44 B. C. CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR, the Roman general, assassinated in the
senate house. He perished at 5 o'clock in the afternoon by 23 wounds. As
a _soldier_, he was unquestionably the greatest except one in the
history of mankind; his character as a _citizen_ is variously stated by
different factions. He is said to have fought 500 battles, conquered 300
nations, taken 800 cities, defeated 3,000,000 men, and slain 1,000,000
on the field of battle.
35. LONGINUS, the penitent, who is said to have pierced the side of
Christ, was killed at Cappadocia, probably in this year.
1079. A reformation in the Persian calendar effected by a general
assembly of the Eastern astronomers. It is called the Gelalean era, but
is only a renovation of that of Zoroaster, which had been neglected
after the fall of the Magian empire.
1527. Pope CLEMENT VII concluded a treaty with Lannoy, viceroy of
Naples, which the duke of Bourbon disregarded, and marched for Rome.
1573. MICHAEL DE L'HOSPITAL died. Few French statesmen were more liberal
than him. He narrowly escaped the Bartholomew massacre, and his
daughter, who had embraced the reformed religion was saved by the widow
duchess of Guise, who concealed her.
1617. THOMAS EGERTON, an eminent and learned English lawyer, died. He
was chancellor under James I.
1655. THEODORE MAYERNE, an eminent physician, died. He was born in
Switzerland, studied in France, and settled in England in the service of
James I, where he died.
1660. Dr. WREN, bishop of Ely, released after fifteen years'
imprisonment.
1665. JAMES, duke of York, established at Gunfleet the first regular
system of naval warfare in England.
1672. The famed act of indulgence, passed by Charles II, containing a
clause for liberty of conscience.
1743. JOHN BAPTIST MOLINIER died; a distinguished preacher and
theological writer of Toulouse.
1754. DENYS FRANCIS SECOUSSE, a learned Frenchman, died. He was one of
the first pupils of Rollin, and left the bar for the study of
literature.
1781. Battle of Guilford court house, in North Carolina, in which 4,400
Americans, principally militia, under Gen. Greene, were defeated by
2,400 British regulars under Cornwallis. Loss of the Americans 400
killed; British loss 532 killed.
1784. THOMAS FRANKLIN, an English scholar and divine, died. He was
possessed of no inconsiderable share of learning and poetical abilities,
and was long a favorite in the literary world; translated Sophocles,
Phalaris, Lucian and Voltaire, and is the author of a comedy and two
tragedies, which were received with great applause.
1798. Chenango co., N. Y., erected; and the following year (1799) Oneida
was formed.
1804. The Duke D'ENGHIEN seized by a party of French cavalry and hurried
away to Paris, where he was tried in the night by a military tribunal,
and condemned on vague and unsubstantial charges of carrying on a
correspondence with the enemies of the republic, and shot immediately.
1809. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS IV, king of Sweden, arrested and deprived of his
functions of government. (By some authorities, March 12.)
1818. HECTOR MCNEIL, a most deservedly popular poet of Scotland, died.
_Scotland's Scaith_ or the _Waes of War_, met with the unprecedented
sale of 10,000 copies in one month.
1820. Maine entered the confederacy of the United States.
1823. JOHN JERVIS, earl of St. Vincent, an English admiral died, aged
90. He entered the navy at the age of 10, and gradually arose to the
highest rank, and was raised to the peerage. His courage, skill and
activity rendered him an admirable officer.
1838. The city of Bahia, in Brazil, taken from the rebels or insurgents,
by the imperial troops, with loss of blood on both sides. The rebels
fired the city; about 3000 of them were taken prisoners.
1839. Battle of Tuspan; the Mexican government troops, (Centralists)
under Gen. Cos, defeated at Tuspan by the Federalists under Gen. Mexia,
with a loss of 300 killed and several hundred prisoners.
1840. JAMES RILEY, an American sea captain, died at sea, aged 63. He is
well known as the author of _Riley's Narrative_, which contains an
account of his captivity and sufferings in Northern Africa.
1856. The steam ferry boat, New Jersey, while crossing the Delaware from
Philadelphia to Camden, took fire and a large number of persons
perished.