1756A. M.The ark of Noah grounded on the 17th of 2d month, Marchesvan (corresponding with this date), after the waters had prevailed upon the earth 150 days, (SeeNov. 2.)
317B. C.Phocion, the Athenian general, executed by poison. He was of an obscure family, and rose by his own merits. He was placed at the head of the Athenian armies 45 times, and on all occasions displayed great ability; nor was he less illustrious for his virtues. Yet neither his virtues nor his services could shield him from the malice of his enemies, and he was condemned on a false accusation of treason.
1280.Hugh Balsam, bishop of Ely, endowed his foundation of Peterhouse, the first college in the University of Cambridge.
1282. Massacre of 8,000 French by the people of Sicily. It began at Palermo as the bell was tolling for evening service, and hence it has taken the quaint title of theSicilian Vespers.
1296. Berwick, on the borders of Scotland, taken by assault by the English under Edward I, and about 17,000 of the inhabitants put to the sword.
1323. A truce for 13 years concluded at Thorpe, between Edward II, who had been recently defeated at Biland Abbey, and Robert Bruce.
1327.Edward III, then newly inaugurated, in his fifteenth year, convoked his splendid and gallant rendezvous at York, of 60,000 men at arms, including 500 belted knights, animated by the presence of the queen mother, and fifty ladies of the highest rank, to revenge the breach of the treaty made by the Scots with his father.
1363.Edward IIIfirst distributed the Maunday for the purification of the poor.
1587.Ralph Sadler, an English statesman, died. He filled some of the highestoffices of state under Henry VIII and Elizabeth, with ability.
1601.Henry Cuffee, celebrated for his wit, learning and misfortunes, was executed at Tyburn. An epigram alluding to his Greek, says:
Thy alpha was crowned with hope,Thy omega proved but a rope.
Thy alpha was crowned with hope,Thy omega proved but a rope.
Thy alpha was crowned with hope,
Thy omega proved but a rope.
1612.John Wower, a distinguished German politician and literary character, died at Gottorp.
1621.John King, an English prelate, died. He was chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, and so popular a preacher, as to acquire the title of "the king of preachers." Coke declares him "the best speaker in the star chamber of his time."
1638.John Davenport, a celebrated preacher of Coleman street, London, and several of his followers, having purchased of the natives all the lands lying between the rivers Connecticut and Hudson, sailed from Boston for Quinnipiack, now New Haven. The colony was organized under a tree, and they agreed to be governed in civil matters by the laws of God until they could make better!
1647. Mutiny in the parliamentary army on account of arrearages of pay due to the soldiery, many of them having twelve months' pay due.
1669.William Somner, an English antiquary, died. He was indefatigable in his researches, and acquired the old Gaelic, Irish, Scotch, Danish, Gothic, Saxon, and other northern dialects, that he might with greater accuracy and success develop the records of ancient times. He published a Saxon dictionary and some other works.
1707.Sebastian le Prestre, seigneur de Vauban, a celebrated French engineer, died. He was taken prisoner in the service of Spain, and persuaded to enter the French army, in which he distinguished himself by a most unexampled career. During his life he had been engaged in 140 actions, conducted 53 sieges, assisted in repairing 300 ancient citadels, and erected 33 new ones. His publications were principally on fortifications, and he left 12 large volumes in manuscript, containing observations, thoughts, &c., which he called hisoisivétés(idlenesses).
1756.Stephen Duck, an English poet, committed suicide. He was a persevering character, entirely self taught, and his poems were above mediocrity. The queen bestowed upon him a pension, which enabled him to take orders, and he obtained "a living;" in which office he sustained himself with credit. Notwithstanding his good fortune, his spirits became depressed, and he was led to cut short his existence by throwing himself into the Thames.
1761. At Tregony, in Cornwall, was discovered a coffin 11 feet 3 inches long, 3 feet 9 inches deep, inclosing a skeleton of gigantic size.
1781. Mutiny disclosed on board U. S. frigate Alliance, Capt. Barry, on return from France to Boston. The plot was disclosed by an Indian named Mahomman, on the eve of its being carried into effect. It was intended to murder the officers and take the ship to England or Ireland. This was the second mutiny in the service, the first having occurred on the same vessel, two years before (seeFeb. 3d). The third was seasonably disclosed on board the Somers in 1842.
1783.William Hunter, an eminent British anatomist, died. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, and in 1746 established himself in London as a teacher of anatomy, where he distinguished himself; and his works on medical subjects, which appeared at short intervals, added to his reputation. He built an anatomical theatre and museum, and ultimately collected there a library of Greek and Roman classics, and a valuable cabinet of medals, now deposited in the university of Glasgow.
1793. The English under General McBride took possession of Ostend in France.
1796. The French army under Beaulieu entered the Genoese territory.
1798. Ireland declared in a state of rebellion, and orders issued for disarming the United Irishmen, and all disaffected persons, by the most summary and effectual measures.
1799. Second battle of Verona (March 26). The French under Moreau were again successful, but the division under Scherer having been beaten again by the imperialists were obliged to halt to cover the main body of the army.
1800. Action between the French ship Guilleaume Tell, Admiral Dacres, 84 guns, 1000 men, and three British ships of 180 guns, Capt. Berry. The Frenchman was the last ship of the Nile fleet that remained uncaptured, and was taken after a most determined resistance, with the loss of 200 killed. British loss, 101; among the wounded was Capt. Berry.
1801. Jail liberties for the first time established in the state of New York, and prisoners entitled to the benefit of them, on giving a bond and sufficient sureties to the sheriff, that they would remain true and faithful prisoners, and not at any time or in anywise escape.
1806.Joseph Bonaparteproclaimed king of Naples.
1810.Luigi Lanzi, a modern Italian archæologist and writer on art, died of apoplexy.
1813. The prince regent of Englandnotified to foreign ministers in London, that efficient measures had been pursued to place New York, Delaware, Port Royal, Charleston, Savannah, and the river Mississippi in a state of blockade.
1814. Battle of La Cole Mills, Canada; Gen. Wilkinson was repulsed with the loss of 13 killed and 123 wounded; British loss, 13 killed, 45 wounded.
1814. The allied army after a sanguinary resistance from Marmont, and Mortier, advanced to the gates of Paris, and offered terms of capitulation, which were agreed to.
1834.Rudolph Ackermandied; the originator of the British annuals, and the first to introduce the lithographic art into England, and lighting by gas into London.
