1098. Capture of Antioch, the capital of Syria, by the first crusaders.
The sword of Godfrey, says an eye witness, divided a Turk from the
shoulder to the haunch; and one half of the infidel fell to the ground,
while the other half was carried by his horse to the city gates.
1137. Cathedral of Rochester, in England, burned.
1162. THOMAS A BECKET made archbishop of Canterbury.
1594. JOHN AYLMER, a learned and benevolent English prelate, died. He
was tutor to lady Jane Grey, and more noted for his severity against the
Puritans than for his learning.
1609. MARY ELLIS died at Leigh, England, aged 119. Her inscription
informs the reader that "she was a virgin of virtuous courage and very
promising hopes."
1611. Lady ARABELLA SEYMOUR escaped from confinement in the tower of
London by stratagem.
1647. King CHARLES I of England arrested by Joyce with 500 cavalry, at
Holdenby.
1649. FARIA E. SOUSA, a Castilian historian and lyric poet, died. He
devoted himself with great ardor to literature, and wrote, by his own
account, 12 sheets daily. He labored 25 years on a commentary on the
_Lusiade_, which was prohibited by the inquisition.
1657. WILLIAM HARVEY, an English physician, died; celebrated as the
discoverer of the circulation of the blood.
1665. Naval action between the British fleet, 114 sail, besides fire
ships, under the duke of York and prince Rupert, and the Dutch under
admiral Opdam. The latter were defeated, with the loss of 19 ships sunk
or taken. The admiral's ship was blown up with himself and all the crew.
The English lost but one ship.
1689. Six captains with 400 men in New York, and a company of 70 men
from East Chester, joined Leisler in holding the fort at New York for
the prince of Orange.
1694. The duke of SAVOY, at the instance of England and Holland decreed
the free exercise of their religion to the Vaudois.
1732. EDMUND CALAMY died; an eminent English divine among the
non-conformists.
1740. JETHRO TULL died; celebrated as the first Englishman who bestowed
particular attention on agriculture, and endeavored to reduce it to a
science.
1759. Admiral RODNEY bombarded Havre de Grace, France, 52 hours without
intermission.
1769. Transit of Venus over the sun's disc. Capt. Cook sailed from
England to Otaheite with scientific men, to take an observation there.
As it had never been seen but twice before by any inhabitant of our
planet, and could never be seen again by any person then living, it
caused considerable excitement among the scientific in Europe. It was
also observed by our countryman David Rittenhouse, at Philadelphia.
1770. The city of Port-au-prince, St. Domingo, destroyed by an
earthquake.
1776. During the celebration of a wedding at Mantua, the floor of the
house gave way, and 66 persons were killed, among whom was the bride.
1780. THOMAS HUTCHINSON, a governor of Massachusetts, died. He published
a valuable history of the colony from 1628 to 1749, and a third volume
has been compiled from his manuscripts, extending it to 1774.
1788. Lord MANSFIELD, of England, resigned his chief justiceship of the
king's bench, a station he had occupied with distinguished reputation
for 32 years.
1789. PAUL EGEDE died, aged 81; author of an _Account of Greenland_, and
a zealous missionary there.
1790. Action between the Swedish and Russian fleets, in which the former
were defeated with great loss.
1802. Madame MARA, the celebrated vocalist, took leave of the English
stage.
1805. Peace concluded between the United States and Tripoli; the
American prisoners to be liberated.
1808. PHILIP SCHUYLER, an officer of the revolution, died at Albany,
aged 73. He possessed a mind of great vigor and enterprise, and was
characterized by integrity and amiableness.
1826. NICHOLAI MIKHAELOVITCH KARAMSIN died. He was one of the most
eminent Russian writers that country has yet produced.
1832. JEAN PIERRE ABEL REMUSAT died; a distinguished French orientalist,
and professor of the Chinese and Tartar languages in the college of
France.
1836. BARRY EDWARD O'MEARA died; formerly surgeon to Napoleon, and
author of _Napoleon in Exile_, and other works.
1840. The steam packet Unicorn, the first steam vessel from England to
Boston, arrived in the latter port in 18 days from Liverpool.
1844. ALEXANDER J. DALLAS, an American commodore, died on board his
frigate in Callao bay, having been in the naval service 39 years.
1848. Gunpowder explosion at Vera Cruz, by which several buildings were
injured and 20 persons killed, mostly women.