403. Battle of Pollentia and defeat of the Huns under Alaric their
leader.
1069. ABBA'D ABU' AMRU, surnamed the ornament of the state, died; a
Moorish king of Seville, who made extensive conquests of the neighboring
states, and was an extraordinary character in his day.
1208. Notwithstanding the pope's interdict, King John gave a receipt to
the sacrist of Reading, for books which had been in the custody of the
abbot of that monastery.
1315. RAYMOND LULLY stoned to death by the natives of Mauritania, in
Africa, whither he had gone to convert the Mohammedans, at the age of
80. He was born at Majorca, 1235, and became attached to the gay court
of James I of Arragon. He afterwards became the most celebrated chemist
and alchymist of his time. At the age of 30 he commenced the study of
theology for the purpose of converting infidels. He went over to Africa
to convert the Mohammedan doctors to Christianity, from whence he
narrowly escaped with his life. He made a second attempt several years
after, which resulted in his banishment from that region; but he
returned a third time, and was stoned to death.
1405. Prince JAMES of Scotland, on his passage to France, was seized by
an English corsair at Flamborough head, and conducted to the English
court.
1461. Battle of Towton, which decided the fate of the houses of York and
Lancaster. The battle commenced at break of day in a snow storm, and was
maintained with deadly obstinacy till three in the afternoon. It is said
38,000 bodies were left dead on the field, of whom the herald appointed
to number the slain, returned that 28,000 were Lancastrians. The duke of
York, who won the day, made a triumphal entry into York, where he
ordered the death of several prisoners, while Henry who lost his crown,
escaped with difficulty to the borders.
1562. PHILIP II of Spain and the Netherlands to prevent the circulation
of the scriptures and books favorable to the reformation, issued a
placard ordering the officers not only to visit the houses of
booksellers, but diligently to watch that no pedler went about with
books for sale.
1629. TOBIAS MATTHEWS, an able divine in the reign of James I, died. His
talents and worth raised him to the office of archbishop of York.
1644. Battle of Cherington, where the forces of Charles I, 14,000
strong, under Hopeton, were defeated by the parliament forces under
Waller.
1672. The test act of England passed, which required all officers of
government to receive the sacrament according to the church of England.
1675. A large body of Indians attacked the town of Providence, R. I.,
and burnt 29 houses. The records of the town were partially saved by
being concealed in a mill pond. The town did not recover from this
disaster in more than sixty years.
1689. THEOPHILUS BONET, a noted Swiss physician, died. He spent several
years at the best universities of Europe, in the study of his
profession, and became eminently successful. He published several
medical treatises in his old age, valuable in their day, for the facts
and observations which they contained.
1710. HENRY BASNAGE, a French lawyer, died at the Hague. He was a
member of the parliament of Rouen, who upon the proscription of the
protestants fled to Holland.
1726. JAMES PIERCE, an eminent English divine, died. He was attached to
a congregation of presbyterians; but becoming an Arian was expelled from
the desk.
1730. VINCENT HOUDRY, a French Jesuit, died, aged 99. He was an eloquent
preacher, and his writings comprise about 30 vols. His last moments were
embittered by the reflection that he could not be permitted to reach his
100th year!
1751. THOMAS CORAM, projector of the foundling hospital, died. He was
captain of a colonial trading vessel, and was prompted to this
charitable project, by frequently seeing children exposed in the streets
of London by the cruelty of their parents. He persevered in this humane
design 17 years, and at last obtained a charter by his sole application.
He was accustomed to spend so much of his time and money in charitable
services, that in his old age he was dependent upon the charities of
others, when his principal benefactor was the prince of Wales.
1772. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, founder of the New-Jerusalem church, died in
London, aged 84. His father was a Swedish Lutheran bishop, and the son
received a scientific education, and became eminent as a mathematical
and philosophical writer, was ennobled, and shared the favor of the
king. From the pursuit of philosophy he subsequently turned his
attention to heavenly things, and became equally celebrated for his
mystical reveries. His followers have multiplied in Europe and America
since his death.
1792. GUSTAVUS III, king of Sweden, died. He succeeded to the throne
1771. His reign was a turbulent one, in which all the arts and
stratagems to which he was obliged to resort, scarcely secured him in
power. He formed a plan for uniting Sweden, Russia, Prussia and Austria,
with himself at the head of the confederacy. While he was maturing his
plans, a plot was formed among his nobility for assassinating him. A
masquerade at Stockholm was chosen for the perpetration of the deed. He
was shot in the back by Ankerstroom, a disbanded officer.
1796. LA CHERETTE was executed; this closed the Vendean or civil war at
the commencement of the French revolution.
1797. The Mohawks relinquished all their claims to land in the state of
New York.
1799. The legislature of the state of New York passed a law for the
gradual abolition of slavery in that state, providing that every child
born of a slave after the fourth of July in this year, should be free
at the age of 28 if a male, and 25 if a female.
1807. The planet Vesta discovered by Dr. Olbers. Its revolution is
completed in 3 years, 66 days and 4 hours.
1809. Oporto, in Portugal, taken by the French under Soult, and pillaged
in spite of that general's endeavors to prevent it.
1814. BONAPARTE had his head quarters at Troyes, from whence he moved by
forced marches to Paris, by the road of Sens.
1815. BONAPARTE abolished the slave trade in the French dominions.
1829. The castle of Rumelia in Turkey surrendered to the Greek army
under Capo d'Istria.
1837. The _Akhbar Vekai_, (News and Events) the first Persian newspaper,
made its appearance at Teheran. It consisted of two closely written, and
lithographed pages, one devoted to oriental, the other to foreign
intelligence. Its conductor had been an envoy to London, whence he
carried home with him and executed the idea of a newspaper--the most
efficient missionary for the spread of civilization and intelligence the
world has ever known.
1844. E. PENDLETON KENNEDY, of the United States navy and commander of
the battle ship Pennsylvania, died at Norfolk, Va.
1848. JOHN JACOB ASTOR, founder of the Astor library, died in New York,
aged 80. He was a native of Germany, and during a residence of nearly 60
years in America, amassed a fortune of about twenty millions of dollars.
He landed in this country with a trifling sum in his pocket, and early
commenced business as a trader in fur, and when the state of New York
was a wilderness, made frequent voyages up the Mohawk, to trade with the
Indians. As his wealth increased, he enlarged his business until by the
formation of the American Fur Company, he was a competitor with the
great capitalists of Europe, the proprietor of the North Western and
Canadian fur companies. Such was his enterprise, that he extended his
business to the mouth of the Columbia river and formed the first fur
establishment there, known as Astoria. Several expensive expeditions
were fitted out by him, of overland journeys, to the Pacific, some of
which were executed by individuals with great suffering. For many years
previous to the war of 1812, and subsequently, Mr. Astor was extensively
engaged in the Canton trade, and during the war was so fortunate that
several of his ships arrived here with valuable cargoes in safety. The
profits on those ships were enormous. Mr. Astor made large investments
in American stocks, which he purchased during the war with Great
Britain, at sixty to seventy cents on the dollar, and which after the
peace, went up to twenty per cent. above par. His great estate, however,
accumulated more from the purchase of real estate, than from any other
source.
1849. The Lahore war being finished, the Punjaub was formally annexed to
the British crown.
1849. LOURIANA THROWER died in Georgia, aged 137. Her sight had failed,
20 years before her death, but returned, so that she could read the
finest print, and her faculties remained almost unimpaired.
1853. The Jail at Chesterfield, S. C., destroyed by fire, and 8
prisoners burned.
1853. A democratic conspiracy discovered at Berlin, in Prussia, and 86
persons arrested.