1806.Charlotte Smith, an English poetess and novelist, died. She long enjoyed great popularity.
1806. Battle of Prentzlow, in Brandenburg; the Prussian army of 16,000 compelled to surrender to the French under Murat. This was the remnant of the king's guard which escaped from the battle of Jena, and included several princes.
1823.Wassil Wassilijewitsch Capnist, a Russian counselor of state, died. He is better known as a poet and dramatic writer, in which he is entitled to much praise.
1838. The Mormons, comprising about 700 men under arms, with their leaders, surrendered at Far-West, Missouri, to a body of 3,000 militia, under Gen. Atchinson. The whole number captured was 5,000, miserably destitute of the means of subsistence.
1844. The Royal Exchange at London opened in an imposing manner, the queen being present and presiding at the ceremony.
1848.Harrison Gray Otis, a Massachusetts statesman, died, aged 83; having filled with distinguished success the principal political offices in the gift of the people of the state.
1848.Windischgratz, besieging the city of Vienna, entered the suburbs and began an attack; a succession of conflicts ensued, which lasted several days before the city was completely mastered.
1849.David B. Douglas, an eminent civil and military engineer, died at Geneva, N. Y., aged 56. He distinguished himself in the war of 1812, before he was 21 years of age. He was a man of extensive and varied learning.
1851. A meeting of cotton planters was held at Macon, Georgia, to devise ways and means to prevent fluctuations in the price of cotton. Little harmony of views or concord of action was manifested.
1854. A fire at Cleveland, Ohio, consumed property to the amount of $2,000,000.
1854. The Turks in the principalities attacked the Russians, and after a contest of two hours compelled them to cross the Danube and destroy the bridges.
1038.Angeloth, archbishop of Canterbury, died. He is noted for having refused to crown Harold, although he had enjoyed the patronage of his father Canute.
1268.Conradino, emperor of Germany, beheaded at Naples, at the age of 16. In a hazardous attempt to recover a part of his possessions which had been wrested from him, he fell into the power of his enemy.
1618.Walter Raleigh, an illustrious English nobleman, beheaded at the age of 66. He is memorable as a "statesman, seaman, soldier, chemist and chronologist." He obtained the patent of Virginia in 1584.
1666.James Shirley, an English dramatic writer, died. His death was occasioned by the great fire of London; both himself and his wife died of fright, and were buried in one grave. He wrote 37 plays and a volume of poems.
1666.Edmund Calamy, an eminent English divine, died, it is said by reason of the great fire at London.
1691.Melchizedec Thevenotdied; librarian to the king of France, and a celebrated writer of travels.
1727. Earthquake in New England. No event of the kind had been witnessed by the English, of equal violence, since their settlement of the country, and consequently they were greatly alarmed. It was felt along the coast 700 miles, though of only 2 minutes' duration; and the island of Martinique was in danger of being entirely destroyed by an earthquake the same day, which was felt at intervals during eleven hours.
1745. Battle of Freybourg; the Prussians under prince Henry defeated the allies, who lost 8,000 men.
1757.Edward Vernon, a renowned English admiral, died.
1776. The British and Hessians repulsed in an attack on the Americans under Col. Glover, at White Plains.
1777.John Hancockresigned his office as president of Congress.
1777. The whole force of the Americans under Washington was 12,480 men, of whom 8,963 were regulars then called continentals.
1778. Americans under major Talbot captured the British schooner Pigott, and brought her into Stonington.
1783.John le Rond d'Alembert, a distinguished French philosopher, died.
1792. Three of the mutineers of the ship Bounty were executed at Portsmouth.
1793. The Austrians under Clairfait defeated the French in their intrenched camp before Mentz; the camp was carried, 106 cannon, 200 ammunition wagons, and 2,000 men were taken prisoners.
1795. The citizens of London obstructed the king on his way to the parliament house, clamoring for bread, peace, no Pitt. A bullet pierced the glass of the king's coach.
1804.George Morlanddied; an exquisite English painter, principally of rustic scenes.
1810. Battle of Aculco, Mexico; the Spanish patriots under the first Aldamo, defeated by the king's troops under Gen. Callejas, with the loss of 6,000.
1812.Mallet, with 12 of his confederates in a plot to subvert the Bonaparte dynasty, were tried and shot in the plains of Grenille.
1814. Holland, in consideration of its relinquishment of all its claims to the cape of Good Hope, and to the colonies of Demarara, Essequebo and Berbice, all the other colonies which she possessed previous to 1794, in Asia, Africa and America, were restored by Great Britain.
1814. Steam frigate Fulton launched at New York.
1814. The sloop of war Peacock, Capt. Warrington, returned from a cruise of 147 days, during which she had captured and destroyed 14 British vessels.
1824.Charles Pinckney, an American orator and statesman, died. He was a patriot of the revolution, and a member of the convention which framed the constitution.
1825. The first boat on the Erie canal, from Albany, reached Buffalo, on which occasion a celebration took place.
1828.Luke Hansard, a very eminent English printer, died; distinguished also for his piety.
1831. Riots at Bristol, England, during which the jails were broken open and burnt, the mansion house and custom house destroyed, the toll-gates pulled down, and many private houses plundered and set on fire, by which some hundreds of people were burnt to death.
1841.Thomas Philips, an eminent English vocalist, died by a rail road accident, aged 66.
1842.Allan Cunningham, an eminent Scottish poet, died in London, aged 56.
1850. The statue of John C. Calhoun, which had been lost by the wreck of a vessel, was recovered almost without injury.
1850. The Portuguese frigate Donna Maria II, of 32 guns, accidentally blown up in the harbor of Macao, and completely destroyed; of 244 men on board, 188 perished.
1852. The remains ofDaniel Websterwere buried at Marshfield, Mass., many thousands of citizens of Boston and adjoining towns being present.
1854.Josiah Butler, an eminent New Hampshire statesman and judge, died at Deerfield, aged 74.
1854.W. W. Farmer, lieutenant-governor of Louisiana, died at Baton Rouge, aged 45; for many years a prominent man in the state.
69. Cremona, in Italy, sacked and burned, 286 years after its foundation.
1270. The seventh and last crusade ended by the treaty of Barbary.
1270. Conflict on London bridge, between the retainers of the bishop of Winchester (bad Beaufort) and the duke of Gloucester.
