1839.James Bylesdied at Oyster bay, N. Y., aged 118. He was a native of France, came to this country while a boy,was a soldier under Wolfe, and in the battle of Quebec.
1843. Was living at Caraccas, South America,Maria de la Cruz Carvallo, aged 144. Her hair, which had been white with age, returned to black at the age of 133; and her sight, which was entirely lost at the age of 118, returned, at the age of 138, so that she could thread a needle.
1854. The rail road track at Erie, Pa., torn up the second time by a mob.
1855. The western rail roads blocked with snow, and travel almost wholly obstructed for several days. No communication was had between St. Louis and Chicago for eleven days. Seventeen locomotives were frozen in or buried by the snow on the Chicago and Mississippi rail road.
107.St. Ignatiusdied, or was murdered.
1461. Battle of Mortimer's Cross, in which Edward, duke of York (afterwards Edward IV), revenged his father's death by a signal victory over the royalists, commanded by Jasper, earl of Pembroke.
1642.Edward Finchdied. He was vicar of Christ church, London, from which he was expelled for preaching in a surplice and associating with women.
1681.John Edward Nidhard, an Austrian jesuit, died. He was appointed inquisitor-general and minister of Spain.
1684.Robert Leighton, a Scotch prelate, died. He for a number of years employed his talents and influence in a vain endeavor to bring about a reconciliation between the presbyterians and episcopalians. As a preacher he was admired beyond all his contemporaries, and his works have not yet lost their popularity.
1686.Francis Blondeldied; eminent for his knowledge of geometry andbelles-lettres; was professor of mathematics and architecture, and tutor to the dauphin of France.
1702. MarshalVilleroy, general of the French and Spanish armies in Italy, surprised in his bed at Cremona, and taken prisoner by the imperialists under Prince Eugene.
1708. CaptainRogersdiscovered Alexander Selkirk on the island of Juan Fernandez, where he had lived alone four years and four months.
1718.Daniel Francis Voisin, chancellor of France, died. He was eminent for his talents, integrity and virtue.
1733.Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, died. His court was one of the most splendid and polished in Europe, and he filled with dignity his station among the European powers. In his character generous ideas were united with despotic feelings; a taste for pleasure with the cares of ambition; and the restlessness of a warlike spirit with the effeminacy of a luxurious life. Instances of his prodigious strength are recorded, which appear almost incredible.
1775. The new congress of Massachusetts met at Cambridge and chose John Hancock their president.
1781. LordCornwalliswith the British army, passed the Catawba at M'Cowan's ford. His passage was disputed by Wm. Davidson, lieut. col., commandant of the North Carolina line, and brigadier general of militia, with 300 militia. Davidson was overpowered, and killed by a ball in the breast. Cornwallis had his horse killed under him.
1789. The first president of the United States elected.
1793. War declared against England and Holland by the French.
1796. A stone was thrown at the carriage of George III, king of England, as he was returning from Drury lane theatre. It hit the queen in the face.
1800. Battle between the United States frigate Constellation, Capt. Truxton, and the French frigate La Vengeance of 54 guns. The action lasted from 8 o'clock in the morning until after noon, when the Vengeance was completely silenced; but taking advantage of a squall made her escape to Curacao, where she arrived in a shattered condition, having lost 160 men killed and wounded.
1801.Daniel Nicholas Chodowiecki, a German painter and engraver, died. He practiced miniature painting with great assiduity to support his mother. His first trials at engraving excited the astonishment of connoisseurs; and at length scarce a book appeared in Prussia for which he did not engrave at least a vignette. He was universally esteemed for his integrity.
1804.J. Packerdied at Spinningfield, England, aged 33, weighing 29 stone.
1813. American privateer schooner Hazard, Capt. Le Chartier, of 3 guns and 38 men, captured the British merchant ship Albion of 12 guns and 15 men; on the 23d she was re-captured by the British cutter Caledonia of 8 guns and 38 men; on the 26th the Hazard fell in with and took both of them; but succeeded in bringing the Albion only into St. Mary's. The Hazard had her first lieutenant and 6 men wounded, but she was much shattered. Great partof the Caledonia's crew were killed or wounded.
1814.Bonapartedefeated by the allied army near Chaumenil.
1814. A destructive eruption of Albay in Luconia, one of the Phillipines.
1815. Eruption of the volcano of Albay, in the province of Camarines, on the southern part of one of the Phillipine islands, in the Indian ocean; by this awful catastrophe five populous towns were entirely destroyed and more than 1200 of the inhabitants perished.
1824.Henry Bate Dudleydied. He was born in England 1745, educated for the pulpit, and succeeded to his father's benefice. He established theMorning Post, and subsequently several other papers, and manifested his literary abilities by the production of several successful comedies. He obtained a baronetcy, and at the time of his decease was a magistrate for eleven counties.
1824.John Lemprieredied, author of theBiographical Dictionary. He was an English prelate, and an excellent classical scholar.
1833.Elizabeth Mooredied, in Pitt county, North Carolina, aged 101.
1837. A memorial was presented to congress, signed by 56 authors of Great Britain, praying that body to secure to them the exclusive right to their respective writings in the United States.
1837.Edward Donovandied, near London, a celebrated author on natural history.
1837.Simpson, in the service of the Hudson Bay company, reached Athabasca, having completed since the first of December a journey of 1277 statute miles, thepreliminarystep of the expedition.
1845.Samuel McGwinn, known as theCaithness Veteran, died at Andover, New-Hampshire, aged 110.
1851.Mary Wolstonecraft, widow of Percy Bysshe Shelley, died, aged 53; known in authorship by herTravelsandFrankenstein.
1852. Ohio state house burnt, and a large mass of valuable papers perished with it.
1854.Silvio Pellicodied near Turin in Italy. In 1820 he was seized by the Austrians as a carbonaro, while employed as a tutor, and confined in the fortress of Spielberg ten years. On his release he was employed as librarian by the Marchesa Barolo until his death.
1854. The splendid Parliament house at Quebec, with the government library and philosophical apparatus, were destroyed by fire.
1855. The United States surveying steamer Water Witch, ascending the Paraguay in violation of the ordinance that no man of war should enter that river, was fired at from the fort, and one man killed. The Water Witch returned the fire and backed down the stream.
