827.Enrico Acerbi, an Italian surgeon and medical writer, died.
1837.John Austindied at Philadelphia, aged 67; a native of Barbadoes, formerly a surgeon in the British army, and a practitioner at Barbadoes and Demarara, where he was greatly esteemed.
1853.John Macrae Washington, a brave American military officer, was swept from the wreck of the San Francisco, aged 60. After the close of the Mexican war he commanded an expedition across the plains of Mexico to the Pacific, and acted as military governor one year.
795.Adrian I, pope, died. He was a Roman patrician, who on his elevation to the pontificate highly embellished St. Peter's church, and displayed his benevolence and humanity during a famine occasioned by the inundation of the Tiber.
1135.Stephencrowned king of England on St. Stephen's day.
1292.John Baliolperformed homage to Edward of England at New Castle.
1300.Edward Iof England forbade the circulation of crockards, pollards, rosaries, and other foreign coins, as sterlings. They were all called in and a newsterlingmoney coined, so called from the Easterlings, who were the first coiners of silver of that fineness in England.
1530.Zahir-Eddin Mohammed Baber, founder of the Tartar empire in Hindostan, died, aged 47. He made the first irruption into Hindostan in 1505, which was unsuccessful; but in 1524 he again undertook the invasion, defeated and killed the sultan in battle, and extended his conquests far and wide with astonishing rapidity. He was one of the most distinguished sovereigns that ever sat upon an Asiatic throne.
1552.Charles Vraised the siege of Metz, with the loss of 30,000 men.
1679.Thomas Blount, an English barrister at law, died; distinguished for his talents and learning, and as a respectable writer.
1729.Honore Tournely, a distinguished French ecclesiastic, died. He was professor of philosophy at Douay, and a popular preacher.
1731.Anthony Houdart de la Motte, an ingenious French critic and miscellaneous author, died. His works consist of epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, lyric, pastoral, and fable; besides a vast variety of discourses, critical and academical.
1732.William Leland, of Lisnaken, in Ireland, died, aged 139. He was alike remarkable for his stature and longevity.
1762.Everard Titon du Tillet, a French Jesuit, died; distinguished for his learning, and for a brazen Parnassus which he planned and erected in honor of Louis XIV.
1771.Claude Adrian Helvetius, a French writer, died. He was a wealthy and benevolent man, but his works were irreligious.
1776. Battle of Trenton, New Jersey. The Americans under Washington crossed the Delaware on a cold and stormy night, and surprised the Hessians at sunrise. Col. Rhalle and 20 men were killed and the remainder surrendered, to the number of 1,000. Of the Americans 2 were killedand 2 frozen to death. This well judged and successful enterprise revived the depressed spirits of the colonists and produced an immediate and happy effect in recruiting the American army.
1780.John Fothergill, an eminent London physician, died. He was of the sect of quakers, and distinguished himself by his public and private benefactions, his encouragement of science, and attention to the health, the police and the conveniences of the city, as well as his great medical skill.
1782.Henry Home, lord Kaimes, died. He was one of the senators of the college of justice in Scotland, and eminent as a critical and philosophical writer.
1784.Otho Frederic Muller, a Danish naturalist, died. His works show much method and great accuracy.
1797.John Wilkes, a famous English politician and an elegant scholar, died. He was a member of parliament, lord mayor of London, and afterwards chamberlain.
1800.Mary Robinsondied; an elegant English poetess, novelist and dramatic writer.
1806. Battle of Pultusk in Poland, between the Russians under Beningsen and the French under Lannes. The latter were defeated with the loss of 8,000; Russian loss 5,000. The French drew back with such haste that the advancing Cossacks were unable to overtake their rear guard next day. Lannes was glanced by a ball, and had two aids killed.
1806. Battle of Soldau; French under Ney defeated the Prussians under Lestocq.
1806. Battle of Alawa, in Prussian Poland; French under Marchand gained a brilliant victory.
1806. Battle of Golymin; Russians defeated by the French under Murat and Davoust. The Russians on this eventful day lost 80 cannon, 12,000 men, and a great amount of baggage, &c.
1811. Destruction of Richmond theatre, in consequence of the scenery taking fire, when 123 persons perished, among whom was the governor of the state, and a great number of females.
1812.Joel Barlow, an American poet and statesman, died at Garnowitch, in Poland, while on an embassy from the United States to Bonaparte. His principal work is theColumbiad, a poem.