1844.Thorwaldsen, the sculptor, buried at Copenhagen with regal honors; the king and princes and chief officers of state acting as mourners, followed by troops and processions of the different guilds and orders of citizens, and a concourse of thousands. The streets were lined with soldiers as at a royal funeral; and the queen and princesses attended the service in the church. At the end of the ceremony, the king headed a subscription for a monument on a magnificent scale by the regal donation of $25,000.
1849. GeneralHaynauassaulted Brescia, which, after great slaughter, was taken and sacked.
1854. A fight took place 12 miles from Loar, between a company of 60 dragoons under Lieut. J. W. Davidson, and a party of nearly 300 Apache and Utah Indians. The dragoons lost 21 killed and 18 wounded; the Indian loss unknown.
1856. Treaty of peace between the French, English, and Turks on one side, and the Russians on the other, signed at Paris.
32B. C.Titus Pomponius Atticus, a distinguished Roman, died. He understood the art of conducting himself so well, that amidst the civil wars and party strife of the time in which he lived, he preserved the respect and esteem of all parties. He reached the age of 77 without sickness; but finding himself at last attacked by a slight disease, he resolved to put an end to his life by abstaining from food, and expired in five days.
1474. The first book printed in England finished by Caxton as appears by the following entry: "The Game and Playe of the Chesse; translated out of the French and emprynted by William Caxton. Fynished the last day of Marche, the yer of our Lord God a thousand four hundred and lxxiiij."
1547.Francis Iof France died. He was the rival and opponent of Charles V of Germany, with whom he was involved in war during almost his whole reign, with various success, and to whom he was once a prisoner, with his two sons. He was a patron of literature and the arts.
1605. An expedition fitted out by the earl of Southampton and Lord Arundel, under the command of George Weymouth, sailed from the Downs with a view to the discovery of a north-west passage to India, the passion for which was now in its full vigor.
1621.Philip IIIof Spain died. He ascended the throne of his father at the age of 20. The war with Holland, which had revolted, was continued with great spirit, and the siege of Ostend maintained three years, at great expense, and the loss of 80,000 men before it was reduced. He imprudently banished the Moors from his kingdom, and thus deprived himself of a million of peaceable and useful artists; a loss which the country has never recovered from.
1631.John Donne, an English poet and divine, died. He embraced protestantism at an early age, which together with his shining talents, procured him favors and emoluments. Dryden styles him "the greatest wit, though not the greatest poet, of the nation," and his eloquence as a divine is also attested to.
1654. Cockfighting prohibited in England by the parliament (called an act of the usurpation).
1656.James Usher, archbishop of Armagh, died, aged 76. He was advanced by James I and Charles I, and courted by Cromwell.
1665. The English authorities issued an order to imprison George Fox, the founder of the sect called Quakers, for his sermons against the awful crime of building meeting houses with steeples.
1698.Peter Joseph d'Orleans, a French Jesuit, died. He professedbelles-lettres, and wrote several valuable histories and biographies.
1713. Peace of Utrecht concluded, which placed England at the head of the European states, and humbled the ambition of France.
1763. Mr.Harrisonwas granted £5,000 for the construction of a chronometer to determine with more accuracy the longitude at sea.
1765. The Jesuits expelled from Madrid and all Spain. The order was finally suppressed by the pope, 1773.
1774. The bill for closing the port of Boston received the royal assent.
1783.Nakita Ivanowitz, count de Panin, a Russian statesman, died. He was raised from the rank of a horse soldier, under Elizabeth, became a general under Peter, and prime minister of the great Catharine. He possessed great powers of mind, and other qualifications for the high places which he occupied, but his business habits were lax, his conduct haughty, and his manners dissolute.
1791.Matthias Ogden, a revolutionary patriot, died. He was one of the first that joined Washington at Cambridge; he penetrated the wilderness with Arnold to Canada, and was wounded in the attack on Quebec. On his return he was promoted by congress, and remained in the army through the war.
1794. The national convention of France, in the plenitude of omniscience, decreedthat there was no God!
1795. The British museum purchased the oriental manuscripts of Mr. Halstead, the disciple of the prophet Brothers.
1797.Daniel Bull Macartney, an Irish gentleman, died, aged 112. He married his fifth wife, who survived him, at the age of 84, when she was 14, by whom he had 20 children in 20 years. His constitution was so hardy that no cold affected him, and he could not bear the warmth of a sheet in the night time for the last 70 years of his life. In company he drank freely of rum and brandy, which he callednaked truth; and retained his activity to the time of his death.
1797.Bonaparte, from his head quarters at Klagenfurth, offered peace to the archduke Charles.
1801. The island of Santa Cruz, in the West Indies, surrendered to the British under Admiral Duckworth. It was afterwards restored.
1806.George Macartney, a celebrated British statesman, died. He was employed in several important embassies and other offices, till in 1792 he was selected as ambassador extraordinary to China, a mission which occupied three years, and engaged much attention in Europe; and an account of which has been published in 3 vols. quarto by Sir G. Staunton.
1807. Slave trade abolished by the British government.
1812.Wells, the pedestrian, undertook for 5 pounds, to walk from Westminster bridge, London, to Croydon and back, in two hours, a distance of 19 miles. He performed it in 2 minutes less than the time, but dropped down with fatigue, and was unable to walk home.
1813. Battle of St. Antonio, Mexico, between the royalists and patriots. The former were defeated with the loss of 100 killed, their camp equipage, 6 cannon, and great quantities of stores, &c.
1814. Paris capitulated to the allied army, about 2 o'clock in the morning, and the French troops evacuated it at 7, hostilities to commence in 2 hours. At 11, the conquerors entered the city with the emperor of Russia and the king of Prussia at their head.
1827.Ludwig Von Beethoven, a German musical composer, died. His works are numerous, and universally known and admired. His musical talents procured him wealthy patrons among the nobility, by whom he was munificently supported. He was extremely deaf, and eccentric in his manners.
1831.Edward Augustus Holyoake, a venerated New England physician, died, aged 100. He was born at Salem, Mass., 100 years after its settlement, and was a practicing physician there 79 years. He enjoyed uninterrupted good health during life, and at a dinner given by a number of the profession on his centennial anniversary, he appeared among them with a firm step. On a post mortem examination, all the vital organs appeared to have been unimpaired by age and capable of sustaining life much longer, except the stomach, which was divided by a stricture, leaving an aperture less than an inch in diameter.
1831. Battle of Praga, between the Poles under Skrzynecki, and the Russians of 8000 under Geismar, in which the latter were almost totally destroyed, with the loss of 4000 prisoners and 1600 cannon.
1831. An Irish scholar and divine, Rev.Hynes Halloran, chaplain to the Britannia in the battle of Trafalgar, was transported for seven years, for forging a frank, value 19 pence.