1856.Ivan Fedorowitch Paskiewitsch, vice-roy of Poland, died, aged 74. He distinguished himself in all the wars of the Russian empire, beginning with that of the invasion of 1812.
1141. Battle of Lincoln, and defeat of Stephen, king of England, by the earl of Gloucester. The king, whose valor deserved a better fortune, was taken prisoner, loaded with irons, and Matilda proclaimed queen.
1421.Henry Ventered London from the complete conquest of France, which had been accomplished in about five years, and was received by the people amidst such pageants and popular rejoicings as that capital had never witnessed.
1461. Battle of Mortimer's Cross near Ludlow, where the king's forces were defeated, Owen Tudor taken and beheaded.
1529.Balthazar Castiglione, an Italian nobleman and poet, died. He was also so well skilled in painting, sculpture and architecture, that it is said Raphael and Michael Angelo, though incomparable artists, never thought their works perfect unless they had his approbation.
1626.Charles Iof England crowned at Westminster. He wore the white rather than the purple robe, and to prevent the increase of the plague omitted the usual ceremony of riding in state.
1643. PrinceRuperttook Cirencester for Charles, by storm; 200 slain.
1653. New York city incorporated.
1682.John Pautredied; an eminent French designer and engraver. His works were published in 3 vols. folio, and contained more than 1000 engravings.
1688.Abraham du Quesnedied. He was a native of Normandie in France, and distinguished himself in the navy by a series of valorous and successful engagements.
1705. A new eruption of the peak of Teneriffe, forming the third volcanic mouth.
1723.Richard Sare, an eminent printer, died. A sermon preached at his death was well received and went through many editions.
1745. A conspiracy of 900 negroes to murder their masters in Jamaica was discovered by a negress to her mistress, because the plotters would not save a child she had nursed.
1752. The contributors to the Pennsylvaniahospital, having rented a house, admitted their first patients.
1768.Arthur Onslowdied. He was 33 years speaker in the English house of commons and the third of his family that had been nominated to that office.
1771.John Lockman, an English dramatic writer, died.
1787. Gen.Arthur St. Clairelected president of the American congress.
1788.James Stuartdied; sometimes called Athenian Stuart, a very celebrated traveler and delineator of Athenian architecture.
1794. The French convention decreed it treason for any officer to surrender his ship to a force less than double his own!
1797. Mantua surrendered to the French, who now became entire masters of the pope's dominions; whereupon Napoleon dictates to his holiness those pious terms of pacification signed ten days after.
1798. The Federal street theatre, in Boston, entirely destroyed by fire.
1799.Thomas Paine, often called theLiterary Merchant, died. Few mercantile men become literary men.
1799.Elizabeth Woodcock, an English woman, returning home from market in one of the most stormy nights ever known in England, was overwhelmed in a snow drift, where she remained eight days without sustenance. When discovered her mental faculties were unimpaired, but she had lost the use of her feet, and died some months after.
1801. The first imperial parliament of Great Britain assembled in London.
1804.George Waltondied, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was a native of Virginia, served an apprenticeship to a carpenter, removed to Georgia and studied law. He was foremost among the patriots of that state who assembled to devise measures of resistance to the acts of parliament in relation to American taxations.
1806.Mirandasailed from New York on his expedition to revolutionize South-America.
1806.Thomas Banksdied. He was bred a wood carver, to which he served an apprenticeship. But having taken several premiums for models of sculpture he turned his attention to that art, and was sent to Rome to study at the academy's expense. From Italy he repaired to Russia, where he stayed two years; but not meeting with any adequate encouragement, he returned to his own country. A colossal statue of Achilles mourning the loss of Briseis is his masterpiece. He closed a life of arduous exertion, at the age of 70; and there are monuments, both in Russia and England that will long attest his skill.
1807. Battle of Bergfried near the lower Vistula. Bonaparte defeated the Russians after a severe and sanguinary contest, in which Soult, Augereau, &c., distinguished themselves very highly. The French took four pieces of cannon and 1700 prisoners. Same day, the French general Guyot captured the whole of the Russian magazines at Guttstadt.
1808. The French subverted the papal government at Rome.
1814.Bonapartedefeated at Brienne with the loss of 173 cannons and 4000 men.
1817. The Scottish regalia, which had been deposited in a chest in 1707, (seeMarch 26) was examined by a deputation. The doors were removed, and the floor was found covered with 6 inches of dust. No keys being found, the oaken chest was forced open, and found to contain the ancient crown, scepter and sword of state, as they had been deposited 111 years previous.
1820.Benjamin Trumbulldied, aged 92, author of aHistory of Connecticut.
1831.A. Bonpland, the celebrated traveler, permitted to leave Paraguay, where he had been detained about nine years, by the dictator Francia.
1834.Richard Lander, the enterprising traveler and discoverer of the course of the Niger, died at Fernando Po, in Africa, of wounds received from the natives. All his papers were lost. The British government allowed his wife and daughter a pension of £150.
1834.Lorenzo Dowdied, aged 57; an eccentric traveling preacher. He was born in Connecticut and had a good elementary education; but in his youth acquired vicious habits which however he overcame at about the age of 14. At an early age he believed himself called to preach, and in obeying the impulse he commenced a career which has probably never been equaled; and in spite of acute bodily disease performed an amount of labor in traveling and preaching never before known. Before he had completed his twenty-fifth year, he once rode 1500 miles and held 184 meetings in ten weeks and two days; and about a year afterwards, traveled 4000 miles in the southern states, constantly preaching, in seven months, and finished his tour without stockings, shoes, or outer garment, and almost without a horse. For several years after he traveled from seven to ten thousand miles and held six or seven hundred meetings annually. It is thought that during the thirty-eight years of his public life he must have traveled two hundred thousand miles, including three voyages to England and Ireland. During these flying journeys heconstantly refused donations and contributions, except for immediate want; and his traveling expenses exceeded his receipts more than one half, the first eighteen years. Afterwards, however, his books became a source of profit to him, and finally he became the maker and vender of afamily medicine!which was a matter of speculation purely. He was twice married; his second wife survived him. He was familiar to every body throughout the United States, for there were few places however obscure which he had not visited.
1839.Deborah Logandied at Stanton, Pa. She was a member of the Pennsylvania historical society, and more intimately acquainted with the early history of that state, than any other person living.