1820.Joseph Fouche, duke of Otranto, died. He was one of the most flagrant of the French revolutionists; but had the adroitness to escape punishment by shifting his opinions with every variation of the public sentiment and policy.
1831.Stephen Girard, a wealthy Philadelphia banker, died. He was a native of France; was first a cabin boy, then mate of a ship, then keeper of a toy shop, afterwards a merchant, and finally a banker. He left an estate of ten or fifteen millions, which was bequeathed to charitable and public purposes.
1843. Rev.James Harvey Linsley, a writer in theAmerican Journal of Science, died at Stratford.
1851. The town of Lagos, on the coast of Africa, destroyed by an English force, with a loss of 30 killed and 60 wounded, because the native chief refused to sign a treaty for the effectual suppression of the slave trade. The chief was deposed, and another substituted in his place.
1851. A large portion of the Chinese part of Hong-Kong destroyed by fire, including all the printing offices, the finest edifices and public buildings; involving the loss of nearly 500 houses and many human lives.
100.John(the Evangelist) died at Ephesus, aged 94.
1552.Catharine Von Bora, wife of Martin Luther, died. She was rescued from a nunnery with eight others by the assistance of the great reformer. She survived him several years.
1585.Peter de Ronsarddied; a French elegiac and epigrammatic poet of a noble family.
1603.Thomas Cartwright, an English puritan of great eminence and learning, died. He was a sharp and powerful controversialist, author of a practical commentary on the gospels and proverbs. He was obliged to quit the kingdom to avoid persecution, and died in great poverty.
1605.John Davis, a famous English navigator, killed in a desperate fight with some Japanese near the coast of Malacca.
1669.Samuel Clarkedied; a celebrated English oriental scholar.
1689.Peter Halle, an eminent French civilian and poet, died. He was offered the headship of five colleges, and accepted the professorship of canon law in the university of Paris, where he raised the character of that much neglected science.
1763.Lawrence Nattierdied; a Swabian, who published a work on antient gems.
1763. The Paxton boys broke into Lancaster jail and massacred fourteen friendly Indians.
1771.Henry Pitotdied; a celebrated French mathematician, and friend of the great Reaumur.
1779. The Spanish armament opened their batteries upon Gibraltar. It is supposed the general had no orders to fireuntil this time, but to remain on the defensive.
1784.Lee Boo, a prince of the Pelew islands, died in England, whither he had been sent to acquire an education.
1791.John Monrodied; an English physician, celebrated for his skill in cases of insanity.
1800.Hugh Blair, a celebrated Scottish divine, died. HisLectures on Rhetoricdelivered as professor at the Edinburgh university, are eminently distinguished by laborious investigation, sound sense and refined taste; and his printed sermons have had a success almost unparalleled in the annals of pulpit eloquence.
1808. The French underLannesassaulted Saragossa, in Spain, and the convent of St. Eugratia carried. This was the second siege.
1814.Joanna Southcott, a noted English fanatic and imposter, died. At the age of 42 she claimed the character of a prophet, and for more than twenty years continued her rhapsodies, and drew after her several thousand adherents, who are not yet extinct.
1814. United States schooner Carolina, blown up on the Mississippi river by a red hot ball from the British batteries.
1820.John Keats, an English poet, died in Italy. He was originally a stable boy, subsequently apprenticed to a surgeon, but gave way to the ambition of becoming a poet. His poems though written at a very early age, possess merit.
1834.Charles Lamb, the poet Coleridge's friend, died. In some of his most popular works he was assisted by his sister Mary Lamb.
1835.Ephraim Williams, an eminent lawyer, died at Deerfield, Mass. He prepared the first volume of the Massachusetts reports.
1840.Jenny Kennisondied at Brookfield, N. H., aged 110.
1842.Alexander Croke, quite a voluminous writer on law, politics, &c., died at Studley priory, England, aged 85.
1842.Francis Wrangham, distinguished as a poet and antiquary, died at Chester, England.
1851.Basil Montagu, an English author, died, aged 81. He edited the last and best edition ofBacon's Works, and was one of the earliest, most prominent and most zealous advocates of a mitigated penal code in England.
1853. The mammoth clipper Great Republic was burnt at her wharf in New York, together with several other vessels and five large flour warehouses.
1854.Thomas Wilson Dorr, the cause of what was called the Dorr war in Rhode Island, died at Providence, aged 49.
1065. St. Peter's church at Westminster dedicated by Edward the confessor.
1278. Injunction of the primate of England to the nunnery at Godstow, that public prayers on this day, Childermas, should not any more be said by little girls.
