13 B. C. AUGUSTUS CÆSAR assumed the office of high priest, in which
capacity he destroyed 2,000 books of prophecy, for want of authority!
1393. JOHN HAWKWOOD, an Englishman, died at Florence. He was bred a
tailor, but signalized himself so greatly in the wars in Italy, that he
was promoted to the highest posts; and after his death the Florentines
erected a block marble statue as an acknowledgment for the services he
had done them.
1521. MAGELLAN, in the service of the king of Spain, on his voyage round
the world, discovered the Ladrone, or Marian islands, and may be
considered as the first discoverer of that portion of the world called
Australia. This opened the way for the subsequent discoveries made in
that quarter.
1557. Lord STOURTON hung at Salisbury in a halter of silk, to mark his
dignity. His crime was the murder of two persons whom he had decoyed to
his house.
1577. REMI BELLEAU, one of the seven poets called the Pleiades of
France, died. He excelled as a pastoral writer.
1615. The yacht Halve Maan, 80 tons burden, in which Hudson entered the
river which bears his name, was wrecked and destroyed on the island of
Mauritius.
1716. Aurora Borealis first seen in England, and was gazed upon with
every degree of alarm till nearly three o'clock in the morning.
1754. PELHAM, premier of England, died suddenly in the meridian of life.
He was much opposed to the German alliances of the kingdom, but had not
influence enough in the face of a hostile court to break them up.
1762. The ghost that had for so long a time alarmed the people of
Cocklane, London, was detected.
1767. JAMES MALFILLASTRE, a French poet, died.
1781. Battle of Whitsell's mill, an important pass of Reedy fort creek,
in which the British were worsted.
1784. FRANCIS XAVIER HALL, a Jesuit, professor of belles lettres and
ecclesiastical law in several German universities, died.
1796. WILLIAM FRANCIS RAYNAL died. He was a French Jesuit, who
distinguished himself as a historian of the European settlements in both
Indias, and as a political writer.
1799. The French under Bonaparte took Jaffa by assault. The garrison
consisted of 1,200 Turkish artillery and 2,500 Magrubins or Arnauts who
were put to the sword.
1812. JAMES MADISON, an eminent American prelate, died, aged 63. His
great attainments placed him in the presidential chair of William and
Mary college at the early age of 28, and the reputation of the
institution advanced under his charge.
1815. LEWIS XVIII declared Napoleon Bonaparte a traitor and a rebel, for
having entered by main force the department of the Var.
1815. A great riot around the British parliament house, on account of
the corn bill. A great many lives lost.
1817. Insurrection at Pernambuco, Brazils, headed by Domingos Jose
Martins. The insurgents took possession of the town, and the governor
fled to Rio de Janeiro.
1822. Owing to a strong south-west wind the tide in the Thames near
London bridge was so low, that several persons forded the river and
picked up many valuable articles that had laid for years on the bottom
of the river.
1825. SAMUEL PARR, an eminent English divine and critic, died. He was
possessed of a prodigious memory, and in curious and elegant classical
knowledge he seems to have been at the head of the English scholars of
his day.
1838. VILETTE EASTON, a colored woman, died at Providence, Rhode Island,
at the age of 110.
1854. The block of marble sent by the pope as a contribution to
Washington's monument, was destroyed by unknown persons at night.