1840.Olinthus Gregori, an English mathematician, died, aged 67. He was more than thirty years professor of mathematics in the royal military academy at Woolwich, and had the whole of the general superintendence of the almanacs published by the stationers' company, which had been for a long period conducted by Dr. Hutton. He published mathematics, biography and religion.
1841.William Bartlett, an eminent and wealthy merchant of Newburyport, and a munificent benefactor to the theological seminary at Andover, died, aged 93.
1851.Joanna Baillie, a Scottish dramatic authoress, died, aged 85.
1852. A priest, aged 63, attacked the queen of Spain with a dagger, as she was returning from church; for which he was executed.
1855.G. Fletcher, an English Wesleyan preacher, died, aged 108. Until within six months of his decease he preserved an astonishing activity of mind and body, often preaching without fatigue three times a day.
1856. The house of representatives at Washington elected a speaker after a contest of nine weeks.
1014.Sweyn, king of Denmark, died.
1399.John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, died. He was the son of Edward III; was a prince of distinguished valor and prudence, and a patron of the poet Chaucer.
1497. "Johannes Cabotus Venetus et Sebastianus illius filius," commissioned by Henry VII of England to take six ships of 200 tons burden from any port in the kingdom for the purpose of making a western voyage of discovery. This expedition was got ready by the beginning of May, and consisted of two caravals freighted by the merchants of London and Bristol, and some smaller craft.
1619. By letters patent dated this day, James I granted Ben Jonson a pension of 100 marks during life, "in consideration of the good and acceptable service heretofore done and hereafter to be done by the said B. J."
1649.Charles IIproclaimed king by the Scots.
1660.Charles Xof Sweden died. He ascended the throne 1654, and was a prudent though a warlike monarch.
1698.Ernest Augustus, duke of Hanover, bishop of Osnabruck, and father of George I of England, died.
1700.Filippo Acciaguoli, an Italian dramatic poet and composer, died. He effected many improvements in the machinery and internal arrangements of theatres.
1730.Elizabeth Thomas, an English poetess, died. She is known by the name ofCorinne.
1761.Richard Nash, commonly calledBeau Nash, died, aged 87. He was the most accomplishedgentlemanin England.
1779. The American Gen. Moultrie defeated 200 British at Port Royal island, South Carolina, and drove them off that island. Moultrie had 1 lieutenant and 7 privates killed and 22 wounded. The British lost most of their officers.
1779. Mutiny suppressed on board the United States frigate Alliance, bound to France with M. de Lafayette and several French gentlemen of distinction on board. Half the crew were concerned in it, and measures were taken to quell it but a few hours before it was to have been carried into effect. Great inhumanity was meditated towards the officers and the French. This was the first organized mutiny ever known in the American service. The mutineers were 36 in number.
1781. The Americans, closely pursued by the British after the battle of the Cowpens, crossed the Yadkin and secured their boats on the north side, when a sudden rise of the river arrested the pursuit of the enemy. In this retreat the Americans endured extreme hardships with admirable fortitude, and their remarkable escape confirmed them in the belief that their cause was favored of heaven.
1781. St. Eustatia, one of the West-India islands, taken by the British under Rodney. The plunder amounted to above £3,000,000, besides 6 Dutch armed frigates and 150 vessels, many of them richly laden. The British kept the Dutch colors hoisted, by which means several Dutch, French and American vessels were decoyed and captured.
1782. Demerary and Essequibo surrendered by capitulation from the French.
1783. The ratification of the preliminary articles of peace exchanged at Paris.
1786.Gaspard Risbeck, a German author, died.
1794.George IIIand QueenCharlottewent to Hay Market theatre, which attracted so great a crowd, that more than 15 persons were trampled to death.
1794. The French convention received the deputies from St. Domingo, one of whom was a black, one a mulatto, and one a white; and at the same time decreed that all men of color whom a tyrannical force had made slaves, were still free and equally citizens with whites.
1795. A tableaux of the victories of the French from Sept. 8th, 1793, to this date, presented to the convention by Carnot, gives the following result: 27 victories, 6 of which were gained in pitched battles; 120 combats of less importance; 80,000 enemies killed, and 91,000 taken prisoners; 117 important fortresses, 36 of which were taken after a close blockade; 230 forts; 38,000 pieces of artillery; 17,000 muskets; 19,000 pounds of powder, and 90 stands of colors.
1797. Faenza in Italy carried by assault by the French under Victor, afterwards duke of Belluno.
1800. Four British ships, carrying in all 106 guns, captured off Seven islands, after a close action of 2 hours 10 minutes, the French frigate Pallas of 42 guns and 350 men. British loss, 10 killed, 34 wounded.
1807. Montevideo taken by storm by the British.
1808. The Neapolitan garrison of Reggio surrendered to the French.
1809. The French national ship l'Iris, 24 guns, captured by the British ship, l'Amiable.
1809. The Spanish junta in Seville issued orders to their troops to give no quarter to the French found in Spain.
1810. British ship Valiant of 74 guns captured the French frigate Cannoniere, 14 guns, with a cargo worth $800,000.
1810. The French destroyed the quicksilver mines at El Almoden del Azoque, near Seville.
1810. Guadaloupe surrendered to the British.
1813. The Spanish cortez abolished the inquisition.
1814.Bonaparteentered Troyes. Same day the Russians and Prussians bombarded Vitry, defended by the French under Gen. Montmartre.
1831. The duke of Nemours elected king of Belgium.
1832.George Crabbedied; one of the most popular of the modern British poets.
1832.Charles Victor de Bonstettendied, aged 87; a distinguished Swiss moralist, politician, metaphysician, geologist and traveler.
1836.Marie Letitia Bonaparte, mother of Napoleon, died. She was born at Ajaccio 1750; her maiden name Romolini; was one of the most beautiful women of Corsica; married, in the midst of civil discord, Charles Bonaparte, an officer who fought with Paoli; was left a widow 1785, having borne 13 children, of whom 5 sons and 3 daughters survived their father, and became celebrated. Madame Bonaparte was a woman of great force and energy of character.
1844. Continued cold weather in the northern parts of the United States. Long Island sound was frozen over a few miles above New York, and a canal, seven miles in length, was cut through the ice at Boston to allow the British steamer to go to sea.
