1119. HENRY I of England obtained a great victory over the Normans at
Brenville.
1291. All the Italian merchants in the realm of France, called money
lenders, seized by order of Philip the fair, for their ransoms.
1308. ALBERT I, emperor of Germany, assassinated by his nephew, John,
duke of Swabia. The Swiss were led by his oppressions to assert their
liberty.
1515. HENRY VIII and queen attended by nobles went a maying and were
entertained by the noted forester Robin Hood.
1517. A riot among the London apprentices, against foreign artisans,
which resulted in the death and mutilation of many of the latter,
principally Frenchmen. It commenced at 9 o'clock in the evening, and
continued till 3 in the morning. The exertions of the city authorities,
who had notice of the meditated riot, were unable to prevent or quell
it. The next morning, several hundred youths, from 13 years upwards,
were arrested, and ten gallows, constructed to move from street to
street, prepared for their execution. The ring leaders were drawn,
hanged and quartered; when an order came from the king to suspend the
execution, and the remainder were pardoned.
1557. England made her first commercial treaty with Russia.
1607. HENRY HUDSON sailed from Gravesend on his first voyage for the
discovery of a northwest passage to India. In this voyage he discovered
the island of Spitzbergen.
1619. The famous Calvinistic convocation, the synod of Dort, caused
their decrees to be publicly read, and dissolved the council. (May 9?
29?)
1637. A court was summoned at Hartford, Conn., to take measures to
secure the colony against the depredations of the Pequot Indians. They
determined that an offensive war should be carried on against them, and
voted to raise 90 men! The Pequots then numbered 5000 fighting men.
1660. The convention parliament having heard Charles's letters read by
sir John Granville, voted that the government of England should be by
king, lords, and commons.
1683. ROBERT FITZGERALD received a patent in England for making salt
water fresh.
1701. JOHN DRYDEN, an illustrious English poet, died. "What he has done
in any one species or distinct kind of writing would have been
sufficient to have acquired him a great name."
1703. Battle of Pultusk, in Poland, in which the Swedes under Charles
XII defeated 10,000 Poles.
1707. Union of England and Scotland consummated.
1708. CLAUDE DE VERT died; he devoted much attention to the ceremonies
of the church of Rome, of which he wrote a history.
1727. FRANCIS PARIS, a French ecclesiastic, died. He retired from
office, bestowing his property upon his brother, in order to devote
himself to the austerities of a religious life. After his death crowds
flocked to his grave to touch his holy monument, till the authorities
caused the church yard to be shut.
1737. JOHN ALPHONSUS TURRETINI died; professor of ecclesiastical history
at Geneva, distinguished for his learning.
1755. JOHN BAPTIST OUDRI died; an admired French painter.
1760. WILLIAM DUNCAN died; an ingenious Scottish critic, professor of
philosophy at Aberdeen, and translator of _Cæsar's Commentaries_.
1771. LOUIS PETIT DE BACHAUMON died; a native of Paris, known as the
author of several literary works.
1772. GOTTFRIED ACHENWALL, an eminent German lecturer on statistics,
history and the laws of nature, died at Göttingen.
1774. WILLIAM HEWSON died; an eminent English anatomist, and medical
author.
1775. ISRAEL LYONS died; a celebrated English mathematician.
1776. Dr. ADAM WEISHAUPT, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, founded
the secret society of the illuminati.
1785. MILES COOPER died; a learned English divine and poet.
1786. GIBBON concluded the fourth volume of his _History_, immortal as
its subject.
1789. The states general of France met at Paris, convened by the king to
calm the troubles of the state, which he had not power to quell, and
which had now assumed a menacing appearance towards royalty itself.
1790. Indian war commenced between the British and Tippo Saib, sultan of
Mysore.
1807. Slave trade in the West Indies proscribed in the British
parliament.
1808. A volcano broke out in the island of St. George, one of the
Azores. A crater was formed in the centre of the island, amidst fertile
pastures, 3,500 feet in height, and this beautiful island, before rich
in cattle, corn and wine, became a scene of ruin and devastation.
1809. GOTTLIEB CONRAD PFEFFEL, one of the best poets of Germany, died.
He became blind at the age of 21, a misfortune which he bore more than
80 years, and rendered himself a useful citizen by conducting a school
where many excellent scholars were educated.
1813. British and Indians opened their fire upon fort Meigs, from a 24,
a 12 and a 6 pounder, and a howitzer. They fired 260 shot, and wounded 8
men, 1 mortally.
1813. JOHN BAPTIST BESSIERS, duke of Istria, killed. He distinguished
himself under Napoleon, by whom he was greatly lamented. He was killed
in the combat that preceded the battle of Lutzen.
1813. JAMES DELILLE, one of the most celebrated of modern French poets,
died.
1814. PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT, a distinguished revolutionary patriot, died
at his seat at Croton river, aged 94. He was a member of the first
provincial congress, and eighteen years lieutenant governor of the state
of New York.
1823. The skeleton, entire, of a mammoth, was discovered at Ilford, in
Essex, England.
1830. The Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the
first steam boat that ascended that river.
1837. An official return stated that there were 70,000 English residents
in France, and over 24,000 in Paris alone.
1838. Battle of Rio Pardo, in Rio Grande, between the troops of the
emperor of Brazil, about 1,800 in number, and the republican forces; the
former were completely routed.
1839. HERBERT MARSH, professor of divinity in the university of
Cambridge, England, died. He was the author of many learned theological
works and controversial publications.
1848. Insurrectionary movements at Rome in consequence of the pope's
refusal to declare war against Austria.
1854. Great flood in the Connecticut valley; the water was 29½ feet
above low water mark, and 2½ feet higher than during the great flood
of 1801. Hundreds of persons were driven from their dwellings and
drowned.
1855. The French under Gen. Pelissier carried the Russian works at
Sebastopol, in front of the central bastion, and held them against
vigorous sorties, taking eight small mortars, and 200 prisoners.
1855. An extraordinary eruption of mount Vesuvius commenced, which in
ten days had advanced ten miles from its original source.
1856. OGDEN HOFFMAN, a distinguished member of the New York bar, died,
aged 62. He served as a midshipman in the last war with Great Britain,
after which he studied law, and took the front rank in his profession,
and showed an eminent fitness for the public offices which he filled.
1856. GEORGE JAMES GUTHRIE, an eminent British surgeon, died in London,
aged 71. He published several valuable works on surgery.