235. ALEXANDER SEVERUS, emperor of Rome, murdered by his soldiers. He
was a Phœnician by birth, led an exemplary life, and governed ably
both in peace and war.
717. CHILPERIC, king of France, surprised in his camp, in the forest of
Arden, by the duke of Austrasia, afterwards Charles Martel.
1355. Pressing for seamen to man the English navy, commenced in the
reign of Edward III.
1521. Insurrection and massacre in the island of Majorca, in the
Mediterranean sea.
1584. IWAN IV, VASSILIVITZ, first czar of Muscovy, died. He was
denominated by the Russians the terrible, and by foreigners the tyrant.
1621. The complaint against lord BACON for corruption, drawn up by Sir
Edward Coke and others, presented to the house of lords. The chancellor
was sick, but addressed a letter to his peers, requesting them not to
prejudge his case from "any number of petitions against a judge that
makes two thousand decrees and orders in a year; but that he may answer
them according to the rules of justice, severally and respectively."
1626. PETER COTON, a French Jesuit, died. He was confessor to Henry IV,
whose confidence he possessed, and it was a common expression that the
king was good but that he had _cotton_ in his ears. He was distinguished
for eloquence and zeal.
1628. Patent for Massachusetts sold to Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young
and "four other associates in the vicinity of Dorchester, England."
1631. The original patent of Connecticut made by Robert, earl of
Warwick, to William, Viscount Say and Seal, Robert lord Brook and their
associates.
1643. Battle of Hopton-Heath, between the forces of Charles I, and those
of the parliament, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of a
great part of their artillery.
1643. SPENCER COMPTON, the friend of Charles I, killed at the battle of
Hopton-Heath. He was the only son of William, first earl of Northampton;
and refusing to accept quarter, was despatched by the parliament forces.
1687. DANIEL GOOKIN died; for many years superintendent of the Indians
in Massachusetts, whose interests he watched with so much zeal as to
draw upon himself the abuse of the populace, whose outrages he
constantly opposed. He published some historical collections of the
Indians in New England.
1688. JOHN DENHAM, one of the minor British poets, died. He was born at
Dublin, in 1615, and first became known in 1641 by his tragedy of _The
Sophy_. In 1643 appeared his first addition of _Cooper's Hill_, a
justly celebrated poem, of which Dryden says, for majesty of style is,
and ever will be, the standard of good writing.
1691. Col. HENRY STOUGHTER published his commission from the Duke of
York, appointing him governor of the province of New York.
1711. THOMAS KEN, chaplain to Charles II of England, died. He survived
several reigns, and in all, his firmness and consistency, added to his
piety and learning, procured him respect and patronage.
1719. An extraordinary meteor seen from all parts of Great Britain about
8 o'clock in the evening. Its light exceeded that of the sun at
noon-day. It exploded over the sea near the coast of Britany, at an
altitude it is supposed of about 30 miles. It broke like a skyrocket
into sparks of red fire, and was succeeded by a tremendous report.
1736. NICHOLAS HAWKSMOOR, died; an English architect of fame, pupil of
Sir C. Wren.
1755. A cluster of houses in the village of Bergemoletto, near Piedmont,
Italy, was overwhelmed by two vast bodies of snow that fell from the
neighboring mountain. Three women, the only occupants of the houses at
the time of the catastrophy, were dug out alive seven days after.
1759. NICHOLAS VERDIER, a French anatomist, died. His character as an
author and a man, are entitled to respect.
1781. CORNWALLIS retreated from Guilford court house, where he had
defeated Greene on the 15th; leaving at the quaker meeting house all the
wounded Americans he had taken, and about 70 wounded British officers.
1786. HUGH PELLISER, an English admiral, died. He was at the storming of
Quebec; and at the battle of Ushant, 1778, on which occasion a dispute
between him and admiral Keppel saved the French fleet from destruction.
1788. FRANCIS JOSEPH DESBILLONS, a French Jesuit, died. He devoted many
years to study, and at the abolition of his order published his
_Fables_, and some other works, and left in manuscript a history of the
Latin tongue.
1796. STEPHEN STORACE, an English music composer, died. His productions
are confined to the drama, and are remarkable for their spirit.
1797. Gradisca, a strong town in Austria, capitulated to the French
under Bernadotte and Serrurier; 3,000 prisoners, 60 cannon and 8
standards fell into the hands of the French.
1801. NOVALIS, (the literary name assumed by Frederick Von Hardenberg,)
died. He belonged to the religious society of Hernhutters.
1808. CHARLES IV, abdicated the throne of Spain in favor of his son
Ferdinand VII.
1809. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS IV, the deposed king of Sweden, signed a formal
deed of abdication. He assumed the title of count Gottorp.
1812. Constitution of the Cortez signed and proclaimed in Spain.
1814. SIMON SNYDER, governor of Pennsylvania, rejected the bill
establishing 40 banks. It however became a law, two-thirds of the
legislature having agreed to it.
1814. Rheims, in France, taken by the Russians.
1842. First newspaper at Flushing, Long Island.
1853. Nankin taken by the rebels; the Tartar garrison of 20,000 men
massacred, except 100, who effected an escape.
1853. Battle of Donabew, Burmah; the British under Gen. Cheape defeated
Mea Toon.
1855. An explosion took place in the Midlothian coal pits in Virginia;
of fifty persons in the pits 35 were killed and 10 wounded beyond
recovery.