211. LUCIUS SEPTIMUS SEVERUS, emperor of Rome, died at York, England.
His sons, Geta and Caracalla, were by this event recalled from Scotland,
where they were debating with Fingal over heath and mountain, her
ancient stubborn independence.
836. EGBERT, the last king of the Saxon heptarchy, and the first of
England, died.
856. MAGNENTIUS MAURUS RABANUS, a learned German divine, died. His works
on theology are numerous.
1194. RICHARD, _Coeur de Lion_, released from his imprisonment.
1536. The parliament of England abolished every thing relative to the
pope's power in their realm.
1555. JOHN ROGERS, prebendary of St. Paul's, and the protomartyr, burned
at Smithfield.
1607. JAMES MENOCHIUS died; a civilian of Pavia, of distinguished
abilities.
1644. A very large comet which had terrified the straight-bodied folks
of New England with its prodigious length of tail, disappeared on this
day, to their great relief.
1648. GEORGE ABBOT, an English statesman and religious author, died. He
was one of the judges who sat at the trial of Charles I, and signed his
death warrant.
1660. Gen. MONK, famous as the restorer of Charles II, marched into
London and recommended a government moderately presbyterian.
1665. The first number of the _London Gazette_ appeared, published by
Sir Roger l'Estrange.
1687. FRANCIS DE CREQUI, marshal of France, died. He was distinguished
for his military enterprises and heroic courage.
1692. Goree taken from the French by the English under Gen. Booker.
1693. Earthquake of Sicily, which swallowed up Catania and 1800
citizens.
1746. ROBERT BLAIR, a Scottish clergyman and poet, died. The only
production of his, which we possess, is _The Grave_, a poem, striking
and vigorous.
1749. JOHN JAMES HEIDEGGER died at London. He was born in Switzerland,
and came to England, where by his taste and judgment in operatic
amusements, he was appointed to the management of the opera house and
the masquerades. He was the ugliest featured man in the kingdom, but
good-humored, benevolent and charitable.
1756. A mummy disinterred near Auvergne in France.
1762. SAMUEL DAVIES, an American divine, died, aged 36. He labored some
years as a presbyterian pastor in Virginia, where the act of uniformity
was enforced with great rigor, and was the founder of the first
presbytery in that state. His sermons have passed through many editions
on both sides of the Atlantic.
1774. CHARLES MARIE DE LA CONDAMINE died. He was possessed of a daring
spirit, which led him to enter the army. But the restoration of peace
cut off his hopes of promotion, and he traveled in Turkey and Asia. On
his return to Paris, the academy were making arrangements to send a
deputation to the equator for scientific purposes. The very desire of
being connected with so perilous an undertaking made him an astronomer.
The fatigues and hardships which he encountered in South-America, were
heightened by the discord and jealousy which arose among his companions.
He died while undergoing an operation for the removal of a malady
contracted in Peru. He bore an excellent character, and left many
valuable works.
1779. JOHN HAMILTON MORTIMER, an eminent English historical painter,
died.
1783. Cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, and final conclusion
of the seven years' war of the revolution, which freed the American
colonies from the claims of the mother country, and gave a new nation to
the world.
1787. JACOB WISMER died, aged 103. He was a German by birth, came to
America in Queen Anne's reign, and settled in Pennsylvania; here he
married his third wife, with whom he lived 67 years, and left 170
descendants.
1790. LOUIS XVI took the oath to maintain the new constitution.
1793. An embargo laid on all French vessels in Great-Britain.
1794. The legislature of Massachusetts having repealed the law against
theatrical amusements, the Federal street theatre was opened as a
regular, lawful theatre, with _Gustavus Vasa_ and _Modern Antiques_.
1796. British ship Aurora, one of Admiral Christian's fleet, having 160
men on board, who had kept her afloat three weeks by manual labor, was
rescued by Capt. Hodges of the American ship Sedgley. The troops were
principally Germans and offered Capt. Hodges 1000 guineas for his
exertions in saving their lives, which he nobly refused.
1797. Earthquake at Quito, which threw down many valuable edifices, and
destroyed several neighboring towns and plantations. A great number of
persons were swallowed up.
1800. WILLIAM TASKER died, aged 60. He was 30 years rector of a church,
but deprived of its income by unmerited persecutions and litigations,
until near the close of his life. The works which he published added to
his reputation with the learned, but contributed nothing to his support,
and he continued to struggle against poverty and oppression.
1804. CHRISTIAN JOSEPH JAGEMANN, librarian to the duchess Amalia of
Weimar, died. He was destined for the cloister, but escaped from the
monastery, and became a distinguished writer on the fine arts and
literature of Italy.
1804. The boats of the British ship Centaur cut out of Martinique the
French corvette Le Curieux.
1805. The British sloop of war Arrow, 28 guns, and bomb vessel Acheron,
8 guns, having a fleet of merchantmen in convoy, were captured by two
French frigates, but most of the convoy escaped.
1806. Gen. PHILEMON DICKINSON, who was in the battle of Monmouth, died
at Trenton, New Jersey, aged 69.
1808. First legislative proceedings in relation to the New York canals.
1811. JONATHAN LAMBERT, of Salem, Massachusetts, took possession of the
uninhabited island of Tristan d'Acunha, south of St. Helena. The British
took possession of it in 1817, and fortified it.
1812. Peniscola, in Valencia, surrendered to the French under Suchet.
1813. The United States frigate Constellation chased into Norfolk,
Virginia, by a British squadron.
1814. The ice formed on the Thames at London, above the bridges, and a
fair was held upon it during eight days.
1817. LEWIS PENNOCK died at West Marlborough, Pennsylvania, aged 92; 11
of his survivors, within a mile, arrived at 83½ years.
1834. JOHN O'KEEFE, a British dramatic author, died at Southampton,
England, aged 68.
1835. WADE HAMPTON died at Columbia, S. C., aged 81. He distinguished
himself in the war of the revolution under Sumpter and Marion; and
during the last war commanded a brigade on the northern frontier. He was
reputed the most extensive planter in the United States; one of the
wealthiest men in the whole southern country; and perhaps no other man
in this country ever amassed so large a fortune by agriculture.
1836. WILLIAM GELL died at Naples. He was a classical antiquary, the
illustrator of the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and author of
various works on classical antiquity. He was admired alike for the depth
and versatility of his erudition, the benevolence of his heart, and the
suavity of his manners.
1850. Seventy-five persons killed by a steam explosion in Hague street,
New York.
1854. Eight steamboats destroyed by fire at New Orleans, and 37 persons
perished in the flames.
1856. Fort Nicholas at Sebastopol blown up by the allies, with the aid
of 106,000 pounds of powder.
This day in the calendar of Hesiod, is auspicious for
marriages and the repairing of ships; but a day of _troubles_.