1485. Coronation ofHenry VII, two months after Bosworth field, when was instituted theYeomen of the Guard, consisting of 50 archers. At that time there raged in London a malady called the sweating sickness, which terminated fatally in twenty-four hours.
1553.James Sturmius, a learned German ambassador, died. He contributed greatly to the reformation of Strasburg, where he erected a college, and assisted in the publication of a history of the reformation.
1574.Mary of Cleves, wife of Henry I, prince of Conde, died, aged 18, probably by poison. She was loved so ardently by the duke of Anjou, afterwards Henry III, that when he came to the throne he determined to annul her marriage; but her sudden death intervened.
1602.John James Boisard, a French antiquary, died. He pursued his favorite study in Italy and the isles of the Adriatic; but many of his materials were destroyed by the ravages of war.
1605.George Clifford, earl of Cumberland, died; a celebrated English navigator.
1632.Henry de Montmorency, admiral of France, beheaded for conspiracy. He distinguished himself by his valor, and was made admiral at the age of 18.
1655.John Seldon, the learned English antiquary, died.
1680.Antoinette de la Porte Bourignon, a celebrated French enthusiast, died, aged 64. She was so very deformed at her birth, that a consultation was had about stifling her as a monster. But she early developed great powers of mind, became a traveling preacher, wandered about incessantly, and was expelled from many countries. Her reveries fill 22 volumes.
1732 Shipped for transportation to Virginia, 68 men and 50 women, felon convicts.
1750.John Mottleydied; an English dramatic writer and historian of Peter the Great of Russia.
1760. Great earthquake in Syria and Barbary; 6000 persons killed in Damascus.
1762. British king's ships Panther and Argo captured Spanish galleon Santissima Trinidad, from Manilla, valued at three millions of dollars.
1781. The Oneida Indians, part of Col. Willet's force, defeated the British, colonel John Butler; when that execrable savage, Butler, was killed.
1782.Anthony Terrasson, a distinguished French advocate, and professor of the royal college, died. He wrote a history of Roman jurisprudence, and other works.
1787.Ferdinand Galiani, a noble Italian writer, died. His genius and learning were employed on useful and practical subjects.
1793. Twenty-two deputies of the French national convention of the Girondists, convicted and sentenced to death. De Valaze, a lawyer, on hearing his sentence, with great sang froid, drew a poignard and stabbed himself to the heart.
1802.Charles Alexander de Calonne, a French statesman, died. He succeeded Necker as comptroller of the finances.
1804.Samuel Ayscough, assistant librarian in the British Museum, died. He is chiefly memorable for his patient industry in arranging the collections. He published a catalogue of the manuscripts, and a catalogue of the ancient charters in that institution; the latter amounting to 1,600.
1805.Anquetil du Perron, a learned Frenchman, died. His death is also placed, by different authorities, in November and January. (SeeJan. 15, 1805.)
1808.John Whitakerdied; an able English theologian, historian, critic, politician, and poet.
1810. Battle of Los Cruces, in Mexico, between the revolutionists under Hidalgo, and a corps of Spaniards, in which the latter were defeated. This was the first battle of the revolution.
1813.Sarah Rodgers, a celebrated painter, died at Philadelphia.
1822. The Caledonian canal, uniting the British sea with the Atlantic ocean, was opened. It is a great national work, but not much in requisition.
1822.Iturbidedissolved the Mexican congress in the same manner as Cromwell dissolved the long parliament, and the same day formed a new legislative assembly, composed of persons favorable to his plans. This step was fatal to his reign.
1825.Charles Robert Maturin, an Irish divine, dramatist, and poet, died. His genius was great, but not always under the control of a pure taste.
1840. Earthquake at Zante, which demolished 240 houses in the town, and injured nearly all the rest. The villages and country houses of the island were destroyed, or greatly injured.
1448.John Palæologus, emperor of Constantinople, died. He reigned 29 years, and resisted the invasion of the Turkish foe, who pressed upon his borders.
1517. Commencement of the reformation by Martin Luther, who on this day published his 95 theses against the papal indulgences, &c.
1579.John Stadius, a German historian and mathematician, died at Paris. He tarnished his scientific knowledge with astrological calculations.
1659.John Bradshawdied; celebrated as president of the tribunal which tried and condemned the king, Charles I. He was afterwards deprived of his office by Cromwell, to whose usurpations he was opposed; at the restoration his bones were dug up and hanged at Tyburn.
1665. An act called the "five mile act," passed by the English parliament, prohibiting nonconforming ministers from going within 5 miles of a town sending a member to parliament. This was to prevent them entering the pulpits of episcopalians vacated on account of the plague.
1678. From the evidence of Oates and others, the commons of England passed a resolution that there existed a hellish plot of the papists to assassinate king Charles.
1732.Victor Amadeus, king of Sardinia and duke of Savoy, died.
1735. GeneralOglethorpere-embarkedfor America, accompanied by John Wesley and other missionaries, with several families of settlers.
1751.James Logan, governor of Pennsylvania after the death of the proprietor, died. He was a native of Ireland, distinguished for his talents and learning, and came to America with Penn.
1760. The foundation stone of Blackfriars bridge over the Thames was laid.
1765.William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, died. He was the second son of George II of England, and commanded at many important battles in the German wars.
1782.Louis Elizabeth de la Vergne, a celebrated French general, died. He was the friend of learned men, and the author of numerous works.
1793.Jean Pierre Brissot de Warville, and 20 others, Girondists, condemned on the previous day, were guillotined at Paris. They were generally opposed to the death of the king and the violent and bloody measures pursued by Marat and Robespierre.
1803. The United States frigate Philadelphia, captain Bainbridge, grounded on a rock three and a half miles from Tripoli, and was taken after an action of 4 hours, having thrown over all her guns in the vain hope of getting off.
1806. Battle of Strelitz; the French general Savery with 600 horse took the place, and captured the hereditary prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1806. Battle of Anklan; the Bavarians defeated the Prussians under general Bila, and took him and 4,000 men prisoners.
1806. About this time a revolution took place at St. Domingo; the black king of Hayti, Dessalines, was killed, and succeeded by Christophe.
1812. The Cossacks under Platoff defeated the French rear guard near Kolotsk with terrible slaughter.
1812. The French defeated by Witgenstein at Tchasniki, with the loss of 900 killed and 800 taken.
1832.Antonio Scarpa, professor of anatomy at Pavia, died, aged 86. He stood, for nearly half a century, by the common consent of his countrymen, at the head of anatomy and surgery in Italy.
