1369. Corner stone of the bastile, (a name used to denote a fortress or
prison,) laid at Paris, by Hugues d'Aubriot, provost des marchands, and
the founder of the Huguenots. It was not completed till 1383. It was
demolished 1789.
1509. HENRY VII of England died. The victory of Bosworth field and the
death of Richard III left him in peaceable possession of the throne. He
was an able and wise king, but insatiably covetous.
1519. Cortez arrived at San Juan Ulloa, in Mexico, where he received
ambassadors from Montezuma, with rich presents, offering his services to
the Spaniards, but declining to receive their visits at his court; and
finally, after mutual messages and presents, refused to consent that
foreign troops should appear nearer his capital, or remain longer in his
dominions. "Truly this is a great monarch, and rich," said Cortez to his
attendants; "with the permission of God we must see him."
1522. Battle of Villalar; count de Haro defeated Padillo, chief of the
holy junta. Padillo was taken and executed next day, with John Bravo and
Francis Maldonado, two of his chiefs.
1555. Sienna, in Tuscany, reduced by famine, surrendered to the
Florentines, after a siege of 10 months.
1608. HUDSON sailed from England on his second voyage of discovery; but
returned after spending about four months in the search of a northwest
passage to England.
1638. WOUTER VAN TWILLER, having been superseded in the government of
New Netherland, leased the farm or bouwery No. 1, belonging to the West
India company, for three years, at an annual rent of 250 guilders
($100).
1697. Birthday of BELINDA CRAUFORD, who died in the beginning of June,
1812, aged 115, at Richmond, Galway county, Ireland. It is said that at
the time of her death she could read and sew without spectacles, and
what was more remarkable, looked as youthful as a girl of eighteen
years, had a blooming complexion, her eyes animated and lively, and
walked occasionally a distance of two miles to church.
1699. HANS ASSMAN VON ABSCHATZ, a German statesman and poet, died.
1699. JEAN RACINE, a French tragic poet, died. His pieces were received
with great applause, and he came to be generally preferred to his
contemporary Corneille, who had been previously looked upon as
inimitable.
1702. FRANCIS CHARPENTIER, a Frenchman of learning and abilities, died.
He greatly contributed to the noble series of medals struck in the reign
of Louis XIV.
1715. Total eclipse of the sun in England. It occurred at 9 in the
morning, when the stars appeared, and the birds sunk within their nests.
1730. A public library founded in New York.
1741. MATTHEW ELIAS, a painter, died; who, under the patronage of
Corbeen, rose to great eminence in his profession.
1751. One, OSBORNE, and his wife accused by a publican at Tring, in
Hertfordshire, England, of witchcraft, were brutally murdered by the
populace.
1758. ANTHONY DE JUSSIEU, an eminent French botanist, died. He traveled
over several countries of Europe in the pursuit of his favorite science,
which he greatly improved.
1764. EDWARD COBELEN, an eminent English divine and theological writer,
died. Although he enjoyed several clerical offices, he restricted
himself to a small income, on which he lived with simplicity and
contentment.
1792. ISAAC RENE GUY DE CHAPELLIER, a native of Rennes, in France, and a
zealous advocate of liberty, died.
1794. CHRISTIAN WILLIAM DE LAMOIGNON MALESHERBES, an able French
advocate and author, beheaded. After serving his country 25 years he
retired; but was recalled by Louis XVI to be minister of the interior.
When the unfortunate king was dragged before the revolutionary tribunal,
Malesherbes boldly appeared to defend him. He was himself condemned by
the same tribunal, and ascended the scaffold with his daughter and a
grandchild.
1796. Demerara and its dependencies in Guiana, surrendered to the
British.
1801. MURAD BEY, the celebrated Mameluke chief, died of the plague,
while descending the Nile to join the English. He was succeeded by
Tambourji, so named from having been a drummer.
1809. Battle of Eckmuhl, in which Bonaparte, having routed one division
of the Austrian army two days in succession, executed a variety of
movements, considered as among the most admirable displays of his
science, by which he brought the whole of his force upon the army of the
archduke Charles, which he had concentrated at Eckmuhl. The battle is
said to have been one of the most splendid which the art of war could
display. The Austrian army, of upwards of 100,000 men, were dispossessed
of all their positions, by the combined attack of the French, whose
divisions appeared on the field, each in its due place and order, as
regularly as the movements of the various pieces in the game of chess.
The battle commenced at two in the afternoon and continued till
nightfall. It resulted in the complete overthrow of the Austrians; all
their wounded, a great part of their artillery, fifteen stands of
colors, and 20,000 prisoners, remained in the power of the French to
which their loss in the field may be added. Their retreat was also
attended with corresponding loss.
1826. Missolonghi taken by the Turks. It had been besieged several
months, and was reduced to a heap of ruins by continued bombardments.
The heroic garrison forced a passage through the besiegers, leaving the
sick, aged and wounded in a mill containing a quantity of powder. An old
wounded soldier took his seat on the mine, and fired it as soon as the
Turks entered.
1829. Lepanto surrendered by capitulation to the Greeks.
1839. THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY, an English lyric poet, died. He is the author
of about 30 plays, and many beautiful and popular songs.
1846. The Chilian ship Maria Helena arrived at Edgartown, Mass., from
Valparaiso Dec. 7th; said to have been the first Chilian ship that ever
visited the United States.
1850. The last publication of the bans of marriage in Massachusetts. It
was the case of a black man who declared his intention to marry a white
woman.
1853. An insurrection attempted at Freiburg, in Switzerland, by the
Jesuit party; but was soon suppressed, with some loss of life.
1854. Odessa was bombarded by the allied fleets, and in ten hours a
large part of the city was laid in ruins.