1377.Wickliffdivulged his opinion upon the pope's mandate.
1499. Earl of Warwick, the last of the male line of the Plantagenets, beheaded on Tower hill.
1601. The town of Kinsale, head of the sea, in Ireland, garrisoned by Spaniards and Irish catholics, surrendered to the English armies.
1638. A Spanish ordinance establishing stamped paper in America.
1694.Mary II, queen of England, died of small pox, aged 33. She had reigned six years in conjunction with William III, and was greatly extolled for her virtues.
1697.Mary Beale, an English portrait painter, died. She is styled by Oldys "that masculine poet as well as painter, the incomparable Mrs. Beale."
1706.Peter Bayle, a most laborious and indefatigable French writer, died. He was an author of great ability, principally known by hisCritical Dictionary.
1708.Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, a famous French botanist and natural historian, died.
1733.Kouli Khandefeated the Turks before Babylon, killing 20,000, with the loss of 10,000.
1737.Victor Marie d'Estrees, a French admiral, died. He was also a man of literature, and member of several learned bodies.
1737. Singular sinking and rising of land at Scarborough, in Yorkshire, England.
1757.Caroline Elizabeth, 3d daughter of Geo. II, of England, died.
1757. Leignitz taken by the Prussians under Frederick II, by which the Austrians and French were compelled to abandon Silesia, with the loss of 4,000 men.
1758. The French settlement of Goree taken by the British admiral Keppel.
1775.John Campbell, an eminent Scottish historical, biographical and political writer died.
1778. The French under countd'Estaingre-embarked their troops at St. Lucia, and sailed on the following day.
1788.John Logan, a Scottish divine and poet, died. He obtained much distinction as an eloquent preacher.
1797. War with the pope renewed by the French, occasioned by the assassination of Duplot, a French general, who was sent to Rome as an ambassador.
1811. Funeral at Richmond, Va., of those who perished at the burning of the theatre.
1814. United States privateer Prince of Neufchatel, 18 guns and 130 men, captured by British ship Leander, two frigates in company.
1814. British cannonaded unsuccessfully the Americans under Gen. Jackson. The cannonade continued 7 hours; the British loss estimated at 120 killed; American loss 9 killed, 8 wounded.
1817.Charles Barney, an eminent English scholar, died. He greatly distinguished himself by the depth of his literary researches, and by his extraordinary skill in the Greek language.
1817. American colonization society formed at Washington, having for its object the returning of free people of color to Africa.
1818.Alexander, emperor of Russia, gave to his peasant subjects the same right with his nobles to establish manufactures.
1825.J. D. Barbie-du-Bocage, a French geographer, died. He furnished plans and maps for the most celebrated works of the day, and published an atlas of 54 sheets to illustrate ancient history.
1825.John Thomas Serres, a French artist, died. His sea pieces possess much merit, and he is besides the author of theLittle Sea Torch, a guide for coasting pilots.
1831. Insurrection of the slaves in Jamaica, in the course of which about 30,000 blacks were under arms, 4,000 of whom were killed. The amount of property destroyed was estimated at $15,000,000.
1835. Battle of Tampa bay; a company of 110 United States troops under major Dade, attacked by a large party of Seminole Indians, and all but three slain.
1853. A great snow storm commenced, which continued 36 hours, extending over the new England states, and causing great interruption to business and travel.
1170.Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, assassinated in his cathedral, aged 53.
1563.Sebastian Castalio, a French writer, died. His writings are very considerable, both for their number and quality, discover great knowledge of the languages, and are chiefly on scripture subjects.
1594.John Chastel, the son of a woolen draper at Paris, executed for an attempt to assassinate the king, Henry IV.
1674. Battle of Mulhausen; the French under Turenne, gained a victory over the Germans.
1680.William Stafford, an English nobleman, beheaded. He was convicted of high treason as a conspirator in the popish plot, said to have been contrived by the catholics for the assassination of Charles II.
1689.Thomas Sydenhamdied; an excellent English physician and medical writer.
1699.George Matthias Kœnig, a learned German writer, died; distinguished for his knowledge ofbelles lettres, divinity and oriental languages; principally known by a biographical dictionary which has been of great service to subsequent compilers.
1713.John Chardin, a famous Frenchvoyageur, died. He was driven to England on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, where he was knighted by Charles II. HisVoyageshave always been much esteemed as very curious and accurate.
1731.Brook Taylor, an English mathematician and philosopher, died. His works were valuable and often republished.