1838.Noah Worcester, an eminent philanthropist and founder of the Massachusetts Peace society, died. He was an extraordinary man, and entirely self-taught. In 1815 he publishedA Solemn View of the Custom of War, which produced a strong impression, and has been circulated in different languages in Europe.
1842.Solomon Herschell, chief rabbi of the German and Polish Jews in London, died, aged 82, and was buried with great solemnity. He was a majestic figure, with a look of one of the old fathers, and an object of considerable mark in the streets of London.
1847. A quarrel took place between the police in Rio de Janeiro and some sailors belonging to the United States vessels of war lying in the harbor. The sailors and an officer were imprisoned, which led to a serious difficulty between the two governments.
1848.Stephen Watts Kearney, the conqueror of New Mexico, died at St. Louis, aged 54. He had been in the army since 1812, and his character and bearing as an officer were unsurpassed.
1849. The French cabinet, on being informed that they were wanting in dignity, resigned their commissions to their president.
1849. A remarkable meteoric stone fell at Charlotte, North Carolina.
1850. QueenIsabellaopened the Cortez at Madrid in the new palace on the Plaza de Cervantes.
1855.Rivassworn into office as president of Nicaragua, Walker declining in his favor at Grenada.
51B. C.Cicerosat down before Pindenissum, a city in Cilicia.
79. Pompeii and Herculaneum buried by an eruption of Vesuvius.
1290. The persons of all the English Jews, 16,511, were banished, and their estates and treasures confiscated to the crown.
1399.John V(the Conqueror), duke of Brittany, died.
1483.Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, beheaded. He was the vile instrument of the third Richard's usurpation, and was executed by that king's order, without any legal process.
1596.Peter Pithou, a learned and eloquent French civilian, died. He visited England, and published some valuable works on law, history, and classical literature, and restoredPhædrusand other ancient books which had long been lost.
1607. SirJames Melvilledied. He was a courtier, in the strictest sense of that word. To him the court was the world, and its rules of action his.
1653. The parliament of the English commonwealth chose a new council of state.
1678.William Coddington, governor of Rhode Island, died. He became dissatisfied with the ecclesiastical government in Massachusetts, and in 1638 associated himself with 170 others, who purchased Rhode Island of the natives. He was a man of learning, and contributed more than any other, perhaps, to the establishment of the colony of Rhode Island, and laying the foundation of civil and religious liberty in America.
1683. The counties of Albany, Dutchess, Kings, Orange, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond, Ulster, and Westchester, N. Y., erected.
1700.Charles II, king of Spain, died. He was the last of the eldest branches of the Austrian princes who reigned in Spain.
1710. LordHaversham, a noted British peer, died. He was a "constant" speaker in the house of lords.
1714.John Radcliffe, an English physician of great eminence, died. The university of Oxford is indebted to him for the library and infirmary which bears his name, and for an annuity of £600 for two traveling fellowships.
1724.Humphrey Prideauxdied; an English divine, historian, and critic.
1730.Louis Ferdinand Marsigli, an Italian nobleman, died. He was famous in arms and in letters, and founded the academy of arts and sciences at Bologna, called the Institute.
1755. Earthquake at Lisbon, by which it is supposed about 50,000 persons perished. Every building worthy of notice was prostrated. Peerless pool was lifted from its bed; the Mios lake in Norway vibrated with the canals of Amsterdam; the fountains of Tangier were stopped, and artificial tides flowed every fifteen minutes at Gibraltar.
1765. Stamp act went into operation in America. The great dissatisfaction it created, was manifested by the tolling of bells, and other solemnities.
1769.La Sallearrived at the mouth of the Miami, having seventeen men in his company, the rest being dismissed, to return with furs to Niagara, when he embarked at the bay of Puans.
1770.Alexander Crudendied; a Scottish writer, and corrector of the press, whose literary labors were notable. He was found dead on his knees, in the attitude of prayer.
1771.John Eyresentenced to be transported beyond seas, for stealing a few quires of paper. He was worth £30,000, yet committed and confessed the deed.
1775.Peter Joseph Bernarddied; a French writer of operas and other lighter pieces, which for their ease and elegance, procured for him the name ofle gentil Bernard.
1783.Charles Linnæus(the Younger) died. He succeeded his father as professor of botany at Upsal.
1793.George Gordondied; an Englishman who led the opposition to the papists in 1780, which gave rise to the riots of that year. His life from that time was spent in legal censures and imprisonments, and he finally died in Newgate prison.
1794.Henry Hoogeveendied; an eminent Dutch philologist, of great learning and industry.
1794. Rhinefield, a fortress built on a rock on the left bank of the Rhine, abundantly provided and defended by 2000 men, surrendered at the first summons of the French.
1805. CaptainWright, of the British navy, died in the Temple at Paris. Bonaparte is accused of having suffered him to be put to the torture and strangled.
1806. French entered Kustrin, where they took 4000 Prussian prisoners, 90 cannon, and sufficient stores to supply the army two months.
1806. French under Mortier took Cassel and all Hesse.
1813. Four large British vessels, and a number of boats, attacked the advance guard of the United States army, under general Wilkinson, and were repulsed.
1815.John Coakley Lettsom, a distinguished London physician, died. He was long known by his public and private benevolence, his skill, and his numerous writings, moral and medical.
1818. The first steam boat on the lakes, called from an Indian chief, Walk-in-the-Water, left Buffalo on her first trip. The boat cost $70,000, including the sum paid Fulton and Livingston for patent.
1819.The North Georgian Gazette and Winter Journal, first published on board the Hecla discovery ship, in Winter harbor, off Melville island, in the Polar sea. The 21st number closed its polar existence, but it rose again in London.
1834.John Howarddied in Fayette co., Ga., aged 103. He was in the revolutionary army, and received five wounds at the battle of Guilford. His sight continued good till his hundredth year, and he never used spectacles.
1835.Thomas Taylordied; an English author, long known by the appellation ofthe Platonist. His works comprise 23 vols. quarto, and 40 vols. octavo; the greatest of which are complete translations of Aristotle and Plato, illustrated copiously from the ancient commentators.
1835.William Motherwell, a Scottish poet of considerable reputation, died.