1852. Battle of Santos Lugares, near Buenos Ayres, between the army of Urquiza, 30,000 men and 50 cannon, and Rosas, 25,000 men and 90 cannon. Rosas was defeated, and took refuge on board an English steamer. The city was saved from pillage by ships of war of all nations then in the harbor.
1856. Thermometer at 30° below zero in Kansas; and the cold extended over the United States, in some parts to a degree unknown before.
211.Lucius Septimus Severus, emperor of Rome, died at York, England. His sons, Geta and Caracalla, were by this event recalled from Scotland, where they were debating with Fingal over heath and mountain, her ancient stubborn independence.
836.Egbert, the last king of the Saxon heptarchy, and the first of England, died.
856.Magnentius Maurus Rabanus, a learned German divine, died. His works on theology are numerous.
1194.Richard,Coeur de Lion, released from his imprisonment.
1536. The parliament of England abolished every thing relative to the pope's power in their realm.
1555.John Rogers, prebendary of St. Paul's, and the protomartyr, burned at Smithfield.
1607.James Menochiusdied; a civilian of Pavia, of distinguished abilities.
1644. A very large comet which had terrified the straight-bodied folks of New England with its prodigious length of tail, disappeared on this day, to their great relief.
1648.George Abbot, an English statesman and religious author, died. He was one of the judges who sat at the trial of Charles I, and signed his death warrant.
1660. Gen.Monk, famous as the restorer of Charles II, marched into London and recommended a government moderately presbyterian.
1665. The first number of theLondon Gazetteappeared, published by Sir Roger l'Estrange.
1687.Francis de Crequi, marshal of France, died. He was distinguished for his military enterprises and heroic courage.
1692. Goree taken from the French by the English under Gen. Booker.
1693. Earthquake of Sicily, which swallowed up Catania and 1800 citizens.
1746.Robert Blair, a Scottish clergyman and poet, died. The only production of his, which we possess, isThe Grave, a poem, striking and vigorous.
1749.John James Heideggerdied at London. He was born in Switzerland, and came to England, where by his taste and judgment in operatic amusements, he was appointed to the management of the opera house and the masquerades. He was the ugliest featured man in the kingdom, but good-humored, benevolent and charitable.
1756. A mummy disinterred near Auvergne in France.
1762.Samuel Davies, an American divine, died, aged 36. He labored some years as a presbyterian pastor in Virginia, where the act of uniformity was enforced with great rigor, and was the founder of the first presbytery in that state. His sermons have passed through many editions on both sides of the Atlantic.
1774.Charles Marie de la Condaminedied. He was possessed of a daring spirit, which led him to enter the army. But the restoration of peace cut off his hopes of promotion, and he traveled in Turkey and Asia. On his return to Paris, the academy were making arrangements to send a deputation to the equator for scientific purposes. The very desire of being connected with so perilous an undertaking made him an astronomer. The fatigues and hardships which he encountered in South-America, were heightened by the discord and jealousy which arose among his companions. He died while undergoing an operation for the removal of a malady contracted in Peru. He bore an excellent character, and left many valuable works.
1779.John Hamilton Mortimer, an eminent English historical painter, died.
1783. Cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, and final conclusion of the seven years' war of the revolution, which freed the American colonies from the claims of the mother country, and gave a new nation to the world.
1787.Jacob Wismerdied, aged 103. He was a German by birth, came to America in Queen Anne's reign, and settled in Pennsylvania; here he married his third wife, with whom he lived 67 years, and left 170 descendants.
1790.Louis XVItook the oath to maintain the new constitution.
1793. An embargo laid on all French vessels in Great-Britain.
1794. The legislature of Massachusetts having repealed the law against theatrical amusements, the Federal street theatre was opened as a regular, lawful theatre, withGustavus VasaandModern Antiques.
1796. British ship Aurora, one of Admiral Christian's fleet, having 160 men on board, who had kept her afloat three weeks by manual labor, was rescued by Capt. Hodges of the American ship Sedgley. The troops were principally Germans and offered Capt. Hodges 1000 guineas for his exertions in saving their lives, which he nobly refused.
1797. Earthquake at Quito, which threw down many valuable edifices, and destroyed several neighboring towns and plantations. A great number of persons were swallowed up.
1800.William Taskerdied, aged 60. He was 30 years rector of a church, but deprived of its income by unmerited persecutions and litigations, until near the close of his life. The works which he published added to his reputation with the learned, but contributed nothing to his support, and he continued to struggle against poverty and oppression.
1804.Christian Joseph Jagemann, librarian to the duchess Amalia of Weimar, died. He was destined for the cloister, but escaped from the monastery, and became a distinguished writer on the fine arts and literature of Italy.
1804. The boats of the British ship Centaur cut out of Martinique the French corvette Le Curieux.
1805. The British sloop of war Arrow, 28 guns, and bomb vessel Acheron, 8 guns, having a fleet of merchantmen in convoy, were captured by two French frigates, but most of the convoy escaped.
1806. Gen.Philemon Dickinson, who was in the battle of Monmouth, died at Trenton, New Jersey, aged 69.
1808. First legislative proceedings in relation to the New York canals.
1811.Jonathan Lambert, of Salem, Massachusetts, took possession of the uninhabited island of Tristan d'Acunha, south of St. Helena. The British took possession of it in 1817, and fortified it.
1812. Peniscola, in Valencia, surrendered to the French under Suchet.
1813. The United States frigate Constellationchased into Norfolk, Virginia, by a British squadron.
1814. The ice formed on the Thames at London, above the bridges, and a fair was held upon it during eight days.
1817.Lewis Pennockdied at West Marlborough, Pennsylvania, aged 92; 11 of his survivors, within a mile, arrived at 83½ years.
1834.John O'Keefe, a British dramatic author, died at Southampton, England, aged 68.
1835.Wade Hamptondied at Columbia, S. C., aged 81. He distinguished himself in the war of the revolution under Sumpter and Marion; and during the last war commanded a brigade on the northern frontier. He was reputed the most extensive planter in the United States; one of the wealthiest men in the whole southern country; and perhaps no other man in this country ever amassed so large a fortune by agriculture.
1836.William Gelldied at Naples. He was a classical antiquary, the illustrator of the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and author of various works on classical antiquity. He was admired alike for the depth and versatility of his erudition, the benevolence of his heart, and the suavity of his manners.
