1452 B. C. AARON, the Jewish high priest, died on the first day of the
month Ab, at the age of 123.
1190. The crusaders under Richard Plantagenet and Philip de Valois,
amounting to 100,000 warriors and pilgrims, assembled in the plains of
Vezelai.
1270. LOUIS IX of France sailed from Aigues Mortes, on his fatal crusade
against the infidels of Tunis.
1413. PIERRE DES ESSARS, a French nobleman, executed. He served in the
Scottish army against England, 1402, and was taken prisoner. On his
return to France he became a statesman, but was suspected of some
political heresies, which forfeited his life.
1450. JACK CADE took possession of Southwark, and two days after entered
London, cutting the ropes of the draw bridge with his sword.
1520. CORTEZ secretly evacuated the city of Mexico with the remains of
his army. The Spaniards commenced their retreat a little before
midnight, which was soon discovered by the Mexicans, who assailed them
on all sides, so that it was with the utmost hazard of entire
destruction that they effected their escape, with the loss of 600
Spaniards and 4,000 allies. All their artillery, all the riches they had
amassed, the manuscripts of Cortez, were lost; together with 40 horses,
most of their prisoners, and the men and women in the service of the
Spaniards, were killed. It was one of the most horrible and disastrous
scenes on record, and acquired the name among the Spaniards of the
_noche triste_.
1555. JOHN BRADFORD, an English martyr in the reign of queen Mary, and
an eloquent preacher, burnt at Smithfield for heresy.
1582. JAMES CRICHTON (_the admirable_) assassinated at Mantua. He was a
native of Scotland, and altogether a most extraordinary character, about
whom authors differ also most extraordinarily, some even treating his
existence as fabulous. Urquhart places his death on the 27th February,
at the carnival.
1614. ISAAC CASAUBON, a celebrated Swiss critic and theologian, died at
London. Nearly all the ancient classics are indebted to his valuable
researches.
1626. Chaplains first appointed to each ship in the British navy.
1627. King CHARLES I of England dismissed his queen's French servants,
which occasioned a war with France.
1643. The great assembly of divines met at Westminster in the Jerusalem
chamber; 118 preachers and 26 laymen.
1676. New Jersey divided into East and West Jersey; the former granted
to George Carteret, the latter to William Penn and others.
1681. OLIVER PLUNKET, primate of Ireland, executed at Tyburn. It was
afterwards discovered that he was guiltless of the crimes imputed to
him, and that he fell a sacrifice to the intrigues of some of his
priesthood.
1690. Battle of the Boyne, in Ireland, which decided the fate of James
II and the Stuart dynasty, and established William III on the British
throne. The duke of Schomberg, one of the ablest generals of the time,
was killed, at the age of 82. Also the Irish rector, George Walker,
famous for his heroism. The forces of James were but 27,000, opposed to
36,000 strong.
1709. EDWARD LHUYD died; a celebrated antiquary and linguist, and keeper
of the Ashmolean museum.
1731. JOHN MONTGOMERY, governor of New York, died. He possessed a kind
and human disposition, and his death was much lamented.
1743. Action between the British ship Centurion, 60 guns, 400 men, Com.
Anson, and Spanish ship Acapulco, 64 guns, 550 men. The latter was
captured, with above a million and a half of dollars on board. Spanish
loss 67 killed, 84 wounded; British loss 2 killed, 17 wounded. (See June
15, 1744.)
1762. JOHN BAPTIST NOLIN, a French geographer, died at Paris.
1766. JOHN FRANCIS LEFEVRE DE LABARRE, a young French nobleman,
executed. A wooden crucifix had been defaced on a public bridge, at
which the bishop of Amiens was greatly enraged, and demanded a
disclosure of the perpetrators. Labarre was arraigned on the false
accusation of his enemy, Duval de Saucourt, and the indictment also
charged him with having passed a procession of monks without taking off
his hat. He was sentenced to have his tongue cut out, his right hand cut
off, and to be burnt alive. This sentence the parliament of Paris
commuted, by a small majority, into decapitation before burning. Labarre
was scarcely nineteen years old, and was one of the latest victims of
that religious fanaticism in France which led to the revolution.
Voltaire exerted himself as warmly against this infamous act, as he had
against the execution of Calas.
1780. Action off cape Finisterre between British ship Romney, 50 guns,
and French frigate Artois, 40 guns, 460 men. The Artois was captured in
45 minutes, 20 killed, 40 wounded; British 2 wounded.
1780. JOHN BELL, a celebrated Scottish traveler, died, aged 91. He
commenced his travels about the year 1714, in the employ of Peter the
Great of Russia, with whom he was on terms of great intimacy; and
extended his travels into many different countries; was afterwards for
several years a merchant at Constantinople, and finally in 1747 returned
to his native country to spend the remainder of his life in ease and
affluence on his estates of Antermony.
1781. Battle of Porto Novo, in Hindostan; 7,000 British under sir Eyre
Coote defeated Hyder Ally and 150,000 men. English loss about 400 killed
and wounded; Hyder lost many of his best officers and 4,000 killed.
1782. The marquis of ROCKINGHAM, first lord of the English treasury,
died. His merit was his patriotism, and his patronizing such men as
Burke, and bringing them into influence.
1798. Alexandria, in Egypt, taken by the French under Bonaparte, who
issued a proclamation, stating that he venerated God, the prophet, and
the koran, and more than the Mamelukes did.
1800. JEAN CLAUDE D'ARCON, a French general and engineer, died. He
invented the floating batteries, which were intended to reduce
Gibraltar.
1810. LOUIS BONAPARTE abdicated the throne of Holland, and retired to
Austria as a private individual.
1814. Peresque Isle surprised by the United States troops under
lieutenant Gregory.
1818. THOMAS BERNARD, founder of the British gallery, died. He was
eminent as a philanthropist.
1820. Toll first demanded and received on the Erie canal.
1832. Rite of suttee abolished in Hindostan by the British authorities.
1835. JAMES GIBBON, the hero of Stony point, died at Richmond, where for
several years he had been collector of customs.
1839. MAHMOUD II, sultan of Turkey, died in the 54th year of his age and
31st of his reign.
1839. About 150 Chippewa Indians treacherously massacred at the falls of
St. Anthony, and 20 on the St. Croix, by the Sioux, who had invited the
Chippewas to meet for the purpose of forming a treaty of peace. About 50
of the Sioux were killed.
1850. SERGEANT S. PRENTISS, a distinguished American lawyer, died, aged
40.
1853. ARTHUR LIVERMORE, a New Hampshire jurist, died at Campton, N. H.,
aged 87.
1854. WALDO J. BURNETT died at Boston, aged 25; a distinguished
physician and naturalist, and author of several tracts on medical
subjects.
1855. There was a second Sunday demonstration in Hyde park, London, by a
large and excited mob, against sir Robert Grosvenor's Sunday bill.
1856. A heavy gale on the coast of Labrador, when of a fleet of 30
vessels, 29 were driven on shore and lost.