1842.Louis D. Jose, usually calledPortuguese Joe, was burnt to death in the hotel at New Orleans in which he kept the bar. He was captain of the maintop on board the ship Saratoga, at the battle on lake Champlain, and nailed the colors to the mast after they had been shot away by the British.
1843.John Parish Robertson, a Scottish merchant in South America, died at Calais. He established an extensive business, and introduced many useful improvements, which the distracted partisans of that country could not appreciate; he was deprived of a large property which he had accumulated, and retired to England, where he produced two works on South America, of some merit.
1845.Samuel Harrison Smith, well known as the editor of thePhiladelphia New World, and the first to establish theNational Intelligencer, died at Washington.
1849.Jabez W. Huntington, of Connecticut, a distinguished senator of the United States, died at Norwich, Conn.
1849.Elizur Goodrich, professor of law in Yale college, and some time mayor of New Haven, died, aged 88. His removal from the office of collector of customs, at New Haven, immediately on the accession of Jefferson, gave occasion to the famous letter of that president, in which he avowed his principle of removal for political opinions.
1849.Jeffrey Chipmandied at Kalamazoo, Mich., aged 60. He was a native of Rutland, Vt., and afterwards a magistrate at Canandaigua, N. Y., before whom William Morgan, the apostate free mason, was arraigned for larceny, and committed to Ontario jail, whence he was abducted. In all the subsequent trials, J. Chipman was the first witness called.
1852. Battle of Hermasillo; the French count Boulbon de Raousset, who led an enterprise upon Sonora, was defeated, and his expedition wholly overthrown.
1855. Accident on the Missouri and Pacific rail road; an excursion train going to celebrate the opening of the road, was precipitated through a bridge thirty feet into the river, by which the chief engineer of the road, Thomas S. O'Sullivan, and 24 others, were killed, and a great number injured, many of them prominent citizens of St. Louis.
1656.A. M.The deluge began on the 17th day of the 2d month, answering to our November 2, on the supposition that the original civil year of the Hebrews began on the 16th of September, and contained 354 days.
285.B. C.Ptolemy Philadelphus, of Egypt, so memorable as a patron of learning, commenced his reign upon this Julian day; the year following that in which Pyrrhus was driven from Macedonia. It is the date of theSeptuagint.
1502.Columbusentered the harbor which he named Porto Bello. The cazique was painted black, but all his subjects red. They all wore small golden ornaments in their nostrils; and the men a shell, andthe women a fillet of cotton about their loins.
1552.Claude d'Annebaut, a French admiral, died; distinguished for his bravery and wisdom.
1600.Richard Hooker, an eminent English divine, died. HisLaws of Ecclesiastical Polityin 8 books, procured him great fame and popularity.
1610.Richard Bancroftdied; chaplain to queen Elizabeth, bishop of London, and archbishop of Canterbury.
1655. A committee appointed by the council of the lord protector of England to encourage trade and commerce.
1692.Alexander Menzikoff, a Russian prince, died in exile. He rose from the occupation of a pastry cook, and fell back to his original level in consequence of his pride and ostentation.
1716.Engelbert Kœmpfer, an eminent German botanist, died. Besides his works on botany, he wrote aHistory of Japan.
1726.Sophia Dorothea, queen of George I of England, died at the castle of Ahlen in Hanover, in which she had been immured since 1694 on a charge of an intrigue with count Koningsmarke; a charge which was never proved and generally disbelieved. She was often solicited to rejoin her husband. To the English who also made the proposal, she said, "If I am guilty I am not fit to be your queen; if I am innocent your king is not fit to be my husband."
1758. The Belliqueux, a French ship of war from Quebec, driven into Lundy road where she was taken possession of by the English; value estimated at £150,000.
1759.Charles Hanbury Williams, an English poet and ambassador, died.
1772. Town meeting in Boston, at which committees of correspondence were appointed by the "Sons of Liberty." Adams and Warren were among the originators of this plan, which was soon followed by the other states. These committees were undoubtedly the origin of the congress.
1783.Washingtonissued from head quarters, Rocky Hill, near Princeton, his farewell orders to the American armies.
1783.Charles Colle, a distinguished French comic writer, died.
1788.John Henderson, an English scholar, died. He displayed at a very early period of life, an uncommon thirst after knowledge, which he gratified with unremitted ardor. "The virtues of his heart were superior even to the astonishing powers of his understanding;" he died however, the victim of intemperance.
1794.François Joachim de Pierres Bernis, a French ecclesiastic, and courtier, died, aged 80. His talents and judgment were of a high order.
1812. Battle of Ghatz; the Cossacks under Platoff defeated a division of the French, and took 70 wagons, 20 cannons and some thousands of exhausted and helpless prisoners. Denizoff defeated another French division the same day, captured 40 loaded wagons and 1000 prisoners.
1818.Samuel Romilly, a learned English statesman, died by his own hand, in consequence of the death of his wife.
1825. The city of Albany celebrated the opening of the Erie canal with great ceremony.
1828.Thomas Pinckney, a general in the United States army, died. It was under his command that the Indian war in which general Jackson distinguished himself, was undertaken and brought to a successful issue.
1840.Anthony Carlisle, an eminent English surgeon, died. He was also a man of high literary and scientific attainments, and president of the royal college of surgeons.
1850.Samuel Young, a New York statesman, died at Ballston, aged 71. His official career was illustrated by the most remarkable integrity, by talents of the highest order, and by a character of the most marked individuality.
361.Constantius, the last of the sons of Constantine the great, died, after a reign of 23 years, and was succeeded by Julian.
461.Leo I(the Great) pope, died. Rome was pillaged fourteen days by Genseric during his reign.
1327.James II(the Just), king of Arragon, died, aged 65; deservedly regretted for his moderation, courage, benevolence and magnanimity. He conquered Sicily, and waged a long war against the Moors and the people of Navarre. He had the good fortune to unite Valencia and Catalonia to his crown.
1369. That famous code of Godfrey, called theAssize of Jerusalem, restored by John d'Ibilen, count of Jaffa, was finished under the revision of sixteen native commissioners for the use of the Latin kingdom of Cyprus.
1493.Columbus, on his second voyage to the new world, descried land, which in honor of the day he called Dominica.
