634. ABUBEKIR, father-in-law of Mohammed, the Arabian prophet, died. He
was elected caliph, and supported with energy the fabric already erected
by the founder of the new religion. He subdued the disaffected tribes at
home, and turned his arms successfully against foreign invaders.
1313. RALPH DE BALDOCK, bishop of London, died. He wrote a history of
British affairs, now lost, and was a virtuous and charitable prelate,
and a man of learning and judgment.
1322. BRUCE, after ravaging the western marches in England during 24
days, returned home with his wagons filled with plunder.
1411. Battle between the Gaelic and Lowland Scottish factions, led by
the earl of Mar, and Donald of the Isles. This battle was of the highest
importance, since it decided the superiority of the more civilized
regions of Scotland over those inhabited by the Celtic tribes, who
remained almost as savage as their forefathers, the Dulriads.
1520. HENRY STEPHENS, a celebrated French printer, the founder of the
family of that name, died at Lyons.
1527. FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, a Spanish traveler, returned from an expedition
to Africa. He accompanied an embassy from the king of Portugal to David,
king of Abyssinia, in 1515. The expedition met with many obstacles, and
did not arrive till 1520. He published an account of his travels at
Lisbon, 1540, a work of great fidelity and merit.
1567. Queen MARY, a prisoner in Lochleven castle, subscribed the
instrument by which she resigned the Scottish crown in favor of her son,
James VI, afterwards king of England.
1590. STEPHEN TABOUROT (_sieur des accords_), a French writer, died.
1595. ANDREW DE BRANCAS DE VILLARS, a French general, murdered. He
espoused the interests of the league against Henry IV, but afterwards
abandoned it, was taken prisoner and despatched.
1595. CHARLES DE LORAINE D'AUMALE, a French nobleman, broken on the
wheel at Paris, _in effigy_. After the assassination of the duke of
Guise, he became the head of the league against the Calvinists, and
secretly aimed at the throne. He even took possession of Paris, sent the
members of the parliament to the Bastile, and compelled the king to fly.
But meeting with reverses, he joined the Spaniards, was outlawed, and
the parliament being unable to take him, executed their sentence upon
his effigy. He resided principally in Flanders, till his death, which
took place at Brussels, 1631, at the age of 77.
1609. The expedition under Somers, (see June 2,) overtaken by a
tremendous tempest. The admiral ship was severed from the rest "by the
_tail_ of a mighty hurricane," but at length after having _drank to one
another_, "as taking their last leaves, intending to commit themselves
to the mercy of the sea, most luckily the ship was driven and _jammed
between two rocks_."
1712. Battle of Denain; the French under Villars defeated the allies
under Albemarle, who was taken, together with four German princes, and
many other prisoners.
1722. The wearing of broadswords prohibited in Edinburgh.
1744. ALPHONSO DE VIGNOLES, a French protestant, died. He retired to
Prussia on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, where he was
patronized by the king, and wrote several learned works.
1755. ELISHA WILLIAMS, president of Yale college, died; esteemed for his
learning and great moral worth.
1756. GEORGE VERTUE, an English engraver and antiquary, died.
1758. JOHN DYER, an English poet, died. In 1727 he published the poem of
_Grongar Hill_, and soon after he went to Italy to delineate the
antiquities of that country, under the title of the _Ruins of Rome_, a
poem which places him high on the scale of merit as a writer.
1759. Battle of Niagara. The English under sir William Johnson defeated
the French and Indians with great slaughter, and took fort Niagara. The
loss of this fortress effectually cut off all communication between
Canada and Louisiana.
1768. NATHANIEL LARDNER, an eminent English divine, died. His literary
labors, which have been published in 11 vols., were translated into
various languages abroad, and procured him great distinction at home.
1779. An expedition fitted out by Massachusetts to take a British post
at Penobscot, totally defeated by the unexpected arrival of the British
fleet. The troops were dispersed in all directions, and found their way
home with difficulty; 19 vessels were taken or destroyed, and 24
transports burnt.
1797. Unsuccessful attack of the British upon Santa Cruz, Teneriffe.
Lord Nelson lost his right arm.
1804. ADOLPHUS CHARLES ADAM, afterwards a distinguished musical
performer, born at Paris.
1813. An attempt made by several United States officers to blow up the
British ship Plantagenet, in Lynnhaven bay, with a torpedo. It exploded
without effecting their purpose, though so near the vessel as to injure
it.
1817. About mid-day, after a loud detonation, the lake Canterno, or
Porciano, in Italy, totally disappeared. A large opening was discovered
in the bottom, through which the waters were supposed to have escaped
into the sinuosities of the neighboring mountains.
1822. ERNEST THEODORE WILLIAM HOFFMAN, a Prussian novelist, died. He
possessed much imagination and talent, but was an irregular and unhappy
man.
1830. The thermometer at noon in Boston stood at 95°, at sundown at 50°,
and fires were made.
1833. Lisbon surrendered to the army of don Pedro, under the duke of
Terceira.
1848. An intended insurrection at Cuba; the government becoming apprised
of it, general Lopez, the head conspirator, escaped to the United
States.
1849. JOHN L. LAWRENCE died, aged about 67. He was one of the
secretaries who assisted at the treaty of Ghent; well known in the
councils and commerce of the state, and at the time of his death
comptroller of the city of New York.
1853. HEZEKIAH C. SEYMOUR, engineer in chief of the state of New York,
died at Piermont, aged 42. His name is prominently associated with the
New York and Erie rail road, and with the Ontario, Huron, and lake
Simcoe rail road in Canada.
1854. HENRY KING, a British general, died, aged 77. He had been a
soldier for sixty years, serving in the West Indies, Egypt, Walcheren,
and the Peninsula. In Egypt he lost a leg, but that did not prevent him
from subsequently taking part in the war.
1854. The American fishing vessel Ellen Morrill, was captured by the
British cruisers, and carried into the port of Bathurst, causing much
excitement among the fishermen.
1855. Violent and repeated shocks of an earthquake destroyed the Swiss
villages of St. Nicholas and Viege, during this and the preceding day.