1850. Seventy-five persons killed by a steam explosion in Hague street, New York.
1854. Eight steamboats destroyed by fire at New Orleans, and 37 persons perished in the flames.
1856. Fort Nicholas at Sebastopol blown up by the allies, with the aid of 106,000 pounds of powder.
This day in the calendar of Hesiod, is auspicious for marriages and the repairing of ships; but a day oftroubles.
46B. C.Marcus Catokilled himself, at the age of 48. He was a lover of philosophy, in which he rigidly followed the doctrines of the stoics. He was a soldier, and his first campaign was against Spartacus; afterwards he led 1000 foot into Asia, where he was ridiculed for the small number of his attendants, but was wholly unmoved by it. He sided with Cicero against Catiline, and opposed Cæsar in the senate on that occasion. He endeavored to bring about a reconciliation between Cæsar and Pompey, but finding it in vain, sided with the latter. When Pompey was slain he fled to Utica, and Cæsar pursuing him, he advised his friends to be gone, and his son to trust to Cæsar's clemency; then lay down upon his bed, read Plato on the immortality of the soul twice over, and rose and thrust his own sword through his body.
41B. C.Augustus, by a vote of the senate, in full assembly, their brows crowned with laurel, saluted with the title ofFather of his Country.
1444. An eruption of Vulcano, one of the Lipari islands, which changed the entire face of the local navigation. Aristotle records a dreadful explosion, which is supposed to have formed the island as it stood in the time of Pliny.
1552.James Meyer, a Flemish historian, died, aged 61.
1556. A truce for five years was concluded between Charles V, emperor of Germany, and Henry II of France.
1617.Prospero Alpini, a famous Venitian physician and botanist, died, aged 64.
1626. Three new committees, viz., one on religion, one on grievances, one on secret affairs, were appointed in the parliament of Charles I.
1664.Christian Aagaarddied, a distinguished Danish poet of the 17th century, aged 48.
1674. A parhelion or mock sun observed near Marienburg in western Prussia. It appeared in the horizon beneath the material sun, of a red color.
1679.Joost Van Vondel, a Dutch poet of considerable eminence, died, aged 91.
1684.Philip de Montault, duke of Noailles, died. He renounced the protestant faith, and rose to a high rank in the army.
1684. About the beginning of December commenced a frost at London, which continued till this day. Coaches were run, oxen roasted, bulls baited, &c., on the Thames.
1693. The Mohawk castles burned by the French.
1718.Adrian Relanddied; a learned orientalist and professor at Utrecht.
1721.James, earl of Stanhope, died. He distinguished himself in the field and in the cabinet, under George I.
1729.John Truchetdied at Paris. He was distinguished for his knowledge of geometry and hydraulics.
1751. The coffin and remains of a farmer were interred at Stevenage, England. He died in 1721, bequeathing an estate worth £400 a year to his two brothers, to be enjoyed by them during 30 years, at the expiration of which time he expected to return to life, when the estate was to be given up to him again. In order to his convenience on his reappearance, he ordered his coffin to be placed on a beam in the barn, with the key enclosed, that he might liberate himself. Four days grace being allowed him for his resurrection, beyond the time specified in the will, and not then presenting himself, his bones wereconsigned to the earth and his estate forfeited.
1757. Battle of Plassy, in Hindostan, in which the British under Col. Clive achieved an important victory.
1776. Georgia adopted a new government.
1780. The first shock of the earthquakes in Sicily and the two Calabrias, was felt at Scylla on the same day. In the night a tremendous wave swept from the coast 2473 inhabitants, with the prince of the place. The work of destruction and terror continued for almost four months, accompanied by incessant rains and bursts of thunder. Of 375 villages in Calabria, 320 were destroyed. It is estimated that 35,521 persons lost their lives in 33 towns only.
1782. The garrison at Minorca, 2692 men under Gen. Murray, surrendered to the French and Spanish, 16,000, under the Duc de Crillon.
1788. Massachusetts adopted the federal constitution, proposing some amendments. This was the sixth state in the list (ratified on the 6th, q. v.)
1790.William Cullen, a celebrated Scottish physician and medical writer, died, aged 77. He settled at Glasgow, and was for some time a professor of the university there, which he left on an invitation to Edinburgh. He successfully combatted the specious doctrines of Boerhaave, depending on the humoral pathology; founding his own views on an enlarged view of the principles of Hoffman.
1791.John Beard, an eminent and popular English theatrical vocalist, died. He ultimately became joint proprietor and acting manager of Covent Garden theatre, and continued on the stage till the loss of his hearing forced him to leave it.
1792.John Eardly Wilmot, an English miscellaneous writer, died.
1795. Report of the committee of the assembly of the states of Holland, respecting the state of the bank of Amsterdam, by which it appeared that the bank had been for 50 years receiving as securities for large sums advanced by it, a very considerable number of bonds instead of specie.
1795. The royal assent was given to the bill for suspending the habeas corpus in Great Britain.
1796. Negombo, in the East Indies, captured by the British under Admiral Elphinstone.
1797. The post of Corne, at the bridge head of Hueningen, was surrendered to the Austrians by the French general, Sisce, Gen. Abbatucci having died a few days before. Two days were allowed to withdraw the garrison and every movable appertaining to the place.
1799.Lewis Galvani, an Italian philosopher, died, aged 62. His favorite studies were anatomy and physiology. In his pursuits he was led fortuitously to the discovery of a new branch of science, calledGalvanism. His manners are said to have been most unostentatious and retiring, and his mind of a melancholy turn.
1802. The French and Spanish troops landed at Hayti and captured forts Dauphin, Bizoton and St. Joseph. Christophe, the black general, set the town on fire and massacred many of the white inhabitants.
1805. The East Indiaman, earl of Abergavenny, wrecked on the shambles off the bill of Portland, and sunk in twelve fathoms of water. Of 402 persons on board, only 139 were saved. Her cargo was valued at £200,000, exclusive of 275,000 ounces in dollars.
1807.Pascal de Paoli, a celebrated Corsican general, died near London. While endeavoring to rescue his native island from the tyranny of the Genoese government, and defending its liberties against Gallic encroachments and invasion, being overpowered by the French, he retired with a few of his followers to England, where in a few years he ended his illustrious career.
