1262. HUGO DE ST. CARO, a Dominican, died. He deserves to be placed in
the first rank of sacred critics and patrons of literature. The
Dominicans are indebted to him for their celebrated _Correctorium
Bibliorium_, and the first concordance of the Bible, that is of the
Latin Vulgate; a comment on the old and new testament, and for the
division of the Bible into chapters. He undertook to procure a union of
the Greek and Roman churches.
1369. PETER THE CRUEL, king of Castile, killed. He manifested the most
wanton inhumanity in his private and public life, by which he became
odious to the people, and was killed by his brother.
1471. EDWARD IV of England returned from exile, and landed at Ravenspur;
in his bonnet he wore an ostrich feather as prince of Wales; and his
Fleming followers carried hand-guns, which is the first account of them
in England.
1519. FERNANDO CORTEZ, having taken possession of the Indian town of
Tabasco on the day of his landing in the country of Mexico, now marched
out with his troops to a plain, where he was attacked by an immense body
of Indians, who wounded above seventy of his soldiers at the first
discharge of their weapons. The Spanish artillery did great execution,
but when the cavalry came to the charge, the Indians, imagining the
horse and rider to be one, were extremely terrified, and fled to the
woods and marshes, leaving the field to the Spaniards.
1640. MANASSES DE PAS died; a French general, distinguished for his
valor. His abilities were equally displayed in the cabinet, as
ambassador to the courts of Sweden and Germany. He died of the wounds he
received at the siege of Thionville.
1644. ROGER WILLIAMS having been sent to England as agent for Rhode
Island and Providence, obtained of the earl of Warwick a patent for the
incorporation of the towns of Providence, Newport and Portsmouth, with
the power of governing themselves, but subject to the laws of England.
1660. WILLIAM LEDRA, a quaker, hanged by the puritans of Massachusetts,
on conviction of having returned from banishment, to which he had been
condemned for his faith.
1676. Attack on Northampton, Mass., by a body of Narraganset Indians, of
Philip's party. The town had been fortified by palisades, set up a
little while before for their better security against the savages. The
Indians broke through these in three places, and succeeded in killing
six persons and firing a few dwellings; but a company of soldiers being
at that time quartered in the town, the enemy were speedily repulsed
with the loss of many of their lives.
1710. MICHAEL BEGON, a French _avocat_, died. He also distinguished
himself in the marines, and as governor of the French West India
islands.
1712. MARY, countess of Falconberg, daughter of Oliver Cromwell, died.
She possessed great beauty, spirit and activity; and on the deposition
of her brother, exerted herself for the restoration of Charles II.
1745. Fort Augustus blown up by the forces of the pretender to the crown
of England.
1754. PETER CLAUDE NIVELLE DE LA CHAUSSE, an admired French poet, died.
Though favored by fortune, he preferred the honors of literature to all
other distinctions, and acquired celebrity by his dramatic pieces, which
possess great merit.
1757. JOHN BYNG shot at Portsmouth. He served under his father admiral
George Byng, and rose to the same rank himself. His attempt to relieve
Fort St. Philip in Minorca proving abortive, when blockaded by a French
fleet under La Glassionere, and his hesitation in engaging the enemy
when a bold attack might perhaps have gained him the victory, excited
the clamor of the nation against him, and he was doomed to meet the
penalty of cowardice.
1758. GENERAL WADE died. In 1715, he commanded against the forces of the
pretender to the throne, and remained in Scotland as commander-in-chief
after the war was ended. It was during this period that he cut the
celebrated military road through the highlands, which facilitated the
improvement and civilization of the country more than all the measures
resorted to before the reign of George I. It was he who introduced the
bill into parliament which disarmed and changed the dress of the
highlanders.
1793. Battle of Tirlemont, in which the prince of Saxe Coburg defeated
the French under Dumourier, who lost 33 cannon and 3,000 men.
1795. Action off Genoa between the British and French fleets, in which
the latter were defeated, with the loss of the Caira, 80 guns, 3,000
men, and the Censeur, 74 guns, 1,000 men.
1799. WILLIAM MELMOTH died. He distinguished himself as the translator
of the Epistles of Pliny and Cicero, and was the author of poems,
letters and memoirs.
1800. DAINES BARRINGTON, an English lawyer, antiquary, and miscellaneous
writer, died. He abandoned his offices, which he discharged with great
dignity, to devote himself to literary pursuits, which he loved. His
writings are numerous.
1803. FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK, died. He was born at Quedlinburg,
1724; studied the languages, became familiar with the classic writers,
and formed the resolution of writing a great epic poem. In 1745 he
studied theology at Jena, where he commenced in solitude the first canto
of _The Messiah_. This work he finished about 1790. It procured him
great celebrity in the north of Europe, so that he was received with
great respect and veneration wherever he went. His funeral was attended
by the principal men of Hamburg, in 126 carriages.
1813. Delaware river blockaded by the British ships Poictiers,
Belvidere, &c.
1813. On this and the preceding day snow and hail of a red color, with
much red dust and red rain fell over all Tuscany.
1823. General DUMOURIER, a name that fills some interesting pages of
modern history, died in his 85th year, at Turville park, near London.
1835. Treaty with the Cherokee Indians, by which they ceded all their
lands east of the Mississippi, and agreed to retire to a territory
guarantied to them in Arkansas, in consideration of the sum of
$5,262,251.
1836. JOHN MAYNE, a Scotch poet, died near London, at an advanced age.
His chief poem is _The Siller Gun_, four cantos.
1854. Steam boat Reindeer burst a flue at Cannelton, Indiana, by which
50 persons were killed.
1855. The new suspension bridge at Niagara falls crossed for the first
time by a locomotive and train of cars.