66. It was on the 14th of _Lous_, during the festival of Zylophory, or
wood carrying, at Jerusalem, to feed the perpetual fire at the sacred
altar, that the zealots destroyed the house of Ananias the chief priest,
and the palaces of Agrippa and Berenice, with all the public archives,
containing the bonds of debtors, "the nerves of the city."
1099. Jerusalem taken by the crusaders.
1420. Battle of Prague; 4000 Hussites under their celebrated leader
Zisca, repelled the Bohemian army of 30,000 under the emperor Sigismund.
1514. CHRISTOPHER BAINBRIDGE, an English archbishop, poisoned at Rome.
He was the envoy of Henry VIII to the pope, where he distinguished
himself.
1584. BALTHAZAR GERARD, the assassin of William prince of Orange, whom
he shot through the breast with a pistol as he was going out of his
palace at Delft, was executed in the same manner as Damiens (q. v.) and
died, in his own conceit, a martyr of the church of Rome.
1675. Mendon, Mass., attacked by the Nipmuck Indians, and several
persons killed. Mather says: "blood was never shed in Massachusetts, in
the way of hostility, before this day."
1678. The expedition under M. de la Salle set out from Rochelle,
consisting of thirty men, among whom were pilots, smiths, carpenters,
and other useful artists.
1683. MUSTAPHA, the grand vizier, sat down before Vienna with an army of
150,000 Turks, and opened the trenches.
1694. Bombardment and destruction of Dieppe, in France, by the English.
1699. WILLIAM BATES, an English non-conformist divine, died. He was
chaplain to Charles II, a man of great learning, and the intimate friend
of the first men of the kingdom.
1711. The prince of Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland, was drowned in his
coach while ferrying over the Hollandsdiep, near Moerdyk.
1719. BELL, the traveler, left St. Petersburg with Ismayloff the
ambassador and a numerous retinue for China. They took the route by
Moscow, Siberia and the great Tartar deserts, and did not reach Pekin
until sixteen months after their departure from the Russian capital,
having undergone great fatigue during the journey.
1741. EDWARD SYNGE, an Irish bishop, died. He distinguished himself for
above twenty years as an active and laborious parish priest; and his
tracts, written in a popular style, have been considered of so much
value as to require frequent editions.
1742. RICHARD BENTLEY, a celebrated English divine and classical
scholar, died. His editions of the ancient classics procured him a great
reputation for learning, but they were made the medium for retorting
upon his contemporaries, who assailed him on all sides.
1748. An eclipse of the sun observed at London. 10 digits eclipsed, and
Venus seen in a crescent form through a telescope.
1762. PETER III (_Fedrowitch_), emperor of Russia, died in prison. He
acquired the enmity of the nobility and clergy by trenching upon their
privileges, and introducing foreign customs, and was hurled from his
throne by a conspiracy, after a reign of six months, and probably
murdered.
1766. The grand junction canal commenced, uniting the Trent with the
Mersey, and opening a water communication with both the east and west
coasts of England. This great improvement was originated with Brindsley,
who is represented to have "handled rocks as you would plum pies, and
made the four elements subservient to his will."
1774. Captain FURNEAUX, who sailed in the discovery ship Adventure with
captain Cook, returned with the ship, having reached 67° 10´ north, and
circumnavigated the globe.
1776. WASHINGTON refused to receive a letter from lord Howe, addressed
to "George Washington, Esq.," and afterwards another addressed to
"George Washington, &c., &c., &c." The British lion, on further study,
gave his message the proper direction.
1780. CHARLES BATTEUX, a French philosopher, died; eminent for his
erudition and his private virtues, and author of several works on
classical literature.
1788. Congress ratified the constitution framed by the convention of
which Washington was president, and it went into operation the ensuing
March.
1789. Marquis DE MIRABEAU, an advocate of Quesnay's sect of political
economists, and author of _Ami des Hommes_, died. He was father of the
fiery orator, count Mirabeau.
