590. PELAGIUS II, pope of Rome, died. In his time a plague raged at Rome
of so strange a nature, that persons seized with it died sneezing and
gaping.
1401. WILLIAM SAWTRY, a Lollard, condemned and burned to death at London
for heresy.
1448. A general poll tax of 6d. with 6s. 8d. on every merchant stranger,
and 20d. on their clerks, granted by parliament to Henry VI.
1542. CATHARINE HOWARD, fifth wife of Henry VIII, beheaded. The
execution of this ungrateful woman excited no commiseration, as she had
been the principal instrument in the accusations against Anne Boleyn,
her predecessor.
1554. JANE GREY beheaded, at the age of 17. She was the daughter of
Mary, youngest sister of Henry VIII, and a woman of uncommon beauty,
talents and learning, for her years, to which she added great amiability
of disposition, and fortitude of mind. Her disastrous fate created an
extraordinary interest in her favor, which has continued unabated. "Good
Christian people, you come here to see me die; not for any thing I have
offended, for I will deliver to my God a soul as pure from trespass, as
innocence from injustice."
1589. BLANCHE PERRY died, chief gentlewoman to Queen Elizabeth, and a
great lover of antiquities, besides a very tasteful writer.
1640. WILLIAM ALEXANDER, Lord Stirling, died; a dramatic poet and
statesman in the time of James and Charles I. His poetry, for purity and
elegance, is far beyond the generality of the productions of the age in
which he lived.
1660. General MONK, now reconciled to the citizens of London, drew up
his forces in Finsbury fields, makes an apology which is the signal of
rejoicing. Burning lamps the principal pastime.
1689. The parliament of England chose William and Mary king and queen.
1706. Battle of Fraustadt, in Prussia, in which the Saxons and
Muscovites under Gen. Schullemberg, were defeated by the Swedes under
Marshall Renschild.
1733. The colony of Savannah commenced, under Gen. Oglethorpe. This was
the first settlement in Georgia.
1744. The elector of Bavaria chosen emperor of Germany under the title
of Charles VII.
1746. Birthday of THADDEUS KOSCIUSKO, the Polish warrior.
1757. Peace concluded between the English and Sourajah Dowlah.
1771. ADOLPHUS FREDERICK II, king of Denmark, died. He was the founder
of the academy of belles-lettres at Torneo.
1782. The British surrendered the island of St. Christophers to the
French, under the marquis de Bouille.
1787. JOSEPH ROGER BOSCOVICH, an Italian mathematician, died at Milan.
He was also an elegant poet.
1789. GABRIEL BROTIER died at Paris; an illustrious and amiable
Frenchman, and one of the most distinguished ornaments of the
belles-lettres in that country.
1792. Battle on the plain of Morocco, between Yezid and Ishem, two
brothers, contesting for the throne. The forces of the latter, about
30,000, were defeated by about half the number under the former. Both
commanders were badly wounded. Ishem lost 1,300 killed, and 800
prisoners, who were all put to death by being nailed to the walls and
floors and left without food.
1793. JOHN MANLEY died, aged 60. He was appointed by Washington a
captain in the navy, was very successful in his captures, but was
finally taken prisoner by the British and confined in the Mill prison.
1797. ANTHONY D'AUVERGNE died at Lyons. He was director of the opera at
Paris, and an eminent composer.
1799. LAZARUS SPALLANZANI, an Italian writer, died. He is considered as
one of the greatest naturalists of that age.
1802. A messenger from England to lord Cornwallis was attacked by two
wolves near Boulogne, which tore off the lips of his horses.
1804. IMMANUEL KANT, a Prussian metaphysician, died. He was the son of a
harness maker in the suburbs of Koningsberg. He continued by persevering
industry to obtain a good education, and at the age of 22 successfully
attacked the doctrines of the most eminent metaphysicians of the day. He
was an original and profound thinker, as his numerous works attest: and
his philosophy has been taught in all the German universities except
some Catholic ones.
1807. Battle of Marienwerder, in Polish Prussia, in which the Prussians
were defeated by the French under Lefebre.
1808. Remarkable duel at Bonnau, in Austria, between the Bavarian
general Von Wrede, and a former Swedish minister, Von Duben. It was
occasioned by the latter having cast reflections upon the Bavarian
troops in 1805, in his dispatches to the Swedish government, and was
fought in presence of a vast number of people.
1810. Badajos in Spain summoned to surrender by the French marshal,
Mortier. The governor returned the summons unopened.
1814. Battle of Chateau Thierry, between the French and Russians, in
which the general of the latter, Fredenrich, was taken prisoner.
1814. General WILKINSON burned his barracks at French Mills.
1817. Battle of Chacabuco, in Chili, in which the patriots under San
Martin and O'Higgins, gained a decisive victory over the Spaniards under
Maroto. This, with the victory of Maypu, which occurred afterwards,
achieved the independence of the country.
1826. DEODATUS BYE, died. He edited _Cruden's Concordance_, _Diversions
of Purley_, &c. Some fugitive pieces in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ bear
his signature.
1831. Great solar eclipse (annular), visible in most parts of the United
States.
1832. The cholera made its appearance in London.
1834. FREDERICK SCHLIERMACHER, a celebrated Prussian divine, died. He
was professor of theology at Halle, and distinguished for the energy of
his character and the extent of his acquirements.
1837. EDWARD TURNER, professor of chemistry, London, died, aged 40. He
was an eminent chemist, a popular and much esteemed professor, and a
very exemplary and benevolent character.
1840. ASTLEY PASTON COOPER, a highly distinguished English surgeon, died
at London, aged 72. He was one of the first operators of his time, and
carried on a practice unexampled for extent and emolument in the annals
of surgery. His income from his practice was nearly one hundred thousand
dollars per annum. In one instance he received a fee of one thousand
guineas for an operation for the stone.
1855. The island of Cuba declared by the captain-general to be in a
state of siege, and the coasts and circumjacent waters in blockade.