1208. The pope laid the churches of England under an interdict. King
John in retaliation banished the bishops that obeyed.
1534. CLEMENT VIII issued his bull rescinding Cranmer's sentence, and
confirming Henry VIII's marriage with Catharine; in consequence of which
the pope's authority was abolished in England, and the king declared the
supreme head of the church.
1556. JULIUS III (John Marie du Mont), pope of Rome, died. He is
notorious for having dissolved the council of Trent, and is
characterized as a weak and narrow-minded pontiff, little calculated to
uphold the dignity and power of his office.
1606. JUSTUS LIPSIUS died; a most acute and learned Flemish critic and
commentator on ancient authors. His works were published in 6 vols.
folio.
1621. JOHN CARVER, first governor of Plymouth colony, died. He was among
the English emigrants to Leyden; and when a removal to America was
contemplated, he was sent over to negotiate for a suitable territory. He
conducted the affairs of the colony with great prudence, and discovered
great address in the management of the natives.
1650. The English army commanded by Oliver Cromwell, laid siege to the
town of Kilkenny in Ireland. The defence was obstinate, but the garrison
surrendered in a few days.
1776. ROBERT JAMES, an English physician, died; known as the inventor of
James' Fever Powders, a preparation which has acquired great celebrity
and proved an inexhaustible source of opulence to his family, and
benefit to the public.
1776. Congress issued letters of marque and reprisal against England.
1777. The British under Bird landed at Peekskill on the Hudson river for
the purpose of seizing the military stores; but on the news of his
approach the guard stationed there under Gen. McDougal, fired the
principal store houses and retired.
1793. Spain declared war against England.
1797. The French under DUGUA entered Trieste, the most important seaport
town of Austria; at the same time another French army took possession of
the mines of Ydria.
1801. PETROWITZ PAUL, emperor of Russia, assassinated. He was the son of
Catharine II, who treated him with great rigor, during her life. In 1780
he traveled with his wife through the southern part of Europe under the
title of _Count of the North_. In 1796 he ascended the throne, and
among the first of his acts were the discontinuance of the Persian war,
and the liberation of the Poles confined in Russia. But his conduct was
suddenly reversed, and his indiscretions and tyranny finally produced a
conspiracy among the nobles, by which it is supposed his sons were
accessory to his death. In the official publication of his death, it was
ascribed to apoplexy.
1806. The exploring party under Captains Clarke and Lewis, left fort
Clatsop on their return up the Columbia river to the United States.
1808. MURAT, at the head of 40,000 French soldiers, taking advantage of
a faction among the populace, entered Madrid and took possession of it.
1809. THOMAS HOLCROFT, an English dramatic writer, died. His father was
a shoemaker in low circumstances, which occupation the son also followed
till he resolved to try his fortune on the stage. Besides his dramas he
produced several novels and translations from the German and French. He
suffered imprisonment for republicanism, with Tooke and others.
1815. Action off the island of Tristran d'Acunha, between the United
States brig Hornet, 16 guns, Capt. Biddle, and the British brig Penguin,
18 guns and a 12 pound carronade, 132 men, Capt. Dickinson. Capt.
Dickinson was killed and the Penguin captured in 22 minutes; she was so
much injured that it was found necessary to sink her. Penguin had 14
killed, 28 wounded; Hornet 1 killed, 11 wounded. After the surrender a
British soldier wounded Capt. Biddle in the neck with a musket ball; he
was immediately shot by two of the marines.
1819. AUGUST FREDERICK VON KOTZEBUE, a celebrated German dramatist,
assassinated at Manheim. _The Stranger_ and _Pizarro_ are translated and
popular at our theatres. His works are numerous. He was assassinated by
a fanatical student named Sandt, who at the same time stabbed himself;
but recovered and was beheaded.
1840. WILLIAM MACLURE, a distinguished naturalist, formerly of
Philadelphia, and twenty years president of the academy of natural
sciences in that city, died near the city of Mexico. He wrote on the
geology of the United States and the West Indies.
1849. BENJAMIN SIMPSON died at Saco, Maine, aged 94; one of the party
engaged in throwing the tea overboard in Boston harbor, at the opening
of the revolution.
1849. CHARLES ALBERT, king of Sardinia, in consequence of his defeat by
the Austrians, abdicated his crown in favor of his eldest son, the duke
of Savoy.
1849. ELIZABETH HUGHES, well known in England as a fortune-teller and
familiar with angels, died at Fowdon in her 89th year.
1850. JOHN W. WEBSTER, professor of chemistry in Cambridge university,
found guilty of the murder of his friend Benjamin Parkman; a case which
excited community for a long time.
1854. A treaty of commerce concluded between Commodore Perry of the
United States squadron, and the emperor of Japan.