1835.John Whitcomb, a soldier of the revolution, died at Swanzey, N. H., aged 104.
1836.Matthew Lumsdendied; an eminent orientalist.
1837. The president at interim of Mexico protested "in the most solemn manner, before all civilized nations, against the acknowledgment of the pretended republic of Texas made by the United States."
1839. Battle of Pago Largo in South America, between the troops of Corrientes and Entre Rios, two provinces of the Argentine republic. The former were defeated with a loss stated at 1960, including the commander-in-chief.
1851.John Caldwell Calhoun, one of the most distinguished American statesmen, died, aged 68, a senator from South Carolina.
1852. Tremont Temple, Boston, entirely destroyed by fire.
1854.Thomas Noon Talfourd, an English judge and dramatist, died, aged 57. He cultivated literature as a refreshing relief from the labors of his profession. He died while charging the jury.
1854. Gen.Canrobertand more than 1000 French troops landed at Gallipoli.
1854. The artisans of Barcelona, Spain, to the number of 1500 proceeded to the municipality and demanded that the price of provisions should be reduced and wages increased.
168B. C.Emylius Pauluspassed from Brundusium to Corcyra (the modern Corfu) on his famous Macedonian expedition, and on the 6th, sacrificed at the shrine of Delphi.
1386.James Audley, an English warrior, died. He distinguished himself under Edward III in the wars with France, and on their return was liberally rewarded by his sovereign for the deeds of heroism he had displayed in the service.
1405.Tamerlane, chan of the Tartars, died. He is supposed to have been the son of a shepherd, and raised himself by his courage and prudence to the sovereignty of nearly three quarters of the world. He was preparing for the invasion of China when death put a stop to his career at the early age of 36.
1506.Erasmuswas entertained at London by the great and learned men of the day.
1614.Henry de Montmorency, constable of France, died. He distinguished himself in several famous battles. Catharine de Medici found means to disgrace him, when he retired to Savoy, and made successful war upon his country. He lived to be promoted to the highest office under the king.
1672.Archibald Armstrong, privileged jester or fool of Charles V, died. There is a little book high priced and of little worth entitledArchibald's Jests.
1696. PèreGerbillon, the Jesuit missionary (seeMay 30th), accompanied the imperial Chinese army into Tartary, in the suite of the emperor, being his fifth journey into that country.
1696.John Bigg, an English hermit, died, aged 97. He begged pieces of leather, which he nailed to his clothes, till he became a truly grotesque figure. One of his shoes is preserved in the Bodleian museum, and is made up of about a thousand patches of leather.
1712. LordBolingbrokestated in parliament, that in the great contest, called "the glorious wars of Queen Anne," the duke of Marlborough had not lost a single battle, and yet the French had carried their point, the succession to the Spanish monarchy, the pretended cause for so great an enterprise. Dean Swift called this statement "a due donation forall fools day."
1720.John Leake, an English admiral, died. He fought against the far famed Van Tromp, but the battle at La Hogue most distinguished him.
1729. The grand jubilee began at Rome.
1732.John Burchard Mencke, a learned German author, died at Leipsic, where he had conducted theActa Eruditorum25 years, a valuable work begun by his father in 1682, and which established a correspondence with the learned men of Europe.
1764. An annular eclipse of the sun was observed at London.
1764. At Monmouth assizes a girl, aged 18, was burned for murdering her mistress. This was among the last punishments by burning in England.
1775. Col.Daniel Boone, the Kentucky pioneer, began to erect the fort of Boonsborough, at a salt lick, 60 yards from the Kentucky river.
1779.John Langhorne, an English poet and divine, died. Besides poems, sermons and miscellanies, by which he is favorably known, the translation of Plutarch in common use bears his name.
1789. First meeting of congress under the federal constitution.
1794. The British under Sir John Jervis took the island of St. Helena.
1794.John Lewis Lombard, a German professor of artillery, died. He wrote several works on the movement of projectiles and the principles of gunnery.
1797. The French under Bernadotte entered Lauback, the capital of Carniola. At the same time Massena, commanding the advance guard of the French army,attacked the imperialists in the defiles near Neumark; the strife being between the flower of the Austrian army and the French veterans of Italy, was most obstinately contested. The French, however, carried the day.
1799. Assault upon the works of St. Jean d'Acre, in Palestine. The French were repulsed with great loss.
1808. Russian ukase prohibiting the introduction of British goods into the Russian ports.
1810. State marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte with the archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria celebrated at St. Cloud. The emperor caused a medal to be struck on the occasion, with the singular device of Love bearing a thunderbolt.
1826.Isaac Milner, an English mathematician and theological writer, died. He was brought up to the weaving business, but occupied his leisure with the classics and mathematics. He was the tutor of Wilberforce and Pitt.
1832. War broke out between the Winnebago and other Indian tribes and the United States.
1832. The LondonPenny Magazine, under the superintendence of the society for the diffusion of useful knowledge, commenced.
1833.John Hooker Ashmun, professor of law in Harvard university, died. He had not attained his 33d year, yet he had gathered about him all the honors which are usually the harvest of a riper life.
1837.Robert Hawker, an English divine, died at Plymouth, England. In 1814 he published the holy scriptures in penny numbers for the use of the poor.
1843.John Armstrong, aged 84, died at Red Hook, N. Y. He was the author of the celebratedNewburgh Letters, and a prominent soldier in the war of the American revolution, and for some time secretary of war under President Madison.
1844.Peter S. Duponceauso favorably known as a scholar and statesman, died at Philadelphia, aged 84. In his 78th year he published hisDissertation on the Chinese Language.
1853.Santa Annaarrived at Vera Cruz, having been elected president of Mexico by the vote of 19 out of 25 states.
1856.Isaac McKeever, an American commodore, died at Norfolk, Va., where he commanded the navy yard.
1856. The EmperorAlexanderpublished at St. Petersburg a proclamation announcing the signing of the treaty of peace with England, France and Turkey which terminated the struggle between Russia on the one side, and England, France and Turkey on the other, and prolonged the salvation of the latter country.
1081. Constantinople besieged by Alexius Commenus.
1507.Francis, of Paula, founder of the order of Minims, died.
1512. Florida discovered by Ponce de Leon.
1594. A skirmish at Edinburgh between the earl of Bothwell and the cavalry of King James.
1640.Matthias Sarbieuski Cassimir, a Polish Jesuit, died. He was so excellent a Latin poet that his poems have been thought to be equal to some of the best Latin authors, not excepting Horace and Virgil. He had begun an epic in the style of Virgil, calledThe Lesciades, but died before it was completed. Many editions of his poems have been published.