1807. The French under Soult, Davoust and Ney, surrounded and cut to pieces a Russian column of 9000 men, took 1000 prisoners and 16 cannon.
1809. British ship Loire, Capt. Schomberg, captured the French national ship Hebe, 20 guns, with 600 barrels of flour.
1810. The French under Sebastiani and Milhaud defeated the Spaniards and took Malaga with its immense stores, 171 cannon, &c. The same day two French frigates of 40 guns each, full of troops, destroyed off Guadaloupe.
1811. Royal assent given by commission to the act appointing a regent of Great Britain, in the person of the prince of Wales.
1813. British AdmiralWarrendeclared the ports and harbors of the bay of Chesapeake to be in a state of blockade.
1814. Seventeen British officers put in close confinement at Chilicothe, on the principle of retaliation.
1814. The advance of Gen. De York made a successful charge upon the rear of Macdonald's army at La Chaussee, between Vitry and Chalons, took 3 cannon, and 100 Frenchmen prisoners.
1815. British ship Grannicus, Capt. Wise, captured the American privateer brig George Little, 8 guns, 58 men.
1816.Richard, Viscount Fitzwilliam, died, leaving to the university of Cambridge his splendid library and £60,000 for the erection of a museum for its receptionand exhibition. In his collection there are more than 10,000 proof prints of the first artists, a very extensive library of rare and costly works, among which are nearly 300 Roman missals, finely illuminated. There is also a very curious collection of the best ancient music, containing the originalVirginalbook of Queen Elizabeth, and many works of Handel in the handwriting of that great master.
1818.Charles XIIIof Sweden died. He was the second son of Adolphus Frederick, and appointed at his birth high admiral of Sweden. His education was directed chiefly to naval tactics, but the revolutions of the time called him finally to the throne, where he conducted with great prudence, and gained the confidence of the people.
1822.Ali, pacha of Yanina, generally called Ali Pacha, killed. He was a bold and crafty rebel against the Porte; an intelligent and active governor of his province; as a warrior, decided and able; as a man, a very fiend. His early life was unfortunate, but his extraordinary strength of mind, which shrank from no danger or crime, united to great address, raised him to princely independence. His enormities at length attracted the wrath of the sultan. Finding it vain to withstand so powerful a foe, he sued for pardon, gave up his fortress, and was treacherously cut down, with six of his companions.
1823. Yates county, New York, erected.
1823.Juan Antonio Llorentedied. He was induced by Bonaparte, who placed in his hands the papers of the inquisition, to write a history of that tribunal. When the fortunes of the Bonapartes declined, he was banished from his country, and lived in France in indigence, supporting himself by teaching Spanish in the boarding schools; but the university at last forbid him that means of support. The rage of his enemies was raised to the highest pitch by the publication of hisPortraits Politiques des Papes, and the old man was ordered in the middle of winter to leave Paris in three days, and France in the shortest possible time. He was not allowed to rest one day, and died exhausted, a victim to the persecutions of the 19th century, a few days after his arrival in Madrid.
1824.Henry Callisen, a German physician and surgeon, died. He was the son of a poor clergyman; educated himself; served in the army and in the fleet; afterwards in the hospitals in Copenhagen; and finally accepted a professorship in the university.
1831. The Russian army of 160,000 men enter Poland at several points, Count Diebitsch commander-in-chief.
1835. Tremendous eruptions of volcanoes, attended with destructive earthquakes, occurred in Central America, sinking several towns and villages, and destroying a large part of St. Miguel and St. Salvador.
1837.James Cervettothe younger died, aged 90. He first brought the violincello into favor in England. He excelled his father as a musician, was leader of the orchestra of Drury lane theatre in the time of Garrick, and 72 years member of the royal society of musicians.
1839.Asahel Stearns, professor of law at Cambridge, died, aged 64. He published a learned and accurate work on real actions, and was one of the revisers of the statutes of Massachusetts.
1841. The Pennsylvania bank of the United States, after having, from the time of the resumption of specie payments on the 15th January, paid out an amount little if at all short of six millions of dollars in coin or specie funds, again suspended specie payments. The exhibition of its affairs, which soon followed, were so unfavorable as to cause great surprise. The suspension was followed by that of nearly all the banks south and west of New York and New England.
1851.John Pye Smithdied, aged 77; a religious controversial author of note, and nearly half a century principal of a dissenting college in England.
1853. The Sloo treaty signed at Mexico, for opening a communication across the isthmus of Tehuantepec.
1854.James B. Cooper, an American naval officer, died, aged 94. He was a member of Lee's legion in the war of the Revolution, and served in the navy during the war of 1812.
A day of dire calamity, says Hesiod, in which certainGreekladies, called "the Furies," make their round, "about, about, about."
129B. C.Three ambassadors from John Hyrcanus, the Jewish pontiff, were received at Rome, when the senate decreed a renewal of the league of amity and assistance with that "good and friendly people," and dismissed the delegates with presents.
1554.John Wyattand a number of others executed for an insurrection and riot, on account of Queen Mary's marriage with Philip II of Spain.
1593.James Amyott, grand almoner of France, died; a writer on various subjects, but chiefly known as the translator ofPlutarch's Lives and Morals.
1623.Juan Mariana, a Spanish historian, died. He wrote several works,theological and historical; the most considerable of which is hisHistory of Spain.
1649. The Rump parliament voted the house of peers to be useless and dangerous, and accordingly that branch of the legislature and the office of king, were abolished by two brief resolutions.
1685.Charles II, king of England, died. At the time of the death of his father he was a refugee at the Hague, on which he immediately assumed the royal title. In 1660 he entered London amidst the universal acclamations of the people. He was a confirmed sensualist and voluptuary, says Lardner, and owing to the example of him and his court, his reign was the era of the most dissolute manners that ever prevailed in England. His career was terminated by a fit of apoplexy, at the age of 55. It was during this reign that the great plague and the great fire of London occurred. He was the twenty-sixth king of England.
1693. A party of about 700 French and Indians fell upon the Mohawk villages near Schenectady, and took about 300 prisoners in the English interest, without doing much other damage. They were pursued by Col. Schuyler with a party from Albany, and several skirmishes ensued. The French escaped by crossing the north branch of the Hudson, on a cake of ice. They lost in this enterprise 80 men killed, and were reduced to great want before they got home.