1580. SirFrancis Drakereturned from his voyage round the world.
1603.Henry IVof France granted to Pierre du Gast, sieur de Monts, a patent of the American territory, from the 40th to the 46th degree of north latitude, withpower to colonize and rule it, and to subdue and Christianize its native inhabitants; and the exclusive right to the commerce of peltry in Acadie and the gulf of St. Lawrence.
1611.Antonio Perez, a distinguished Spanish statesman and author, died at Paris, where he retired when disgraced at the court of Spain. He twice escaped the inquisition, and even eluded the emissaries sent to murder him, but although highly esteemed by the learned men of France and England, he died miserably poor.
1640. The long parliament of England began; Wm. Lenthal was chosen speaker.
1643.John Bainbridgedied at Oxford; a physician and astronomer of high reputation.
1669.Charles Drelincourt, a French Calvinistic divine, died. HisConsolations against the Fear of Deathhave passed through numerous editions, and been translated into several languages.
1680. The great comet of this year approached so near the earth as in many places to occasion no small alarm.
1710.Luke Rotgans, a Dutch poet, died. After being engaged two years in the wars of Holland he retired to his country seat to devote himself to poetry.
1739.Charles Jervas, an English painter, died. He is immortalized more by Pope's panegyric than by his own pictures.
1741.Behringwrecked on the island which bears his name.
1760. Battle of Torgau; the Austrians under Daun defeated by Frederick II of Prussia, with the loss of 20,000 men, 8,000 of whom were taken. Prussian loss 13,000.
1762. The remarkable peace between England and France was signed at Fontainebleau.
1771. First newspaper printed in Albany, N. Y.
1771. An attempt was made by count Pulaski and some other Polish nobleman to carry off Stanislaus Augustus, the king. They took him prisoner, but after wandering about all night, in the morning they found themselves near where they set out, and were obliged to liberate their captive.
1774.Gloucester Ridley, an eminent English divine, died. He commenced life as an actor.
1775. St. Johns surrendered to the Americans. General Carleton in attempting to cross the St. Lawrence with 800 men, was attacked by 300 Green Mountain boys under colonel Warren and compelled to retire; which induced the garrison to capitulate. They found 17 brass and 22 iron cannons, 2 howitzers, 7 mortars, 800 stand of arms, &c.
1775.Valentine Jaimerai Duval, an extraordinary French character, died. He at first gained his subsistence by watching poultry and sheep; but by perseverance and labor he obtained books and maps, became one of the most learned men of his time, and enjoyed the patronage of princes and the notice of the learned.
1787.Robert Lowth, an eminent English bishop, died; known by his translation of Isaiah, "the sublimest poetry in the world."
1793.Mary Olympe de Gouges, a French authoress, guillotined. Becoming disgusted with the brutalities of the revolutionists, she turned her pen against them, and fell a victim to their vengeance.
1797.William Enfield, an eminent English dissenting minister died; known by many ingenious and useful publications.
1812. Battle near Wiazma; the French under Ney, Davoust, and Beauharnois defeated by the Russians with the loss of 6,000 killed, and 3,500 taken prisoners, and 28 cannon. Of the wounded French, all who fell must have unquestionably perished, as in the night the Russian winter set in, with a degree of iron severity almost unknown to the oldest inhabitants; on the following morning all was buried under a deep, wide waste of snow.
1832.John Lesliedied; an eminent Scottish chemist, mathematician, and natural philosopher, inventor of the differential thermometer, and author of various scientific works. He rose from humble life, and received the honor of knighthood for his acquirements.
1834.Dr. Horner, died at Zurich, Switzerland. He accompanied Krusenstern in his first Russian voyage round the world, and wrote theNatural History of Russia.
1839.Carter Berkley, an eminent Virginia physician, aged 72, died while feeling the pulse of a dying patient. He was a lineal descendant of sir William Berkley, and an excellent character.
1840. St. Jean d'Acre bombarded by the allied British and Turkish fleets. The firing commenced at half past 2 P. M., and ceased at 6. The magazine, containing 500 barrels of powder, was blown up, over which about 2,000 soldiers were stationed, who were nearly all buried in the ruins. The number of killed in the town is unknown; loss of the British and allies 18 killed and 42 wounded. The Egyptians evacuated the place on the following morning, and it was possessed by the conquerors, who found 121 mounted guns and 20 mortars on the walls, and 97 brass field pieces and 97 mortars in store, besides stores of all kinds and the military chest, valued altogether at about one million pounds.
1493.Columbusdiscovered the island of Guadaloupe, the largest of the Carib or Cannibal islands, called by the natives Carucueria. The drinking vessels of this fierce people were formed of human skulls. They here saw the pine apple.
1611.Nicholas le Fevre(orFaber), a learned and ingenious French writer, died. He was more ready to assist others than to appear as an author himself.
1613.Edward Brereword, a learned English antiquary, died.
1631. LadyMary, eldest daughter of king Charles I, and subsequently the wife of William prince of Orange, born.
1673. The house of commons, in England, sent for to the house of lords, and prorogued, for addressing the king against a standing army.
1677. The marriage portion of the princess Mary was £40,000. She married the prince of Orange.
1680.Joseph Glanvil, an eminent English divine, died; celebrated for his controversies.
1688.William IIIentered Torbay with 50 sail of the line and 400 transports.
1694. The Hannibal, of London, arrived at Barbadoes with a cargo of negroes. Of 692 captives, 320 died on the passage; the rest, Philips, the master, says, "came out £19 per head, one with another." The official return of the population, four years afterwards was, 2,330 whites, 42,000 slaves.
1698. A colony from Scotland settled at New Edinburgh, on the coast of Darien.
1702.John Benbow, a brave English admiral, died in the West Indies, after an inglorious defeat, owing to the cowardice of his officers.
1702.Edward Sherburne, an English writer, died, aged 85. Besides his original works, he translated Seneca's tragedies and other Latin authors.
1713.Francis Petit de la Croix, a French ambassador, died. He was an expert linguist in Turkish and Arabic, and rendered great services to literature by his dictionaries and other works on those languages.
1749. A ball of fire burst about 40 yards above the British ship Montague, admiral Chambers, knocking down five men, shattering the maintop mast, and otherwise injuring the ship. The ball was first visible about three miles from the ship, at mid-day, and rose before it burst.
1749. At Stoke, in Glocestershire, about 6P. M., the inhabitants were surprised by a brilliant light surpassing that of the sun. It was seen but for a few minutes.
