1451. B. C. The Jews place the death of Moses on this day.
1642. WILLIAM BEDELL, bishop of Kilmore, died; one of the most exemplary
prelates of the 17th century. He was so greatly respected even by the
papists, that when the Irish rebellion of 1641 broke out, his was for
some time the only English house in the county that stood unviolated.
But refusing to submit to the orders of the council of state,
interfering with his religious duties, he was thrown into prison, and
his death was occasioned by the rigors of confinement. He translated the
old testament into Irish.
1674. MARGARET LUCAS, dutchess of Newcastle, died; authoress of plays,
poems, letters, essays, and philosophical fancies, filling 12 folio
volumes, and the biography of her husband, William Cavendish, earl of
Newcastle. She was a very singular character, and has been both
ridiculed and extolled by the best English authors.
1693. PAUL PELISSON FONTANIER died. He gave a history of the French
academy from its establishment.
1778. DANIEL BOONE, the first settler of Kentucky, taken by the French
and Indians near the Blue licks. This was the second time he had fallen
into the hands of the Indians. He made his escape about ten days after,
and reached home in safety.
1788. The settlement at Botany bay abandoned, and this day the regular
form of government was adopted, under Gov. Arthur Philip, and settlement
made at Sydney cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales.
1791. Saratoga and Rensselaer counties in New York, erected.
1792. ATHANASE AUGER, a celebrated linguist, died. He was born at Paris,
1734, and became a clergymen. His studies of the Greek and Roman writers
were indefatigable; the study of Cicero and of Roman history occupied
the last thirty years of his life. His translations, &c., were published
in 30 vols. Learning proved its worth in his character and life.
1796. The British admiral, Sir FRANCIS GEARY, died, aged 86.
1799. JOHN HEDWIG died; a German botanist, whose researches respecting
the cryptogamia class of plants have established his name.
1807. Schweidnitz in Silesia surrendered to the French general Vandamme.
1810. British General PICTON tried for ordering Louisa Calderon to be
put to the torture. He was killed at the battle of Waterloo.
1812. Earthquake at Philadelphia; duration 30 seconds. It was also
observed in various parts of the United States to a less extent.
1813. Capt. FORSYTHE with 200 volunteers from Ogdensburgh, crossed at
Morristown to Elizabethtown, surprised the British guard and took 52
prisoners, 140 guns and some munitions, and liberated from jail 16
British deserters.
1821. The Caxton printing office, on Copperas-hill, Liverpool, the
property of Henry Fisher, totally destroyed by fire. It was the largest
periodical warehouse in Great Britain.
1823. ANNE RADCLIFFE died. She was born in London, 1764, and married at
the age of 23, William Radcliffe, editor of the _British Chronicle_. The
_Romance of the Forest_, her third novel, gave her much celebrity, and
the _Mysteries of Udolpho_ placed her at the head of a department of
fiction then rising into esteem. These works still maintain their place
among the more modern and fashionable productions of the kind.
1828. HENRY NEELE, an ingenious English poet and novelist, died by his
own hand, in a fit of insanity, supposed to have originated from too
intense an application to study. He was the son of an engraver, and
educated for the bar. His literary remains were published after his
death.
1834. CADWALLADER D. COLDEN, so favorably known as a philanthropist and
scholar, died at Jersey city.
1837. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS IV, ex-king of Sweden, died. He came to the
throne at the age of 14, on the assassination of his father, 1792; but
on account of his violent and impolitic conduct, he was deposed in 1809,
and his heirs excluded from the throne. He afterwards traveled in
different countries of Europe under different names, and died at St.
Gall in Switzerland. The latter years of his life were spent in poverty;
he was badly clothed and fed, and possessed only an annuity of £300.
1837. The royal palace at Naples took fire and was partially destroyed.
The library and the magnificent collection of paintings belonging to the
king were burnt.
1839. KARL AUGUST NICANDER, a recent Swedish poet of no small celebrity,
died.