1371. DAVID II of Scotland died. He was the son of Robert Bruce, was
taken prisoner by the English in 1346 and detained in the tower 10
years.
1609. FERDINAND I, grand duke of Tuscany, died. He was eminent for the
wisdom and energy of his government.
1630. The first day of public thanksgiving in Massachusetts. The day
had been appointed, for a general fast. No ship had arrived in a great
length of time, and their stock of provisions was nearly exhausted. At
this critical moment a vessel arrived from England laden with
provisions; and they immediately changed the day of public fasting into
one of public feasting. And it is quite probable that the day was
observed with something more than an outward show of thanksgiving on
that occasion.
1644. CHARLES I, having summoned a royal parliament, they met this day
at Oxford to the number of 44 lords and 118 commoners; the session was
opened with a speech from the king.
1674. JEAN CHAPELAIN, died. He attracted the notice of Cardinal
Richelieu by a preface which he wrote for the _Adonis_ of Marini.
Chapelain was talented and learned, obsequious and discreet, and these
made his fortune, for he could be of service to the cardinal, who had
the weakness to set up for a _bel esprit_. He became one of the first
members of the _Academie Francaise_, received a large pension, and
became the oracle of the poets of the time, and was universally
esteemed. It would have been better if he himself had not set up for a
poet. In 1630 he commenced an epic, _La Pucelle_. It was announced
twenty years before its appearance, and the public expectation was
greatly disappointed; it soon became an object of ridicule.
1717. Great snow in New England; 6 feet deep in Boston. It commenced on
the 20th, on which day Dr. Brattle was buried, and many who attended his
funeral were unable to get home for several days.
1731. FREDERICK RUYSCH, an eminent Dutch anatomist, died.
1732. Birthday of GEORGE WASHINGTON. He was the third son of Augustus
Washington, and was born at Bridges Creek, Va.
1744. Partial action off Toulon between the combined French and Spanish
fleets under M. De Court, and the British fleet under admirals Matthews
and Rowley. The Poder, a Spanish 60 gun ship, was burnt. British loss 92
killed, 185 wounded.
1746. WILLIAM COUSTON, director of the French academy of painting and
sculpture, died.
1766. British stamp act repealed.
1770. A mob, principally boys, attacked the house of Mr. Richardson,
Boston, owing to his having attempted to remove the mark set against the
house of one Lille, who had contravened the non-importation law.
Richardson fired upon the mob and killed Christopher Snider, a boy 11
years of age, who was recorded in the public prints as the first martyr
to American liberty.
1780. An ox roasted on the ice at Philadelphia, the ice being 17 inches
thick.
1782. The island of Montserrat surrendered to the French, under Count De
Grasse.
1787. The assembly of notables of France assembled.
1797. The French made a descent on Wales.
1806. JAMES BARRY, an Irish painter, died. He was patronized by Burke.
His greatest effort is a series of allegorical pictures in possession of
the Society of arts, London.
1809. LOUIS, count of Cobentzel, died at Vienna. He was born at Brussels
1753. He entered into the military service of Austria at an early age,
and was employed as an embassador to the court of Copenhagen before he
had attained his twentieth year; and was continued in that capacity at
some one of the European courts during the whole of his life.
1810. CHARLES BROCKDEN BROWN, an American novelist, died aged 39. He
holds a distinguished rank among American authors.
1810. The island of St. Eustatia surrendered by the Dutch to the
British.
1811. The British ships Cerberus and Active captured 22 vessels from
Otranto, with provisions and troops.
1812. Ogdensburg, New York, attacked by the British and Indians under
Frazer and McDonnell. Forsythe was compelled to evacuate it. The British
took 12 cannons, 1400 stands of arms, 300 tents, some provisions, and
all the vessels and boats. American loss 27; British loss 64 killed and
wounded.
1814. BLUCHER defeated by the French under Boyer; the former set the
bridge and town of Mery on fire and fled.
1816. ADAM FERGUSON, an eminent Scottish writer, died. He was sent to
America as secretary to the mission in 1778 to effect a reconciliation
between the two countries.
1835. JANE JARMON died near Wadesborough, N. C., aged 105.
1836. JOICE HETH died at New York; a blind negro woman, who had been
carried about the country as a show, under the pretence that she was 162
years of age and had been the nurse of General Washington. On a post
mortem examination it was found that she could not have been more than
80 years old.
1841. A land slide in the commune of Gregano in Italy, by which 113
persons lost their lives. The town of Reggio, in Calabria, nearly
destroyed by an earthquake.
1855. The San Francisco bankers suspended payment, causing a panic.