1764.Charles Churchill, an eminent English poet, died. He was endowed with great natural abilities, and his poems, though they have lost something by time, are still preserved from oblivion.
1788.Deborah Godfreydied at Stepney, England, aged 80; celebrated as the mother of 34 children, all of whom lived to the age of maturity.
1791. The United States army, 1,400 men, under general St. Clair, defeated by the Indians, near the Miami villages. The Indians made the attack immediately after the soldiers had been dismissed, from the parade, and with so much intrepidity, that most of the officers were killed before they could form their men. The loss of the Americans was 894, being nearly two-thirds of the force. The Indians took 7 cannon, 200 oxen and a great number of horses. Their force was between three and four thousand, and their loss only 56. (Other and more reliable accounts say 1,500 Indians instead of 3,000.)
1793.Richard Tickell, an eminent English writer, was killed by a fall from a window of his apartments.
1794. Praga carried by storm by the Russians under Suwarrow; upon which Warsaw was compelled to surrender, and a massacre of the Poles followed, which issued in blotting out Poland from the nations of Europe.
1797. Earthquake at Quito; nearly 40,000 of the natives perished, either buried under the ruins of their own houses, swallowed up in the crevices of the earth, or drowned in the lakes which were suddenly formed.
1806.George Mason, an English writer, died. He made a valuable collection of English and foreign literature.
1825. The first boat down the Erie canal, arrived at New York.
1836.Charles X, ex-king of France, died at Goritz, in Illyria, an exile. He succeeded Louis XVIII, but lost the throne by his arbitrary measures.
1837.Baron Albertdied at Paris, aged 70; a celebrated French physician, and author of numerous works in his profession.
1838. Martial law established at Montreal, in consequence of a rebellion against the government, which became general, throughout Canada and caused serious disturbances.
1839. Riot of 10,000 chartists from the mines and colleries, who attacked Newport, England, led on by John Frost, an ex-magistrate. About 20 of the rioters were killed, and Frost taken prisoner.
1845.Eleazer Blackman, the last survivor of the massacre at Wyoming, died at Hanover, Pa.
1848. The new constitution of France, adopted in the general assembly, by 739 to 30.
1853.Lucien B. Webster, a United States officer, died at fort Brown, Texas. He served on the eastern frontier in the time of the Aroostook trouble, and also distinguished himself at Buena Vista.
1853. Battle of Oltenitza, between the Turks and Russians, in which the latter lost 1,200 killed and wounded.
1500.Columbusarrived at Cadiz in fetters; when the king and queen, ashamed of the orders they had given, commanded him to be released. Notwithstanding the apologies of his sovereigns, Columbus never forgot this ignominy. He preserved his fetters, hung them up in his apartment, and ordered them to be buried with him.
1548. There fell in Thuringia what is described as a ball of fire, which was attended with a great noise; and a reddish substance like coagulated blood was afterwards found on the ground.
1605. Gunpowder plot discovered; a conspiracy for blowing up the English parliament, headed by Catesby. In the cellar was found 40 barrels of powder and Guy Fawkes.
1607. The famous graceNon Nobis Domini, composed by Bird, was first sung, on the second anniversary of the gunpowder plot.
1612. PrinceHenrydied, aged 19. His funeral expenses were £16,016, yet his father, king James, would allow no mourning for him.
1630.John Kepler, a celebrated German astronomer, died. His genius and discoveries have been highly commended; but he maintained some very peculiar notions; among others, that the globe is a huge animal, which breathes out the winds through the holes in the mountains, as through its mouth and nostrils.
1635.Thomas Parr, an English peasant, died at the age of 152. His habits were extremely temperate, and it is supposed that his death was hastened by a change of diet.James Bowlesdied in England in 1656, at the same age.
1678.John Baptist Nani, a Venitian nobleman and ambassador, died. He wrote a history of Venice, and an account of his embassy to France.
1690.Thomas Bartholinedied; an eminent professor of law and history at Copenhagen. His three brothers were professors in the same university, and his sister an excellent Danish poetess.
1702. The earl of Marlborough taken by a French party, but not being known, on producing a French pass, he was suffered to escape.
1714.Bernardin Romazzini, an Italian physician, died at Padua, aged 81. Although blind he discharged the duties of professor of medicine with great applause in the university.
1732.James Oglethorpe, with several colonists, embarked for Georgia, in America.
1757. Battle of Rossbach, a village in Prussian Saxony; a decisive victory obtained by Frederick the great over the French and Austrians under Soubise.
1764.Charles Churchill, the celebrated English poet, died at Boulogne.
1774. The militia of Virginia, assembled at fort Gower under lord Dunmore, the royal governor, declared their determination to support their countrymen, when called upon, and not the king, if he proceeded to execute the late obnoxious laws by force.
1780.Vasili Evdokimovitch Adaduror, a Russian mathematician, died. He instructed Catharine II in the Russian language.
1782. The America, a 74 gun ship, built at Portsmouth, N. H., by order of congress, was launched. This was the first line of battle ship ever built in America.
1798.Lewis Galvani, an Italian philosopher, died at Bologna; celebrated as the discoverer of that kind of electricity called, after him, Galvanism. (SeeFeb. 5, 1799.)
1807.Maria Angelica Kauffman, an eminent French painter, and royal academician in London, died at Rome. She is styled by the Germans, "the painter of the soul;" and her mental acquirements and moral conduct were no less distinguished than her talents as an artist.
1816.Gouverneur Morris, an American statesman and orator, died at his seat of Morrisiana, near New York.
1817.Charlotte Augusta, wife of prince Leopold of Coburg, and daughter of George IV of England and queen Caroline, died. The domestic life of the two former is held to be apattern—not so the latter.
1831.Philip Van Courtland, an officer of the revolutionary war, died at New York, aged 82.
1839. The British war ships Volage and Hyacinth proceeding to Chumpee in violation of the Chinese proclamation, were approached by 29 Chinese war junks, which they attacked. Six of the junks were sunk or blown up, and upwards of 500 men killed. The English suffered noinjury. This was the beginning of the Chinese war.
1840.George R. T. Hewes, one of the persons who assisted in throwing the tea overboard in Boston harbor in the beginning of the revolution, died at German Flats, aged 106.
1854.George Cathcart, an eminent British general, killed at the battle of Inkerman, aged 60.
