1426 B. C. The 24th Nisan is marked as a feast in the Jews' calendar for
the death of Joshua. He was buried, full of honor, on the border of his
capital in Mount Ephraim.
1455. POPE NICHOLAS V, the friend of ancient literature and the
protector of the learned exiles of Greece, died.
1495. COLUMBUS with an army of 200 men, 20 horses and 20 dogs! commenced
a campaign against the natives of Hispaniola, who in consequence of the
excesses of the Spaniards had raised an army of 100,000 men to destroy
the colony at Isabella. The admiral spent a year in ranging the island;
and reduced it to such obedience that every inhabitant was subjected to
a quarterly tribute to the king of Spain in gold dust or cotton.
1545. Diet at Worms assembled. The protestants disclaimed all connection
with the council of Trent.
1564. PIUS IV issued a bull denouncing the perusal of certain books, and
establishing new rules by which to judge books.
1581. JAMES DYER, an eminent English judge, died. He was distinguished
for his learning and excellence; a volume of law reports which he left
in manuscript and were not published till 20 years after his death, have
been often reprinted.
1588 (1580?). Bombs first used at the siege of Wachtendonk in Holland.
The invention of bombs is disputed among several countries, and there
are good reasons for believing that some contrivance of the kind had
been made use of long before this event. Galen, bishop of Munster, is
said to have been the inventor of bombs; while Strada in his account of
the wars of the Low Countries, attributes the invention a few days
before this siege to an inhabitant of the town of Venloo, and that the
people of the city, wishing to exhibit it in presence of the duke of
Cleves, discharged a bomb, which falling on one of the houses, set fire
to it, and three-fourths of the town were destroyed before the flames
could be extinguished.
1603. ELIZABETH, queen of England, died, aged 70. She was the daughter
of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. On the death of Mary, 1558, she was
proclaimed queen, at the age of twenty-five, and held the sceptre
forty-five years with uncommon ability. Her reign was a period of great
prosperity for England. Her treatment of the queen of Scots can never be
defended, and some other foibles tarnish her fame; but the splendor of
her reign and the strength of mind displayed in the conduct of the
government overbalance those weaknesses which few crowned heads are
devoid of.
1638. CANONICUS and MIANTONIMOH gave Roger Williams a deed of
Providence.
1645. The parliament voted that the clause for the preservation of his
majesty's person should be left out of Sir Thos. Fairfax's commission.
This was a bad omen for King Charles.
1674. JONATHAN GODDARD, an English physician and chemist, died. He was a
favorite with Cromwell; but on the restoration his abilities were not in
sufficient estimation to preserve him from being disgraced. He was an
able writer and a liberal patron of learned men, and one of the
promoters of the royal society.
1698. JOHN EVELYN, distinguished as a poet and translator, died, aged
45. At the age of 15 he wrote the elegant Greek poem which accompanies
the second edition of the _Sylva_, written by his father.
1718. On the island of Lithy, India, there fell a ball of fire,
containing gelatinous matter.
1720. JOHN PERINGSKIOLL, a Swedish antiquary and historian, died. He was
professor of antiquities at Upsala, and secretary and councilor to the
king. His works amount to 17 vols. folio.
1726. DANIEL WHITBY, an English prelate, died. He was, like many of his
profession, totally unqualified for the common pursuits of business; but
was engrossed with matters of religion and learning. His publications
are more than 40 in number; one of which gave offence to the clergy and
was publicly burnt.
1730. The British parliament passed an act prohibiting any subject
lending money to a foreigner or other nation.
1740. The English Capt. KNOWLES took from the Spaniards the castle of
St. Lorenzo in South America; a large amount of spoil fell into the
hands of the conquerors.
1742. PETER SABBATHIER, a French Benedictine, died. He was engaged 23
years in making a collection of the Latin versions of the Bible, which
was published 1743 in 3 vols. folio.
1744. War between France and Great Britain declared.
1751. FREDRICK, prince of Wales, died.
1754. JOHN JAMES WETSTEIN, a learned Swiss divine, died. He traveled
through several countries of Europe to examine the various manuscripts
of the Greek Testament, and on his return to Basel published his
_Prologomena_; he was immediately persecuted as a Socinian, and
compelled to flee his country. He found protection at Amsterdam, where
he died.
1764. THOMAS SLACK commenced the _New Castle Chronicle_, a paper still
well sustained in England.
1773. PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, earl of Chesterfield, died, aged 79. He
was one of the most celebrated wits of his age, an eminent statesman,
political, epistolatory and miscellaneous writer. His _Letters_,
containing advice to his son, prove him to have been an excellent
scholar; but the critical reader will find that they insidiously
inculcate the loosest principles.
1773. STEPHEN LEAKE, an ingenious writer on coins and heraldry, died at
Thorp, England.
1776. JOHN HARRISON, an eminent English mechanic, died. He was the son
of an obscure mechanic, but made himself famous by the invention of a
time-keeper, in the form of a watch, for ascertaining the longitude at
sea, for which he received from parliament about $90,000.
1782. Spain acknowledged the Independence of the United States.
1782. A blockhouse situated on Toms' river, New Jersey, attacked by a
body of royalists. Capt. Huddy defended the place while his ammunition
lasted, and on surrendering was executed without a trial.
1783. ROBERT SAUNDERS, a self created LL. D., died. His _Notes on the
Bible_ profited him very little, though in a pecuniary point of view
they profited others.
1794. Insurrection of the Poles. The Russian troops evacuated Cracow,
and the patriot Kosciusko took possession.
1794. CHARLES PHILIP RONSIN, with a number of his _confreres_,
guillotined at Paris. The revolution brought him out from obscurity only
to display the natural deformity of his character. He was promoted to
the office of minister of war, and then to the command of an army. He
met his fate at the hands of Danton and Marat, who had raised him up.
1797. Battle in the passes of Eisach in Saxony, between the Austrians
under Gen. Laudohn, and the French, who captured 8 cannon and 1500
soldiers.
1801. PAUL, emperor of Russia, assassinated. His reign was remarkable
for its caprice and eccentricity.
1804. The county of Seneca, in Western New York, formed.
1838. THOMAS ATTWOOD, an eminent English musical composer, died, aged
73.