1640.Paul Flemming, one of the best German poets of the 17th century, died.
1683.William Penngave his colonists in Pennsylvania a new charter.
1696. There fell in many parts of Ireland a thick dew, which the country people called butter, from the consistency and color of it, being soft, clammy, and of a dark yellow. This phenomenon had for some time been of frequent occurrence; it fell always in the night, and chiefly in moorish low grounds, on the top of the grass, and on the thatch of the cabins. It frequently lay a fortnight without changing its color, and had a bad odor, like that of church yards or graves.
1698. The earl of Bellemont arrived at New York to succeed Fletcher as governor.
1736.Jacob Tonsonthe elder, a noted English bookseller, died.
1743. Birthday ofThomas Jefferson, third president of the United States.
1747.John James Dillenius, a German botanist, died in England. He is considered as the father of cryptogamic botany. His works were illustrated with plates, admirably drawn and engraved by himself.
1754.Thomas Carte, an English historian, died. He was engaged several years in writing a history of England, which was published in four vols. folio, and esteemed a work of great merit.
1755. Severndroog castle, on the coast of Malabar, the rendezvous of the celebrated pirate Angria, taken by the British under Com. Jones.
1768.John Baptist Boyer, a French physician, died. He distinguished himself by the skill which he displayed during the plague at Marseilles.
1784. County of Washington, in the state of New York, erected.
1791.Honore Gabriel Riquetti, count de Mirabeau, the French revolutionist,died. He was an extraordinary character, of great talent and ambition, but whose genius was controlled by the worst propensities. He was the master spirit of the revolution, and had he lived might have given it a different character. His funeral was conducted with great pomp by the enthusiastic populace.
1793.Dumouriez, the French general, arrested the minister of war and the commissioners of the convention, who had been sent to arrest him, and delivered them to the Austrian general, Clairfait.
1794. The British took the island of St. Lucia, in the West Indies, belonging to the French. It was ceded to the British in 1814.
1794.William Jones, a distinguished oriental scholar, died in India.
1801. Battle of Copenhagen, between the Danish and British fleets, the latter under Nelson and Parker. The Danish ships and batteries were entirely destroyed, with the loss of 1600 men killed and wounded. British loss, 254 killed, 689 wounded. Nelson was created viscount on his return home, and his honors made hereditary, even in the female line.
1804.Jean Mossequindied at Portieu, in France, aged 103. He was married the day before to his ninth wife, Marie Vascois, aged 19. He left twenty-nine children.
1817.Mrs. McCowen, aged 77, died at Lewistown, Pa. She was one of the first white women that came up the long narrows to that wilderness which is now a fruitful field.
1817.Kosciuskoabolished servitude in his domain of Siechnowieze, in Poland, and declared all ancient serfs free, exempted from all charges and quit-rents, and fully entitled to their chattels and lands.
1821. Erie county, New York, erected.
1823. First paper in Syracuse.
1839.Hezekiah Nilesdied, at Wilmington, Delaware, aged 63. He is known as the founder, and for twenty-five years the intelligent and laborious editor ofNile's Weekly Register, a valuable journal published at Baltimore. In private life he was one of the most amiable of men.
1840.Richard Phillips, a self-educated English author, and editor of various publications, died, aged 73. His original name is said to have been Philip Richard, and he was many years an eminent London bookseller. He established theMonthly Magazine, which at one time had a great circulation. He was afterwards elected sheriff, and received the honor of knighthood.
1855.George Bellas Greenough, an English geologist, died, aged 77. He was one of the founders of the Geological society, of London, and constructed several valuable maps, the most celebrated of which is a geological and physical map of all India, giving the geological attributes of each district between the plateaux north of the Himalaya and cape Cormorin.
13.Augustus, emperor of Rome, signed his will, bequeathing to the Roman people 40,000,000 sesterces, (about $1,600,000,) and divorced the two Julias, his daughter and grand-daughter, from his sepulchre. It was written upon two skins of parchment.
33.Jesus Christ, our Savior, crucified.
68.Galbaaccuses Nero before the people of his enormities, and elects himself lieutenant of the state.
1068.William, the conqueror, again imposes the tax of Danegelt which occasioned an armed opposition at Exeter.
1143.John II(Commenus), emperor of the East, died. He ascended the throne of Constantinople on the death of his father; was victorious over the Mohammedans and other foes; and swayed the sceptre with wisdom and ability.
1367. Battle of Navarette, and victory of Edward the black prince, by which Peter the cruel was replaced on the Castilian throne.
1421. Battle of Beauge, in France, when the duke of Clarence and 1500 English were slain.
1617.John Napier, baron of Merchiston, died. He was born in Scotland, in 1550, and after completing his education traveled on the continent. On his return he devoted himself to the cultivation of science and literature, became a distinguished mathematician, and was regarded by Kepler as one of the greatest men of the age. He is known as the inventor of logarithms for the use of navigators.
1646.Thomas Lydiat, an English chronologer, died. He early devoted himself to literature, became an able scholar, and was deservedly esteemed by the learned of the times.
1707.Edmund Dickinson, a learned English physician, died. He was appointed physician to Charles II and his successor; and retired from practice to become an author.
1717.James Ozenham, an eminent French mathematician, died. He taught mathematics at Paris, and acquired property; but the Spanish war reduced his finances, and the death of his wife and twelve children embittered his last days. His works are numerous and valuable.
1736.John Albert Fabricius, a learned German, died at Hamburgh. He was an indefatigable scholar, of great modesty and simplicity of manners, and so highly esteemed by the citizens of Hamburgh, that when invited elsewhere, the senate prevailed on him by a superior salary, not to relinquish his residence among them.
1760.James Benignus Winslow, an eminent Danish anatomist, died. He went to Paris, where his talents were appreciated and rewarded.
1763. All the gibbets on the Edgeware road, on which many malefactors were hung in chains, near London, were cut down by unknown persons.
1764. The archdukeJosephchosen and crowned king of the Romans.
1775. New York colonial legislature held its last session.
1783. Treaty of amity and commerce for fifteen years between the United States and Sweden concluded by Franklin.
1791.John Berkenhout, a literary and medical character, died. He was the son of a Dutch merchant, and experienced many vicissitudes; first served in the Prussian and afterwards in the English army; studied medicine at Leyden; and in 1778 came with certain commissioners to America, where he was imprisoned by congress, on which account he enjoyed a pension from the British government.
1792.George Pococke, an English admiral, died. He signalized himself by the capture of Havana, and many other important services.