1854.Charles Kemble, an eminent English comedian, died at London, aged 74; the last surviving brother of this distinguished family.
1854. Battle of Inkerman, in which 50,000 Russians engaged 14,000 British and French. Russians lost about 9,000 besides prisoners; allies lost about 4,000.
1854. By the cholera which prevailed this season, the number of deaths up to this day were: in New York, 2,425; in Philadelphia, 575; in Boston, 255; in Pittsburg, 600.
1855. Battle at the river Ingour; Omar Pasha with 20,000 Turks defeated 10,000 Russians.
606B. C.The memory of the book of Jeremiah torn and burnt by king Jehoiakim, was observed as a fast, on the 6th of the Hebrew monthCaslew.
63B. C.Catalineassembled the conspirators on the evening of this day, to fire the capital and cut off the principal citizens and the senate.
644.Omar I, the second caliph after Mahomet, assassinated. His reign was signalized by many important events. The most extraordinary success attended the arms of the new religion; 36,000 towns and villages were conquered; the Alexandrian library and 4,000 Christian temples were destroyed; 400 mosques were built, and the ancient canal between the Nile and the Red sea was restored.
1406. PopeInnocent VIIdied.
1457.Gutenbergceded to Faust all the moulds, types, presses and utensils of the office, as surety for the sums advanced by the latter to carry on the business of printing and experimenting. The partnership was dissolved, and Gutenberg, with the assistance of Conrad Humery, opened another office in the same city.
1460.John Fastolff, a brave English general, died, aged 80. Shakspeare has abused the character of this brave, generous and wealthy man, under the name of Falstaff. It is impossible for two characters to be more at variance than the real and fictitious Falstaff.
1620.Richard Carew, an English antiquary, died. His memory is extravagantly lauded, as another Livy, &c.
1622. KingJamesissued "a proclamation, prohibiting interloping and disorderly trading to New England, in America." This remarkable edict was intended to protect the trade of the colony, but so far from proving beneficial to the company, really brought on its dissolution.
1632. Battle of Lutzen, and death ofGustavus Adolphus. The imperial troops, 40,000 men, under Wallenstein, were defeated by the Swedes, 27,000, under Gustavus. The famous general Papenheim was mortally wounded.
1644.Thomas Roe, an English statesman, died. During his residence at the court of Constantinople, he made a valuable collection of manuscripts, which were presented to the Bodleian library.
1656.John IV(the Fortunate), of Portugal, died. He undertook the emancipation of his country from the Spanish yoke, in which he was successful and was placed upon the throne.
1656.John Baptist Morin, a celebrated French physician, died. He acquired great reputation as an astrologer, and consulted the stars for Richelieu and Mazarin.
1714.Charles Davenant, an English writer, died. Besides his works on political economy, his tragedy was received with great applause.
1769.Claude Simeon Passemantdied. He was brought up to a trade in Paris, which he quitted for higher pursuits. Among his ingenious labors, are mentioned an astronomical pendulum with a moving celestial sphere, a burning mirror, and some globes.
1790.James Bowdoin, governor of Massachusetts, died. He was constantly employed in the public service on the side of his country, and was honored at home and abroad for his literary acquirements.
1792. Battle of Gemappe, in which the French revolutionists under Dumourier, after a bloody action, gained a decisive victory over the Austrians; and a short time after every town in the Netherlands except Luxemburg was in the hands of the French.
1793.Louis Joseph Philip, duke of Orleans, guillotined at Paris. His character and morals were infamous. He gave his vote for the death of the king, an act which shocked even the most abandoned of his friends.
1806. Battle of Lubec; the French under Bernadotte and Soult carried the town by assault. Blucher retreated with the loss of 5,500 prisoners, 5,000 killed and wounded, and 300 wagons.
1813. The American army under general Wilkinson disembarked the whole ofthe troops and passed Prescott. A heavy cannonade was opened by the British on the flotilla of 300 boats, not one of which was touched, however.
1832. Grand festival in Sweden in honor of Gustavus Adolphus, it being the 200th anniversary of the battle of Lutzen.
1839.William B. Conway, secretary of Iowa territory, died; well known as a poet, and a man of literary talent and taste.
1840.Thomas Prince, a colored man, died in New York, aged 111. He is said to have been "as quick as a man in the prime of life;" he died suddenly, without sickness.
1842.William Hone, the well known author of theEvery Day Book, died at Tottenham, England. His political satires gave him some distinction.
1852.Daniel Drake, an eminent physician, of Cincinnati, died, aged 67. He published a work on theDiseases of the Valley of North America, and earned the reputation of a man of high talent, unsparing labor and prodigal research.
1853. The first presbyterian Chinese church organized at San Francisco.
63B. C.Cicero, with the authority of a consul, summoned the senate to the temple of Jupiter, where it was assembled only in times of public alarm, and delivered his famous invective in the presence of Cataline.
3B. C.Caius Cilnius Maecenasthe friend and counselor of Augustus, died. To him Virgil dedicated hisGeorgics, and Horace hisOdes.
1280. The statute in English law calledquo warranto, passed.
1297.Wallacegranted a protection to the monks of Hexham, for their lives and possessions. "Abide with me, for there alone can you be secure; for my people are evil doers, and I can not punish them."
1492. A marvelousthunder stonefell about mid-day at Ensisheim, in Alsace, which weighed as is learnedly attested, 255 pounds.
1594.Martin Frobisher, the English navigator, wounded at Croyson near Brest, of which he died.
1609. The Half Moon, under Henry Hudson, on her return from the discovery of New York and Albany, arrived at Dartmouth, in England, whence he forwarded tidings of his arrival and an account of his discoveries, to the directors of the East India company at Amsterdam.
1665. The firstGazettein England was published at Oxford, where the court had retired, during the great plague. It was removed to London in the February following, and took the title ofLondon Gazette. (Quære.)
1696. Third frame of government of Pennsylvania passed by Gov. Matthews.
1704.Andrew Acoluth(Acoluthus), a German linguist of extraordinary acquirements, died.
1724.John Kyrle, the celebratedMan of Ross, died, aged 90. He is immortalized by Pope, and more by his own beneficent actions.
1724. The president and vice-president of Thorn, in Poland, sentenced to be beheaded for neglect of duty, it being alleged that they had suffered religionists to riot. The sentences against the protestants were so severe and harsh, that all the protestant powers of Europe interposed for a reversal, but without success.