1696. A plot to assassinateWilliam IIIof England, was discovered.
1736. Earthquake in New England.
1738.Joseph Mitchell, a Scotch dramatic poet, died.
1740.Clement XII(Laurence Corsini), pope of Rome, died. He was very popular, and corrected many abuses in the church.
1755.Maurice Johnson, a noted English antiquary, died.
1756. Birthday ofAaron Burr, at Newark, N. J. His father was the Rev. William Burr, second president of New Jersey college at Princeton, and his mother a daughter of the celebrated Jonathan Edwards, third president of that institution. His wife is well known.
1777. Great Britain granted letters of marque and reprisal against America.
1778. The French avowed the independence of the United States, by concluding a treaty of defensive alliance with them.
1778. New York acceded to the confederation.
1783.Launcelot Browndied. He invented a new system of horticulture, and carried ornamental gardening to a high degree of perfection. Many delightful places of resort in England will stand for ages as memorials of his superior taste and abilities.
1783. The first ship which displayed the thirteen stripes in any British port, was recorded at the London custom house. She was loaded with 587 butts whale oil, belonged to the island of Nantucket, and was manned wholly with American seamen.
1788. Massachusetts adopted the constitution of the United States, being the 6th state which ratified that instrument. The vote stood 187 to 168.
1792. The city of Morocco, which had shut its gates against the emperor Muley Yazid, was attacked by his forces and carried. The greatest excesses were committed by the soldiery, against friends as well as foes, and the Jews were as usual given up to be plundered. (See12thand16th.)
1796. The state of Vermont adopted its constitution.
1798. The bank of England subscribed £200,000 to assist government to repel the threatened invasion. By the assistance of manufacturers, &c., this sum was increased to £1,500,000.
1799. British ship Arago, Capt. Bowen, captured off Mahon, at midnight, the Spanish frigate Santa Teresa, 42 guns and 350 men.
1800. The duke ofOrleans(Louis Phillip, afterwards king,) asked pardon of Louis XVIII, and swore that he was ready to shed the last drop of his blood in his service. He was graciously received.
1803.Giambattista Casti, a Florentine historian, died, aged 82. His works are full of wit and originality, and some of them have been translated into English.
1804.Joseph Priestlydied. He was the son of a Calvinistic clothier, in whose rigid principles he was educated. His heresy ripened into unitarianism. His publications had already made him extensively known, when in 1766 he became acquainted with Franklin, by whom he was encouraged to compose a work on electricity. This was followed by several scientific works, till in 1794, on the anniversary of the capture of the Bastile, the mob at Birmingham, where he then resided, proceeded to his house, which, with his library, manuscripts and apparatus, fell a prey to the flames. Finally, goaded by party enmity, he sought an asylum in the United States, and took up his residence at Northumberland, Pa. Here his devotion to his favorite pursuits brought on a disease, which hastened the end of his existence, in the 71st year of his age. His works amount to about 70 volumes, octavo.
1806. Action between the British fleet under Admiral Duckworth, and the French under Lessiegues, off St. Domingo, which resulted in the destruction of the latter, consisting of four large ships of war.
1807. The French under Murat, defeated the Prussians under Hoff, in Prussian Poland.
1811. The prince regent of Great Britain took the oath prescribed by the regency act, and was installed.
1813. The United States government ordered all alien enemies to report themselves to the marshals of the districts in which they resided.
1814. LordCastlereagh, with other diplomatic characters, met at Chartillon-sur-Seine, for the negotiation of peace.
1815. Full pardon granted to the Barratarian pirates by the president of the United States, in consequence of their fidelity and courage in the defence of New Orleans.
1832. The crew of the United States frigate Potomac, made an attack upon Qualla Battoo, in Sumatra. The town was destroyed and 150 Malays killed; loss of the Potomac 2 killed, 14 wounded.
1833.Pierre-Andre Latreille, a French naturalist, died at Paris. He particularly distinguished himself in entomology.
1834. The celebrated and enterprising traveler, Lander, died of a shot wound in Africa.
1853. PresidentCavallosresigned, and Gen. Lombardini chosen president of Mexico with dictatorial powers.
1853. The insurrection of Mazzini at Milan, which was unsuccessful.
1853.William Peter, British consul at Philadelphia, died. He translated thePrometheusof Æschylus, was an accomplished scholar and talented poet.
1451.B. C.The Jews place the death of Moses on this day.
1642.William Bedell, bishop of Kilmore, died; one of the most exemplary prelates of the 17th century. He was so greatly respected even by the papists, that when the Irish rebellion of 1641 broke out, his was for some time the only English house in the county that stood unviolated. But refusing to submit to the orders of the council of state, interfering with his religious duties, he was thrown into prison, and his death was occasioned by the rigors of confinement. He translated the old testament into Irish.
1674.Margaret Lucas, dutchess of Newcastle, died; authoress of plays, poems, letters, essays, and philosophical fancies, filling 12 folio volumes, and the biography of her husband, William Cavendish, earl of Newcastle. She was a very singular character, and has been both ridiculed and extolled by the best English authors.
1693.Paul Pelisson Fontanierdied. He gave a history of the French academy from its establishment.
1778.Daniel Boone, the first settler of Kentucky, taken by the French and Indians near the Blue licks. This was the second time he had fallen into the hands of the Indians. He made his escape about ten days after, and reached home in safety.
1788. The settlement at Botany bay abandoned, and this day the regular form of government was adopted, under Gov. Arthur Philip, and settlement made at Sydney cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales.
1791. Saratoga and Rensselaer counties in New York, erected.
1792.Athanase Auger, a celebrated linguist, died. He was born at Paris, 1734, and became a clergymen. His studies of the Greek and Roman writers were indefatigable; the study of Cicero and of Roman history occupied the last thirty years of his life. His translations, &c., were published in 30 vols. Learning proved its worth in his character and life.
1796. The British admiral, SirFrancis Geary, died, aged 86.
1799.John Hedwigdied; a German botanist, whose researches respecting the cryptogamia class of plants have established his name.
1807. Schweidnitz in Silesia surrendered to the French general Vandamme.
1810. British GeneralPictontried for ordering Louisa Calderon to be put to the torture. He was killed at the battle of Waterloo.
1812. Earthquake at Philadelphia; duration 30 seconds. It was also observed in various parts of the United States to a less extent.