1737.Joseph Saurin, a French mathematician, died. He devoted his life to geometrical pursuits, and is conspicuous for a controversy with Rousseau who wished to palm upon him some of his own libelous verses against persons of distinction.
1755.Gabrielle Susanne Barbot de Villeneuve, a celebrated French novel writer, died.
1761.Elizabeth, queen of Russia, died. She was the daughter of Peter the Great, and ascended the throne, 1741.
1774.Toussaint Gaspard Taconnetdied; a French actor and dramatic writer, noted for his eccentricity.
1778. Savannah taken by the British. A negro conducted the British by a private path to the rear of the Americans, who being attacked in front and flank, made a fatal retreat. Upwards of 100 Americans were killed, 453 taken; the town and fort, 48 cannon, 23 mortars, with ammunition and stores, the shipping in the river, and large quantities of provisions fell into the hands of the enemy.
1783.Samuel Cooper, a Boston clergyman, died. His sermons were evangelical and perspicuous, and unequaled in America at that time for taste and elegance.
1783.Daniel Wray, a learned English antiquary, died, aged 82.
1790.John George la Franc de Pompignan, a learned French prelate, died. He was author of sixteen works on different subjects.
1794. The town of Grave, considered a masterpiece of fortification, surrendered to the French under Pichegru, after a blockade of two months.
1797. GeneralDuphot, assassinated by the populace at Rome, which was made a pretext of the French directory for dethroning the pope, Pius VI. Duphot had distinguished himself on several memorable occasions, and had repaired to Rome for the purpose of espousing the sister of Bonaparte, afterwards married to Murat.
1798. American government issued orders to the commanders of their armed vessels to repel by force the mustering and searching their vessels, and detaining them; but when overpowered by a superior force, to strike their colors and surrender ship and men.
1812. Action between United States frigate Constitution, 54 guns, 480 men, Capt. Bainbridge, and British frigate Java, 49 guns and 500 men including supernumerary officers, which resulted in the capture of the latter in 55 minutes. Loss of the Java 60 killed and 101 wounded including the captain, Lambert, mortally. Constitution lost 34 killed and wounded.
1825.James Louis David, a celebrated French painter, died. He was one of the wildest idolators of Robespierre and Marat, but finally lost his repugnance to monarchy under Bonaparte. He was banished on the restoration of the Bourbons, and died at Brussels. His works are numerous, and attest a splendid genius.
1832. BaronCottadied. He was the originator of the daily political paper, theAlgemeine Zeitung, so extensively circulated in Europe.
1832.James Hillhouse, an American statesman, died at New Haven, Ct., aged 79. He took an active part in the revolution, and was eighteen years a member of congress. He was entrusted with the construction of the Farmington canal.
1834.T. R. Malthus, an English writer on political economy, died. His most celebrated work is anEssay on Population, which has passed through many editions, and been translated into various languages.
1836.Deborah Trippdied at Poughkeepsie, aged 10 years and six months, and weighing 360 pounds. A few years before, herself and a younger sister were exhibited about the country for their extraordinary fatness. The younger sister died two or three years previous.
1837.William Mavor, a popular English author and compiler, died, aged 80. HisVoyagesandUniversal History, in 25 vols. each, are well known, and hisEnglish Spelling Bookpassed through between four and five hundred editions.
1837. The imperial palace at St. Petersburg burnt, the weather at the time being 22° below zero. The palace was built in the reign of Elizabeth, at a cost of upwards of $5,000,000, and was the largest in Europe, sufficient to lodge 12,000 persons. The loss of treasures, pictures, statues, ornaments and furniture was immense.
1837. Steamer Caroline, a vessel in the service of the Navy island patriots, destroyed.
1839. Battle of Cagancha between the forces of Uruguay, under Rivera, and those of Buenos Ayres under Echague. The latter had an army of 5,000 men, and was defeated with the loss of 800 killed, and prisoners, baggage, &c., taken. Rivera's loss about 200.
1845. Texas admitted into the union.
1848. Wisconsin admitted into the union.
1848. The Roman chambers were dissolved and a constituent assembly convened.
1849. Great crevasse in the Mississippi banks at Bonnet Carré, about forty miles above New Orleans.
1850. The British forces had an engagement with the Caffres, in South Africa, were defeated with considerable loss, and obliged to retreat to their fort.