1793.Dumouriez, the French general, who escaped from the lines, under the repeated fire of three battalions, joined the Austrians, accompanied by several other officers.
1811. Partial action on the Coa, near Sabugal, between the advanced posts of the British, and a division of the French army under Massena, who was defeated, and the French expelled from Portugal.
1813. Action near Urbanna, on the Chesapeake, between 17 British barges and 2 schooners, and 3 letters of marque and 1 privateer of Baltimore; the latter were captured.
1814. The French conservative senate solemnly decreed that Bonaparte had forfeited the throne, and released all persons from their oaths of allegiance to him.
1815. Eruption of mount Tomboro, on the island of Sumbawa, distant about 800 miles from Batavia, in the Indian Ocean.
1816. Treaty of peace concluded by Lord Exmouth, commanding a British fleet before Algiers, between the Dey and Sardinia, and 51 Sardinian prisoners liberated.
1816.Thomas Machin, an officer of the revolution, died at his residence in Schoharie county, N. Y., aged 72. He was a British officer at the battle ofMinden, and an American officer during the whole war of the revolution. The chain across the Hudson at West Point was constructed under his direction, and he was wounded at Bunker Hill and Fort Montgomery.
1826.Reginald Heber, bishop of Calcutta, died. He was zealous in his calling, and no doubt accelerated his death by his devotion to the cause of his master. He ranks high among the British poets.
1829. Safety banking fund in the state of New York established.
1833.Nicholas Ipsilanti, an officer of the Greek revolution, died, at the age of 35.
1838.M. Antomarchi, physician of Napoleon at St. Helena, died at St. Jago de Cuba. He was a native of Corsica, and left a professorship at Florence, in order to accompany the exiled emperor. He attended him in his last moments, of which he has given an account, and received a legacy of 100,000 francs. He afterwards practiced medicine in Paris, where he published a series of beautiful and expensive anatomical plates. On the revolt of the Poles he hastened thither, and took the direction of the medical establishments.
1854.John Wilson, a Scottish author, died, aged 69. He is well known as the Christopher North ofBlackwood's Magazine.
1856.Gorham A. Worth, a New York financier, died, aged 72.
1856. PresidentCommonfortreturned to the city of Mexico after a triumph at Puebla, where the rebel army surrendered to him, and where the rebel generals were reduced to the rank of privates.
357.B. C.A transit of the moon over the planet mars observed by Aristotle.
397.Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, died. He was famous for the zeal which he manifested in the cause of the church, and the severity with which he censured the emperor Theodosius, who had barbarously ordered several innocent persons to be put to death at Thessalonica. TheTe Deumis attributed to him.
1284.Alphonso X, of Castile, died. He was elected emperor of Germany 1258, but neglecting to visit the empire, Rodolphus was chosen in his place. He was dethroned by his own son, and compelled to seek protection among the Saracens. His fame as an astronomer and a man of letters, is greater than as a monarch. He is the first Castilian king who had thepublic laws and the scriptures drawn in the vulgar tongue.
1581.Drake, the navigator, was knighted on board his famous ship, the Pelican, at Deptford.
1588.Frederick II, of Denmark, died. He was a liberal and enlightened ruler, who enlarged the happiness of his people and patronized learning. The astronomer Tycho Brahe, particularly, was indebted to him for munificent protection and advancement.
1589. LadyBurleigh, eldest daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, and a highly distinguished literary character, died, aged 63. This age was prolific of literary women.
1593. Three Samuels of Warboys condemned for bewitching the children of Mr. Throgmorton at Huntington, England.
1594.Sylvester Wyet, of Bristol, England, made a voyage up the gulf of St. Lawrence, for the barbs or fins of whales and train oil. He met with 60 sail of French, and 28 sail of Englishmen, engaged in fishing at this early day.
1634.Robert Naunton, an English statesman, died. He was secretary of state to James I, and published some curious anecdotes of the reign of Elizabeth, under the title ofFragmentia Regalia.
1638. Massachusetts patent demanded. A quo warranto having been brought by the attorney general of England against the governor and corporation of Massachusetts, and judgment given that the liberties and franchises should be seized into the king's hand, the council made an order requiring that the charter should be returned by the next ship. Arbitrary measures were pursued in reply to the petitions of the colony, and 8 ships prepared to sail for New England were detained in the Thames by order of the privy council. By this order, Oliver Cromwell, Arthur Hazelrig, John Hambden and other malcontents, were forcibly prevented from emigrating to America. How little did Charles anticipate that by this high-handed measure he was detaining the very men who were destined to overturn his throne, and terminate his career by a violent death.
1643.Simon Episcopius, an able Dutch divine, died. He embraced the doctrines of Arminius in relation to predestination, which exposed him to much persecution and obloquy, and finally led to his banishment from the commonwealth: he afterwards was permitted to return, and became minister of the remonstrant church. His death happening at the moment of an eclipse of the moon, was considered as an emblem of the departure of the brightest ornament of the church.
1656.Andrew Rivinus, (alias Barchmann) a Saxon physician, died. He became professor of poetry and philosophy at Leipsic, and published several works of considerable merit.
1669.Johann Michael Moscherosch, a German writer, died. His celebrity consisted chiefly in some satirical pieces entitledWunderliche und wahrhafte Geschichte Philanders von Sittewald.
1704. The first newspaper printed in the United States, appeared at Boston, called theBoston News Letter.
1706.John Bayles, an English buttonmaker, died, aged 130. He used to walk to the neighboring markets with his buttons till he was 120 years of age.
1720.Knightly Chetwode, dean of Gloucester, died. He wrote several poems, and a life of lord Roscommon.
1743.Robert Ainsworth, an English teacher, died. In 1714 he was invited by the English booksellers to undertake the compilation of an English and Latin dictionary, on the plan of Faber'sThesaurus. The task proved to be more difficult than had been anticipated, and was not completed till 1736.
1747. Number Four (Charlestown, N. H.) attacked by a large body of French and Indians under M. Debeline, and gallantly defended by 30 men, under major Stevens. The enemy kept up a brisk assault night and day; when, on the third day, being in a starving condition, and finding it impracticable to force or persuade a surrender, they retired and were seen no more. This was considered one of the most chivalrous feats of the time.
1764.Michael Lomonozof, a Russian poet, died. From the occupation of a fishmonger he rose to be the "father of Russian poetry," and a philosopher of no mean pretensions. He published a history of the Russian sovereigns, and an ancient history of Russia, from the origin of the nation. His odes are greatly admired for the originality of invention, sublimity of sentiment, and energy of language.
1769.Hyder Ally, the adventurous East India chief, compelled the English to form a treaty with him.