1813. Capt.Forsythewith 200 volunteers from Ogdensburgh, crossed at Morristown to Elizabethtown, surprised the British guard and took 52 prisoners, 140 guns and some munitions, and liberated from jail 16 British deserters.
1821. The Caxton printing office, on Copperas-hill, Liverpool, the property of Henry Fisher, totally destroyed by fire. It was the largest periodical warehouse in Great Britain.
1823.Anne Radcliffedied. She was born in London, 1764, and married at the age of 23, William Radcliffe, editor of theBritish Chronicle. TheRomance of the Forest, her third novel, gave her much celebrity, and theMysteries of Udolphoplaced her at the head of a department of fiction then rising into esteem. These works still maintain their place among the more modern and fashionable productions of the kind.
1828.Henry Neele, an ingenious English poet and novelist, died by his own hand, in a fit of insanity, supposed to have originated from too intense an application to study. He was the son of an engraver, and educated for the bar. His literary remains were published after his death.
1834.Cadwallader D. Colden, so favorably known as a philanthropist and scholar, died at Jersey city.
1837.Gustavus Adolphus IV, ex-king of Sweden, died. He came to the throne at the age of 14, on the assassination of his father, 1792; but on account of his violent and impolitic conduct, he was deposed in 1809, and his heirs excluded from the throne. He afterwards traveled in different countries of Europe under different names, and died at St. Gall in Switzerland. The latter years of his life were spent in poverty; he was badly clothed and fed, and possessed only an annuity of £300.
1837. The royal palace at Naples took fire and was partially destroyed. The library and the magnificent collection of paintings belonging to the king were burnt.
1839.Karl August Nicander, a recent Swedish poet of no small celebrity, died.
293B. C.Papirius Cursordedicated a temple to Quirinus, on which he placed a sun-dial, the first ever seen in Rome.
291B. C.Esculapius, the Sanitary god, as it was fabled, was enshrined as a serpent on an island in the Tiber. As a physician he used the probe, cathartics, bandages, &c., hence the respect.
1250.Robert, count of Artois, killed. He was brother to Louis IX of France, refused the empire of Germany offered him by the pope, and accompanied his brother to the Holy Land, where he conducted himself with great valor. He fell in the battle of Massourah.
1574.Geoffrey Vallee, a French writer, author ofBéatitude des Chrétiens, which drew upon him the censure of the inquisition, burnt at Paris.
1587.Mary Stuart, queen of Scots, beheaded in the great hall of Fotheringay castle, at the age of 44. She was the daughter of James V, of Scotland. The misfortunes which it was the destiny of this beautiful and accomplished woman to undergo are well known. After an imprisonment of 19 years in England, she was brought to the scaffold on a conviction of conspiracy against the queen, Elizabeth.
1594.Edmund Bonnefoy, a writer on oriental law, died at Geneva in Switzerland, at the age of 38. He was appointed professor in the university of Valence, in France, where he narrowly escaped assassination at the massacre of St. Bartholomews. He bore an excellent character, independent of his talents and learning.
1637.Ferdinand IIof Germany, an enterprising monarch, died.
1664.Moses Amyrault, an eminent French divine, died. He was a man of such remarkable benevolence, that he bestowed the whole of his salary upon the poor, without distinguishing between catholics and protestants.
1674. A resolution was adopted by the house of commons in England, that a standing army is a grievance; that the king should have no other guard than the militia.
1690. A party of about 300 French and Indians made an assault on Schenectady about 12 o'clock at night. The inhabitants were taken by surprise, and 60 men, women and children massacred, and the town destroyed. They took 27 prisoners, the remainder of the inhabitants fled to Albany, nearly naked through a deep snow, of whom 25 lost their limbs from the severity of the frost.
1716. Earthquake in Peru.
1724.Peter I, emperor of Russia, died.
1727.George Sewelldied; an English dramatic poet, physician and miscellaneous writer.
1750. An earthquake in London.
1750.Aaron Hill, a celebrated dramatic and miscellaneous writer in the time of Garrick, died.
1752.Gasper de Realdied at Paris, author of a valuable work on government.
1772. The princess dowager of Wales died in her 53d year. She is said to have given the peculiar tone to the first years of her son's administration by her laconic exhortation "George be king."
1779.Moses Allen, chaplain to the Georgia brigade, was drowned in attempting to escape from a British prison ship. He was a native of Northampton, Mass.; his age 31.
1807. Battle of Preussish Eylau, between the French army of 90,000 under Bonaparte, and 60,000 Russians under Benningsen. The battle commenced at the dawn of day. At noon a storm arose, which drifted the snow in the eyes of the Russians. The contest ended at 10 o'clock at night, when each army, after 14 hours hard fighting, occupied the same position as in the morning. Twelve of Napoleon's eagles were in the hands of Benningsen, and the field between was strewed with 50,000 dead, dying and wounded. The Russians finally retreated, leaving 15,000 prisoners in the hands of the French.
1815. The congress of Vienna determined to abolish slavery.
1817.Francis Hornerdied, aged 39. He was distinguished alike for his spirited report of the bullion committee, and his rich contributions to theEdinburgh Review.
1819.John David Ackerbladdied; a Swedish scholar, who distinguished himself by his researches in Runic, Phœnician, Coptic and Hieroglyphic literature.
1820.Charles Justus Gruner, a Prussian police officer, died. He was an active opponent of Napoleon during the whole of his career, and was finally imprisoned to appease the French. After the second fall of Bonaparte he was made Prussian director of the police for Paris and the environs, in which capacity he counteracted with great decision and dexterity, the cunning of Fouche, who employed every means to retain the works of art which had been collected at Paris. He wrote several valuable works on subjects connected with politics and the police.
1820.Robert Cowley, an African, died at Richmond, Va., aged 125. He had been for many years door-keeper to the Capitol of Virginia, which office was bestowed upon him as a reward for revolutionary services.
1827.William Mitford, an eminent historical and philosophical writer, died. He is best known as the author of a popular history of Greece.
1842. Great earthquake at the Windward islands. Point Petre, in Guadaloupe, totally destroyed, and 10,000 lives lost. It extended over 46 degrees of latitude.
1851.Nicholas van Sittart, a British statesman, died, aged 85.
1856.M. Chacornacdiscovered the thirty-ninth asteroid.