1789. Destruction of the Bastile, at Paris. This awful fortress of
despotism, of which the name had for ages inspired terror, and which had
withstood a vigorous siege about two centuries previous, was invested by
a mixed multitude of citizens and soldiers. De Launay, the governor,
displayed a flag of truce and demanded a parley, but abusing the
confidence which that signal inspired, he discharged a heavy fire of
cannon and musketry on the besiegers. This act of treachery, so far from
intimidating the people, inflamed their rage and rendered them
desperate. They renewed the attack with frenzy, and carried the prison
by assault. The governor was seized and massacred, and his head carried
in triumph through the streets. The Bastile was razed to the ground, and
with it the despotism of the French monarchy fell prostrate in the dust.
It cost 200,000 livres to demolish this edifice to its foundations, and
the materials were sold for 36,000.
1790. GIDEON ERNEST LAUDOHN, an Austrian field marshal, died. He was
commander-in-chief of the Austrian forces, and so high was his
reputation, that Frederic the Great of Prussia admitted that he feared
nobody so much as Laudohn.
1790. Grand national confederation of France, at Paris, in the field of
Mars, when the civic oath was administered. Accommodations were made for
exhibiting at one view 350,000 persons on this occasion, in a vast
amphitheatre.
1791. Commencement of the Birmingham riots, which were occasioned by the
celebration of the anniversary of the French revolution, by some private
individuals. The destruction of property was very great; Dr. Priestly's
house, library, manuscripts and philosophical apparatus were totally
consumed.
1794. British squadron captured, on the American station, 14 sail of
French ships laden with provisions.
1795. The British took Simonstown, cape of Good Hope.
1796. The British post of Oswego delivered up to the Americans,
agreeable to treaty stipulations. The British had continued to occupy
stations within the state of New York since the revolution. As they
marched out the United States troops marched in, planted a standard on
the ramparts, and fired a salute of 15 guns.
1798. Congress passed the famous act for the punishment of sedition,
&c., against the United States, commonly called the _gag law_.
1798. Battle of Chebriessa, in Egypt, the French under Bonaparte
defeated the Mamelukes by land and water.
1807. GEORGE SAVILLE CAREY, an English dramatist and poet, died. He was
bred to the profession of a printer, which he left for the stage. His
writings all tend to awaken patriotic, generous and amiable emotions.
1808. Battle of Riosecco, in Spain; the French under Gen. Bessieres,
came upon the united armies of Castile and Leon, and defeated them in a
desperate action, in which 20,000 Spaniards perished. This calamitous
battle opened the gates of Madrid to Joseph Bonaparte.
1813. The United States schooner Asp, of twenty men and two guns,
attacked by five British barges; after a gallant resistance, in which
she lost ten of her men and her commander, she was abandoned to the
enemy.
1814. The British schooner Balaboo, of six guns, captured by the
American privateer schooner Perry of five guns, after a running fight of
fifty, and a close action, of ten minutes.
1817. ANNA LOUISA GERMAINE NECKER, baroness de Stael Holstein, died. Her
talents were so early displayed that she was said never to have been a
child, and she became distinguished at an early age as a writer, and by
the spirit of her conversation. She was banished twice by Napoleon for
attempting to thwart his government. Her works form 17 vols.
1834. EDMUND CHARLES GENET, a French statesman, died. He was a minister
to the United States in 1793, and when superceded he remained in the
country, and settled on the Hudson river.
1836. ISABELLA JAMES died at Montego bay, Jamaica, aged 110.
1848. A portion of the levee fell in at New Orleans, by which a number
of persons were drowned and much property destroyed.
1852. The college of the Holy Cross, at Worcester, Mass., destroyed by
fire, partially damaging the library, which was otherwise wholly saved.
1853. Com. PERRY landed at Japan, and delivered to the imperial
commissioners the letter from the American president.
1853. The crystal palace opened at New York, in presence of the
president of the United States, and many other dignitaries.
1854. Duc D'ECKLINGEN, second son of marshal Ney, died at Gallipoli. He
commanded a brigade of cavalry in the French army of the east.
1854. ABBAS PASHA, viceroy of Egypt, died at Benha, a small town on the
Nile. He had reigned over Egypt since 1848. He was very unpopular, and
under his rule the population decreased, and those that remained lived
in great wretchedness. The only remarkable work of his reign was the
commencement of the railway from Cairo to Alexandria.
1856. ENOCH LEWIS, a prominent member of the society of Friends, died at
Philadelphia, aged 81. He wrote much in explanation of the principles
and practice of his sect, was for many years editor of the _Friend's
Review_, and was also noted for his attainments in mathematics.