1770.James Parsons, an eminent English physician, died. He was the correspondent of Buffon and other learned characters on the continent, and an able writer on physic, anatomy, natural history, antiquities, language, and the fine arts.
1774.Oliver Goldsmithdied, aged 46. He received a partial education at Dublin college, after which he strayed from home, and making a tour on the continent, afoot and alone, with a flute in his hand, fixed himself, on his return, in London, as abuilder of books. The details of his life are interesting, chequered as they are withvicissitudes. As a bookseller's hack he was particularly successful; but the liberality of his disposition and want of economy, contributed to keep him in want, and sometimes brought him to starvation. He died about £2,000 in debt. His works, though most of them were produced on the spur of the moment, to procure the necessaries of life, are still found in almost every library.
1777.John Swinton, an English antiquary, died. His literary productions, which are numerous, appeared originally in the Philosophical Transactions, and relate principally to antiquities.
1786. Columbia county, in the state of New York, erected.
1793. GeneralDumouriez, accompanied by General Valance and young Egalite (Louis Philip), afterwards king of France, narrowly escaped to the Austrians.
1794. Battle of Raclawice, Poland, between the Russians and 4,000 Poles under Kosciusko, mostly armed with scythes. The battle lasted five hours, and ended in the defeat of the Russians, who left 3,000 killed on the spot.
1795.Barrerea lawyer,Varennesa monk,Collot de Herboisa comedian, andVadiera counsellor, members of the French convention, sentenced by a decree of that body to be transported to Guiana. Barrere was president of the convention, and as such passed sentence of death upon the king; and they all voted for the king's death.
1799. Battle of Tauffers and St. Marie, in Germany. The French under Jourdan lost upwards of 4,000 men, and fell back to the heights of Villengen.
1802.Lloyd Kenyon, an English judge, died. He filled the offices entrusted to him with distinguished integrity, and to him England is indebted for much of that reform which has been introduced into the practice of the law.
1807.Joseph Jerome la Francais de Lalandedied at Paris, aged 70. He received a minute religious education, and displayed his abilities while quite young by his sermons and mystical romances. His attention was first drawn to astronomy by the remarkable comet of 1744; and he pursued the study with so great success that he was sent to Berlin by the academy at the age of 19, to make some observations on the moon's parallax, when Frederick the Great could not conceal his astonishment at the phenomenon of so young an astronomer. He became editor of theConnaissance des Temps, published several works on astronomy, and wrote all the astronomical articles for the greatEncyclopedie. In 1778 he published a folio volume on canals, containing a general history of all the ancient canals which had been previously undertaken, accomplished and even projected. Although a sceptic, he is said to have been "religious, in his own way."
1809. The legislature of Pennsylvania passed a law directing the poor to be sent to the most convenient school and their tuition paid.
1812. Congress passed an embargo law for 90 days.
1814. Bonaparte having received the opinions of his marshals abdicates the imperial throne in favor of his son, only to be succeeded the next day by a relinquishment in favor of his heirs also.
1815. Hostilities between France and the allied powers ceased. Alexander I, in the name of the allies, recommended Bonaparte to choose a place of retreat for himself and his family.
1817.Andrew Massena, prince of Essling, one of the ablest of Bonaparte's field marshals, died. He commanded in chief in the memorable campaign in Switzerland; when at the battle of Zurich he had to contend against the archduke Charles and prince Suwaroff; yet the fruits of this campaign were 70,000 prisoners. He ended his military career in 1810, by the command of the army of Portugal, where he was defeated by Wellington.
1831.Isaiah Thomas, a distinguished American printer, died. He was born in Boston, 1749, served an apprenticeship of 11 years, and commenced business at a very early age at Newburyport. In 1770 he printed theMassachusetts Spyat Boston, where he annoyed the provincial officers by the boldness and freedom of his articles on the difficulties that agitated the country. He was also one of the most active and dexterous of the skirmishers on the plains of Lexington. A few days after that affair he removed his paper to Worcester; and gradually established presses and book-stores in different parts of the Union, to the number of twenty-four; so that he nearly supplied the entire country with books. His Bibles, school books and almanacs, were in great repute for a long time. He was the founder of the American antiquarian society, and author of theHistory of Printing in America, a valuable work to the profession and the antiquary.
1841.William Henry Harrison, president of the United States, died at Washington, aged 69. He was a distinguished patriot of the revolution, one of the signers of the declaration of independence, governor of Virginia, and long a leader of the United States armies in the severe contests with the British and Indians.
1855. The Baltic fleet, fitted out by the French and British governments to actagainst the northern ports of Russia, sailed from Portsmouth.
2348B. C.The ark of Noah rested on mount Ararat.
347B. C.Plato, the Athenian philosopher, died. He was the pupil of Socrates, and on the death of his master went into foreign countries in search of knowledge. His works have come down to us, and confirm the opinions of his contemporaries by whom his talents and learning were highly appreciated.
33. The day of our Savior's resurrection called Easter.
1242. Battle of lake Peipus, in Russia; the Russians under Alexander Jaroslawitz gained a decisive victory over the Swedes under Eric XI. The battle was fought on the ice; 400 Teutonic knights were slain, and 50 made prisoners. The German knights were pardoned, but the Esthonians were ordered to be hung as Russian rebels.
1470. An instrument similar to a warranty deed given to William Tourneville, bishop of Angers, with a copy of Faust and Schoeffer's Bible for the sum of 40 crowns, bears this date.
1605.John Stow, an English antiquary and historian, died, aged 80. He was born in London, 1525, and initiated by his father into all the mysteries of tailoring as practiced at that period. But he discovered a penchant for musty relics and antiquarian lumber, and finally quitted his business to compose a history of England. He at length got together such a medley of antique and diabolical books and parchments, that he became suspected of some heretical designs against religion, so that the bishop of London ordered an investigation of his library. He publishedA Summarie of the Englyshe Chronicles, and in 1598 aSurvey of London, on which he was long employed, and which has been often reprinted. He was reduced to live by charity, and at length fell a victim to poverty and disease. His labors formed a rich legacy to future historians.
1621.John Carver, first governor of Massachusetts, died. He conducted the colonists over from Leyden, and managed the affairs of the settlement with great prudence and address.
1676.John Winthrop, first governor of Connecticut, died. He was the eldest son of the governor of Massachusetts, and a man of great learning and talents. He was one of the founders of the Royal society, distinguished as one of the greatest chemists and physicians of the day, and one of the most noted men in New England. In 1635 he came over to settle a plantation on Connecticut river, and began the town of Saybrook at the mouth of that river.