1752.The Adventurer, by Dr. Hawkesworth, appeared.
1775. LordDunmoredeclared Virginia to be in a state of rebellion; he proclaimed martial law, and invited the slaves to join him.
1783. The last person publicly burned by the Spanish inquisition. This was a woman, who perished at Seville. The victims of that diabolical institution were afterwards doomed to die in dungeons, where the shrieks of agonizing nature could only be heard by those whose interest it was to conceal them.
1794. Nymegen, which had been pronounced by British engineers strong enough to check the irruption of thesans cullotesinto Holland, was evacuated by the British and Dutch, who succeeded in crossing the Waal.
1805.LewisandClark'sparty arrived at the mouth of the Columbia river, in sight of the ocean.
1806. The Prussian generalBlucher, surrendered to the French, with 16,000 men and 80 cannon. This was the last body of the Prussians left after the battle of Jena, and closed all opposition to the views of Bonaparte in Prussia.
1811. Battle of Tippecanoe; the Indians under the Shawnee prophet, brother of Tecumseh, were defeated by the United States troops under Gen. Harrison. The Indians lost 300 killed; American loss, 188 killed and wounded.
1812. Battle of Dorogobouche; the Russians attacked the retreating French army, which, after a desperate and sanguinary contest, retreated to the river Dnieper. The field presented to the victors a continued line of dead and dying, the snow being absolutely blackened with the bodiesof man and beast, destroyed by ball or sword, cold or famine.
1814. Pensacola, in Florida, taken by the Americans under Gen. Jackson, who kept possession of it until the Spaniards could obtain a sufficient force to maintain their neutrality from violation by the British.
1836. A great balloon journey from London to Weilburg, in Nassau, a distance of nearly 600 miles, which was traversed in 18 hours. It carried upwards of a ton ballast, besides a quantity of wine and other stores; its greatest elevation was 2 miles.
1837. The press of theAlton Observer, an anti-slavery newspaper, destroyed for the third time at Alton, Illinois, by the mob. The Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, the editor, was killed, and also one of the mob.
1838.Anne Grant, a Scottish authoress, died, aged 84. She was distinguished for her literary taste and conversational powers. The scene of herAmerican Lady, is laid in the city of Albany.
1842.William McPheeters, a distinguished American divine, and for many years a successful teacher of youth, died at Raleigh, N. C.
1848. Agreeably to an act of the American congress, all the states voted for electors for president and vice-president.
1856. The first marriage of a Hindoo widow was celebrated at Calcutta, the parties being of high rank.
532. PopeBoniface IIdied; his father was a Goth; he was elected to the pontifical office in 530.
1226.Louis VIII(the Lion), king of France, died. He was distinguished for his valor, and waged successful war against the English and other nations. He finally lost the greater part of his army by contagious disease, and perished by it himself.
1231.Abdu-l-lattif, an Arabian physician, historian and traveler, died, aged 69. He wrote upwards of 160 works, of which a history of Egypt is highly esteemed.
1308.John Duns(Duns Scotus), a celebrated theologian, died. He affected to maintain opinions contrary to those of Thomas Aquinas, which produced two parties in the schools, the Thomists and the Scotists.
1512.Amery d'Amboise, a French admiral, died; famous for the naval victory he obtained over the sultan of Egypt, two years before his death.
1517.Francis Ximenes, a Spanish ecclesiastic, died, aged 81. He was eminent as a statesman, warrior and patron of learning, and was at the head of the Spanish government many years. He was the publisher of theComplutensian Polyglott.
1519. The Spaniards under Cortez entered the city of Mexico.
1520. A general massacre of all the nobility of Sweden, except Gustavus Vasa, whose providential escape led to a revolution, and the separation of the union between Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and the deposition of Christian II, by whom the bloody deed was instigated.
1608. The Bodleian library at Oxford, England, first opened to the public.
1674.John Milton, an illustrious English poet, died. He also wrote many political and controversial tracts, and aHistory of Britain, which occupied him many years.
1690. Belgrade retaken by the Turks.
1777. British attacked Mud fort, now fort Mifflin. It was gallantly defended by a few militia under Col. Smith, who repulsed the enemy.
1781.Lewis Poulle, a French ecclesiastic, died; celebrated for his eloquence, and for his poetry.
1792. The French under Dampierre, took Ath, which contained several large magazines. They also took possession of Nieuwpoort, Ostend and Bruges on the same day. At the same time another army of the French took Tournay, and all Flanders submitted to them.
1793.Mary Jane Philipon Roland, an eminent French lady, guillotined. She was a woman of great information and superior talents. She published her travels in England and Switzerland, was the soul of the republican party, and secretly governed many of the public measures which were proposed in the convention before it fell into the foulest hands.
1799.Bonaparteaffected a revolution in Paris, and the councils of Ancients, and Five Hundred, adjourned to St. Cloud.
1805. Battle of Marientzel; the French under Davoust defeated the allies, took 16 cannon and 3,000 prisoners.
1806. Magdeburg, in Lower Saxony, surrendered to the French under Ney. He took 20 generals, 16,000 men, 800 pieces of artillery, 1,000,000 pounds of powder, and a vast bridge equipage, and immense magazines of all kinds.
1808. A Mr.Dowler, of Towcester, England, completed, on a wager, a pedestrian performance of 500 miles in 7 days.
1809. The French attacked, carried and plundered the town of Hostalrick, but were forced to retire by Gen. Quadrado, who retook the plunder.
1809. The functions of the Britishminister, Francis James Jackson, ceased by order of President Madison, and he was debarred all intercourse with the American government.
1813. Battle of Tallegada; the Indians defeated by Gen. Jackson.
1814. British ship Leander captured American privateer schooner Gen. Putnam, 8 guns and 57 men; her guns were thrown overboard during this and a former chase.
1828.Thomas Bewick, one of the most celebrated engravers on wood in England, died. Engraving the cuts for the celebrated Dr. Hutton's mensuration first introduced him to notice while yet an apprentice.
1837.Edward Dorr Griffin, an eminent American divine, died; 15 years president of Williams college.
1853. A new planet in the constellation Taurus was discovered by Mr. Hind, an English astronomer. It was the ninth planet discovered by Mr. Hind in the course of seven years, and raised the number of that extraordinary group of worlds between Mars and Jupiter to twenty-seven.