1852.Robert Forrest, an eminent Scottish sculptor, died, aged 63. He was originally a stone mason, in the quarries of Clydesdale; but the products of his chisel are seen in the most conspicuous points of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
1855. The French imperial guard made a triumphal entry into Paris on its return from the Crimea.
944B. C.The winter solstice fell upon this day, according to the marble, by the table of Petavius; which places the period of Homer thirty-seven years later.
1535. The society of the Jesuits founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish monk, who entered into an agreement with five of his fellow students to undertake the conversion of unbelievers and a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. From this small beginning it became a powerful society under the energy and shrewd policy of its leaders, and was raised to a degree of historical importance unparalleled in its kind.
1567. Bonhill field, the ancient burial place of the dissenters, surveyed, "containing 23 acres, 1 rod and 6 poles; butting upon Chiswell street on the south, and on the north upon the highway that leadeth from Wenlock's barn to the well called St. Agnes the Cleere." It was also the common place of interment for the victims of the great plague in 1665. Bunyan, Watts, Owen, De Foe, George Fox, are among the distinguished men who rest there.
1568. The learnedRoger Ascham, died; sometime tutor to queen Elizabeth, and afterwards her Latin secretary.
1582.Emanuel Alvarezdied; a Portuguese Jesuit, distinguished as a grammarian.
1596.Emanuel de Saa, a Portuguese Jesuit, died; professor of theology at Coimbra and at Rome, and author of several valuable works.
1644.John Baptist Van Helmont, a physician of Brussels, died. He was a man of great learning in physic and natural philosophy. His cures were so extraordinary that he was brought before the inquisition as a man that did things beyond the reach of nature. He cleared himself of the inquisition, but to be more at liberty retired into Holland.
1655. Several persons wounded at the door of the parliament house, England, by a quaker, who pretended that he was inspired to slay all in the house.
1661. The earl of Argyle committed to Edinburgh castle for high treason.
1688. The prince of Orange received the sacrament to allay suspicions of his wishing to change the liturgy of the English church.
1691.Robert Boyle, the distinguished philosopher and chemist, died. He was the seventh son and fourteenth child of Richard, earl of Cork, and secured immortal fame by his writings and discoveries in experimental philosophy.
1695.Samuel Morland, though a great favorite with king Charles, died in poverty. He constructed an arithmetical machine.
1721.Peter de Vallemont, a French ecclesiastic, died; known by hisElements of History, and other works.
1730.James Saurin, an eminent French divine and theological and controversial writer, died in Holland, where he took shelter from persecution.
1747.Edward Holdsworth, an English poet, died.
1765.Samuel Madden, an Irish divine and dramatic poet, died. He instituted the Dublin society, and set apart an annuity of £100 to be distributed as premiums for improvements in the useful arts.
1765.James Francis Edward(the Pretender), died at Rome. He was the son of James II of England, who was compelled to abdicate by his want of discretion in the government.
1774.Paul Whiteheaddied; an English poet of considerable eminence.
1777.Leopold Maximilian, elector of Bavaria, died. The succession to his dominions occasioned a war between Germany and Prussia.
1781.John Tuberville Needham, professor of philosophy in the English college at Lisbon, died. He wrote various philosophical and critical works; though a learned man he was a very superstitious character.
1800.Thomas Dimsdale, an eminent English physician, died. His celebrity was such that he was invited to the court of Russia, where he inoculated the empress Catharine and her son with small pox.
1809.Augustus Francis Julian Herbindied; a native of France, distinguished as an oriental scholar.
1813. Buffalo burnt. Fort George, or Newark, in Upper Canada, having been wantonly burnt down by the American troops, a part of the British army crossed over from fort Erie, and utterly destroyed the village of Buffalo, in retaliation. It contained 100 houses.
1833.William Sotheby, an English poet and translator, died. His translations from Virgil and Homer rank in the first class of that difficult and rarely successful branch of literature.
1834. The first reformed British parliament dissolved by royal proclamation.
1836. The plague continued to rage at Constantinople; having carried off during the summer and autumn no less than 100,000 citizens.
1837. An attack made by upwards of 100 Canadian loyalists upon the American steamboat Caroline, lying in the Niagara, at Schlosser, and of 34 Americans on board 22 lost their lives. The boat was towed into the current, with part of the men on board, and precipitated down the falls.
1853.John Avery Parker, a distinguished merchant and a millionaire, died in New Bedford, Mass.
1853. The ship Staffordshire, captain Richardson, from Liverpool to Boston, struck on a rock south of Seal island, and sunk, carrying down 177 of the passengers and crew.