1677. Cambray, a fortified city of France, surrendered to Louis XIV, who commanded in person.
1684.William Brouncker, an English mathematician, died. He is celebrated for his attachment to the royal cause during the civil wars. On the institution of the Royal society, he was the first president, and adorned the office by his polite manners and extensive erudition.
1707. Battle of Almanza, in Spain; the allied British, Dutch, and Portuguese army defeated with the loss of 1000, attributed to the bad conduct of the Portuguese troops.
1725.Benjamin Ibbot, an eloquent English divine, died. A selection of his sermons was published after his death by his friend Dr. Samuel Clarke.
1735.William Derham, an able English philosopher and divine, died. He accomplished much in the advancement of science by a long life of industry; his publications amounting to not less than 40, mostly on philosophical subjects.
1746.Thomas Hanmer, an English statesman, died. He was for 30 years a distinguished member of Parliament, from which he retired to devote himself to literary pursuits.
1748. Unsuccessful attempt by the British under admiral Knowles on St. Jago de Cuba.
1753. Parliament passed an act to raise £20,000 by lottery to purchase the library of Sir Hanse Sloane, of his daughters, for the public use. It formed the basis of the British museum.
1758. The first number of Johnson'sIdlerappeared.
1762. Granada surrendered to the British.
1776.Grainger, vicar of Shiplake and author of theBiographical History of England, died suddenly while administering the sacrament.
1779. The refugees plundered Nantucket and carried off with them two loaded brigs, and several other vessels.
1780.Alexis Hubert Jaillot, a French geographer, and sculptor to the king, died.
1790.Elizabeth Welshdied at New York, aged 104.
1794.George James Danton, a French Revolutionary Leader, guillotined. Robespierre, dreading the dauntless intrepidity of Danton, Fabre d'Eglantine, Bazire, Chabot, and others of the most noted of his fellow desperadoes in the convention, caused them to be arrested as conspirators against the republic, and after a summary trial, they were executed by the guillotineon this day. The government of France was now almost entirely vested in one man, under whose sanguinary administration the prisons of Paris contained at one time more than seven thousand persons, and a day seldom passed without sixty or eighty executions by the revolutionary axe.
1794.Marie Jean Herault de Sechelles, a French statesman, guillotined. He conducted before the revolution as an able and upright officer; but as the scene progressed he became identified with the terrorists, and went to the scaffold with Danton, Desmoulins, (q. v.) and others. The two conducted with as much levity in their last moments as if they had been going to a party of pleasure.
1794.Benedict Camille Desmoulins, one of the founders of the Jacobin club in France, guillotined. He was the friend of Danton, and one of the most bloody and reckless of the revolutionists. When arraigned by order of Robespierre, he was asked his age, to which he replied "33 ans, l'age du sans culotte Jesus Christ." His wife, whom he adored, a beautiful, courageous and spirited woman, desired to share her husband's fate, which Robespierre seems not to have been slow to grant.
1795. Treaty of peace concluded at Basle, Switzerland, between France and Prussia.
1795. County of Schoharie, in New York, erected.
1797. The first Turkish ships arrived at London.
1799. The British forces under Gen. Harris, called the Madras army, arrived at Seringapatam, within Tippoo Saib had retreated after the defeat of Seedasere.
1799. Battle of Villingen and Rothweil in Germany; the French under Joubert defeated by the Austrians under the archduke Charles.
1800. British captured Goeree; admiral Duckworth's squadron on the same day, fell in with and captured two Spanish frigates and eleven merchantmen from Lima. The admiral's share of the spoil amounted to £75,000.
1804.Robert Raikes, an English printer and philanthropist, died. He succeeded his father in the printing business and having realized a good property, he employed it, with his pen and his influence, in relieving such objects as stood in need of his benevolent assistance. He is however best known as the originator of sabbath schools.
1811.Henry I(Christophe), king of Hayti, created an hereditary nobility, consisting of 4 princes, 7 dukes, 21 counts, 9 barons and chevaliers, and appointed persons to those ranks.
1811.James Traquairdied; the first man in America who procured busts to be carved in American marble. They were likenesses of Washington and Penn, and executed by an Italian.
1814.Bonaparteaccepted the island of Elba as his residence, and renounced for himself and heirs the throne of France.
1815. Continued eruption of Tomboro, which began April 3. (SeeApril 12.)
1817. Battle of Maypu, which sealed the independence of Chili. The patriots under San Martin and Las Heras defeated the royalists, 5000, under Osorio; 2000 were killed and 2500 taken.
1830. The bill to remove the civil disabilities of the Jews introduced into the British parliament.
1832. Ratification of the treaties of commerce, navigation and limits, between the United States and Mexico, exchanged at Washington.
1837.Henry Bathurst, bishop of Norwich, died in London, aged 93. He was distinguished for the liberality of his principles, and was exemplary in the exercise of his duties—the father of 36 children, 22 by his first wife, 14 by his second.
1842.Patrick Kellydied at Brighton, England. He is well known for his valuable writings on science, but his great work theUniversal Cambistentitles him to lasting distinction.
1843.Valnier, a native of St. Domingo, died at Merida, Yucatan, aged 117. He retained his sight until the age of 105, and his intellect was unimpaired till the time of his death.
1844.John Sandersonof Philadelphia, who wrote an account of the lives of the signers of the declaration of American independence, died. He had some reputation for wit.
1852.Felix von Schwartzenbergdied at Vienna, aged 52. He represented the Austrian empire at various courts, at different periods, the earliest being at the age of 15. In a military capacity he took the field in 1843 against Charles Albert of Sardinia, and half a year later succeeded prince Metternich, on his fall, as prime minister of the empire.
1853. A new planet was discovered by Prof. de Gasparis, at Naples.
323B. C.Alexander(the Great,) of Macedon, died of intemperance. The death of this famous hero took place at Babylon, on the 6th day of the Athenian month Thagelion, which then corresponded with the 28th of the Macedonian month Dæsius. He lived 32 years and 10 months, andreigned, computing from the Olympiad six months prior to the death of Philip, 12 years and 10 months—a brief career of extraordinary, but profitless glory.
1190.Richard I(Cœur de Lion), killed at the siege of Chalus, in France. He commenced his career by rebellion against his father. On ascending the throne of England, he plundered and massacred the Jews, and set sail for Palestine with the bravest of his subjects. Taking the lead in the crusade, he gained a series of victories over the Moslem. On his way home he was seized and imprisoned, and ransomed by his subjects with 150,000 marks. He was preparing for another crusade, when his career was suddenly terminated by a wound from a cross-bow, in the 42d year of his age.
1348.Laura de Noves, Petrarch's mistress, died. She was descended of a Provencal family which became extinct in the 16th century, inherited a large fortune by the death of her father, and married Hugh de Sade of Avignon. She was considered the most beautiful woman of the city. Petrarch says it was 6 o'clock in the morning of the 6th April, 1327, that he first saw her in the church of the nuns of St. Clara; and it was at the same hour of the same day, 1348, that she died of the plague. Nearly two centuries after, some antiquarians obtained permission to open her grave. They found a parchment enclosed in a leaden box, containing a sonnet bearing Petrarch's signature.
1453.Mohammed IIbesieged Constantinople, which terminated in the overthrow of the Christian empire.
1528.Albrecht Duerer, a celebrated German painter and engraver, died. He is still esteemed in Germany as one of the brightest jewels in her crown of fame. He was the reformer if not the founder of the German school of painting, and was the first to bring the art of engraving to any degree of perfection.
1574.Paul Manutius, a learned Venetian printer, died, aged 62. He wrote valuable commentaries on Cicero, and four treatises on Roman antiquities.
1580. Earthquake which was felt throughout England. The bells rang, and chimneys toppled down.
1590.Francis Walsyngham, an English statesman, died, aged 90. He flourished in the reign of Elizabeth, and was of infinite service to the state, by the energy and zeal with which he performed the duties of his offices. Yet he died so poor that his remains were privately buried by night, without any ceremony.
1609.Henry Hudsondeparted from the Texel on his famous voyage of discovery, the object of which was to find a northern passage to India. Meeting with obstructions he determined to attempt a north-west passage; and this also being attended with disasters, he shaped his course south along the American continent, and discovered the noble river which bears his name, and gave him immortality.
1645.William Burton, an English antiquary, died. He published a history of the county of Leicestershire, which is valuable.
1655.David Blondel, a French protestant minister, died. He had the misfortune to lose his sight by close application to study, but even under that calamity he dictated two folio volumes on the genealogy of the kings of France. He was a man of great learning.
1686.Arthur Annesley, earl of Anglesey, died. He was a statesman of great utility, sagacity and learning, under Charles I.
1695.Richard Busby, a celebrated English schoolmaster, died. He was educated by the bounty of the parish, and became head master of Westminster school, which place he held during half a century. He educated most of the eminent men who flourished about the period of his death. They regarded him as a father, though a severe one.
1707.William van der Velde(the younger), a Dutch painter, died. He was an admirable artist, distinguished for his excellence in marine subjects, painted in black and white, on a ground so prepared on canvas, as to give it the appearance of paper. It is said he has had no equal in his line.
1717.James Perizonius, a German professor at Leyden, died. He published various works in Latin, on history, classical literature and antiquities; and was a man of extensive erudition, great application and sound judgment.
1739. The workmen at Stocks market, England, disinterred a grave stone with antique letters, supposed to have been buried 297 years.
1743.William Melmoth, (the elder,) a learned English lawyer, died. He is better known by a treatise on religious life, of which immense editions have been published.
1751.Frederick, king of Sweden and landgrave of Hesse Cassel, died.
1755.Richard Rawlinson, an English antiquary, died. He was an indefatigable collector, and made himself useful to his cotemporary antiquaries in the completion of their works. The sale of the printed books and pamphlets of his library occupied 60 days.
1760.Charlotte Charke, the last surviving daughter of Colley Cibber, died.
1776. Action between the British ship Glasgow, of 20 ninepounders, and her tender, Capt. Howe, and American brigantine Cabot, 20 nines and 10 sixes; Columbus, 18 nines, 10 sixes; Annodine brig, 6 guns, and Providence sloop, 12 sixes, under Com. Hopkins. The British made the attack, and continued the engagement 3 hours, when the tender was captured, but the Glasgow escaped.
1793. The French army evacuated Antwerp and Mons in Belgium, and retreated towards Valenciennes and Lisle.
1794. The French took Oneglia, in Sardinia, where they captured 2 frigates and a few galleys.
1796.David Allan, a Scottish painter, died. He practiced history, portrait and landscape; but exercised his talents chiefly on works of humor. Some of his pieces have been engraved.
1796.David Campbell, a Scottish divine, died. He was professor of divinity at Aberdeen, translated the gospels, and answered Hume on the miracles.
1799.Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, an English antiquary, died. He was a man of great wealth and literary attainments, and his library and cabinet was one of the most select and valuable in the kingdom. His immense collection of books, medals, drawings, &c., &c., he bequeathed to the British museum.
1804.Charles Pichegru, the French general, died. He was born 1761, of poor parents, educated in a monastery, and was a tutor of Bonaparte at Brienne. He came to America with a French regiment near the close of the revolution. At the outbreak of the revolution in France he distinguished himself so much that he rose to be the first in command, and achieved a series of most brilliant and important victories, which resulted in the conquest of Holland. He was detected in a plot for the restoration of the Bourbons, which cut short his career, and he died in prison by strangulation.
1808. Corner stone laid of the vault prepared for the relics of the American seamen, soldiers and citizens, who perished in the British prison ships at the Wallabout, during the war of the revolution.
1810. Three days' rioting commenced in London on account of Francis Burdett's budget.
1811. French privateer Revance de Cerfe, burnt at Norfolk, Va. She was fired by 15 men in 2 boats, at about 2A. M.
1812. Badajos, in Spain, taken by storm, at ten at night, by the British and Portuguese troops under Wellington; loss of the allied army 4000; the defence made by the French governor was brave, determined and noble.
1813. Lewistown, Delaware, cannonaded about 20 hours by the British frigate Belvidere. The defence was conducted in such a manner that but little injury was done.
1814. The French provisional government proposed, and the conservative senate adopted the form of a constitution; a limited monarchy, founded on the French and American constitutions, and declared Louis XVIII king.
1815. The American prisoners in Dartmoor prison fired upon by their guard, and many of them killed and wounded. The prince regent pointedly disapproved of their conduct, censured the officers and soldiery, and offered to make provision for the widows and families of the sufferers; this, however, was rejected by president Madison.
1829.Henry Nicholas Abeel, one of the most acute mathematicians of the present age, died.
1831. Revolution in Brazil. Don Pedro abdicated in favor of his son, who was proclaimed Don Pedro II.
1853. The Mexican GovernorTriasissued a proclamation at Chihuahua, relative to the possession of the Mesilla valley, threatening to resist the occupation of New Mexico by the United States.
1855. An asteroid was discovered by M. Chacornac, at the imperial observatory of France.
1856. The constitution of the new state of Deseret was established by a people's convention at Salt Lake city, Utah territory.