479 B. C. The fatal battle of Platea, between Mardonius the Persian and
Pausanius the Spartan general. The other sanguinary victory over the
Persians, on the promontory of Mycale was achieved the same day, third
of Boedromion.
431 B. C. An eclipse of the sun noticed by Thucydides, eight days after
the first invasion of Attica under Archidamus, king of Sparta, at the
head of 60,000 Peloponesian confederates, and whilst Pericles was in the
act of embarking against Epidaurus, the sacred city.
678. A morning comet, shaped like a fiery pillar, seen in England. It
was visible during three months, and caused the conversion of the South
Saxons from paganism.
1274. EDWARD I landed in England from Palestine. He sailed from his
winter mansion, Trepano, Sicily, on the 20th April, 1271.
1414. JAMES I of Scotland conveyed from the tower to Windsor; there this
bird of song was _wired in_ for three years.
1460. JAMES II (_with the fiery face_), king of Scotland, killed by the
bursting of a gun, aged 29, after a reign of 24 years.
1492. COLUMBUS embarked in the carack Santa Maria, with two other
vessels and 120 persons, from the Isle of Saltes, against Palos, in
Andalusia, to find a western continent.
1546. STEPHEN DOLET, a learned Frenchman, a painter and a bookseller,
burnt at Lyons for atheism.
1554. The first letter in Europe known to have been sealed with sealing
wax bears this date, and was written at London, addressed to the
rheingrave Philip Francis von Daun, from his agent in England, Gerhard
Hermann. The wax employed in sealing this letter is of a dark red color,
very shining, and the impress bears the initials of the writer.
1554. Battle of Marciano; the troops of Cosmo de Medici, under Medicini,
defeated the French under Peter Strozzi, a Florentine nobleman, who was
wounded.
1592. The English earl of Cumberland captured a Spanish carack, Madre de
Dios (Mother of God), valued at $150,000.
1612. JOHN BOND, a learned English commentator on the Latin classics,
died.
1645. Battle of Nordlingen; the allies under Merci, defeated by the
French under Turenne, Conde and Grammont. Merci was killed and Grammont
taken prisoner.
1672. JOHN FRANCIS SENAUDT, a Dutch theological writer, died.
1692. Battle of Steenkerken; the English under William III defeated with
great slaughter by the French.
1712. JOSHUA BARNES died; an eminent English critic and professor of
Greek. He wrote the _Life of Edward III_, and several Latin and English
poems.
1715. A cobbler of Highgate, London, was whipped from Holloway to that
place for reflecting on the government.
1720. N. HEINSIUS, an eminent Dutch statesman, died. He was 30 years
grand pensionary of Holland, and exerted the energy of his mind and the
resources of his country to abridge the power of the French monarch.
1721. GRINLIN GIBBON died, an eminent English sculptor and carver in
ivory and wood. The place or country of his birth is not known. He was
discovered by sir John Evelyn, who walking by accident near a poor
solitary thatched cottage, had the curiosity to look in at the window,
when he saw him carving a large cartoon or crucifix of Tintoret, a copy
of which Evelyn himself had brought from Venice. His performances in
marble and ivory were so very fine, that they often required to be
defended by a glass case. Many of his flower pieces are light almost as
fancy, and shake to the rattling of passing carriages. There is no
instance before him, says Walpole, of a man who gave to wood the loose
and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various
productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each
species.
1732. The first stone laid of the bank of England.
1761. JOHN MATTHEW GESNER, a German scholar and critic, died. He
published several valuable editions of the classics.
1763. THOMAS GODFREY, an American poet, died, aged 27. He was a
watchmaker, and said to have been the real inventor of Hadley's
quadrant.
1768. THOMAS SECKER, archbishop of Canterbury, died; whose lectures and
sermons are masterly compositions.
1777. Fort Schuyler, at the head of the Mohawk river, invested by the
British, about 1,800, under St. Leger. The garrison consisted of 600
continentals under general Gansevoort, who maintained their position
till the British abandoned the siege and returned to Canada, leaving
their tents standing; their artillery, and ammunition and provisions
fell into the hands of the Americans.
1780. STEPHEN BONNOT DE CONDILLAC, a distinguished French philosopher,
died. His works are characterized by great clearness and sagacity, and
were published in 1798 in 35 volumes.
1783. A new eruption of the Skaptar Jokul, in Iceland, poured forth
fresh floods of lava, which taking different directions from the others,
filled the bed of a river, and formed a large lake. By this single
eruption, 9,000 persons lost their lives, being nearly one-fifth of the
whole population of the island. This volcano, which commenced on the
11th June, continued for two years, and the lava was not cooled in some
places, when visited eleven years after.
1787. JOHN BAYNES, an English politician, died, aged 29. He was
distinguished for his early attainments and devotion to the cause of
liberty.
1788. LOUIS FRANCOIS ARMAND DU PLESSIS DE RICHELIEU, marechal of France,
died, aged 93. He had the courage, the fortune and the talents of a
great general, the sagacity, prudence and penetration of a great
statesman; but with these and many amiable qualities he chose to be
nothing but a common courtier.
1792. RICHARD ARKWRIGHT died; inventor of the spinning jenny, one of the
most useful machines in the world. He was originally a barber, but his
invention enabled him at his death to leave a property worth £500,000.
1797. JEFFREY AMHERST, a celebrated English admiral, died. He assisted
in the conquest of Canada.
1802. HENRY, prince of Prussia, died. He distinguished himself at the
head of several Prussian armies, and in time of peace was engaged in
literary pursuits. On the death of his elder brother, he was excluded
from the throne by his nephew, and resided in France.
1804. The United States squadron under Com. Preble, attacked the
shipping and batteries of Tripoli. During the action the Constitution
was much injured; 13 were wounded and 1 killed; 3 of the enemy's boats
were captured and 3 sunk.
1805. CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, an ingenious English poet, died.
1806. MIRANDA, having received a reinforcement from the British, landed
in the gulf of Paria, for the purpose of effecting a revolution.
1806. MICHAEL ADANSON, an eminent French naturalist, died, leaving an
immense mass of manuscripts which he had collected with the view of
publishing an encyclopedia. He passed several years in Africa making
collections in natural history.
1812. Privateer schooner Atlas, of Philadelphia, captured in one hour
British ships Pursuit, 16 guns, and Planter, 12 guns. The latter was
recaptured.
1814. Fort Erie invested by the British, upwards of 5,000.
1814. 1,200 British crossed the Niagara, to attack Buffalo, but were
repulsed by 250 riflemen under Morgan, and compelled to recross.
1814. Great disturbances in Spain, many members of the cortes arrested
by order of the king.
1819. Barrow's straits rediscovered by Capt. Parry. He penetrated to
Melville island. The lowest state of the thermometer was 55° below zero,
Fahrenheit.
1823. LAZARE NICHOLAS MARGUERITE CARNOT, a distinguished French general,
died. He possessed an uncommon talent for the mathematical and military
sciences, and pursued a uniform and correct course in his politics,
which enabled him to ride out the storm of the revolution, and the
subsequent changes.
1848. Women's rights convention assembled at Rochester; demanded the
rights of suffrage, property, preaching, teaching, &c., &c.
1849. AARON K. WOOLEY, a Kentucky judge, died at Lexington, aged 49. He
was a native of New Jersey, graduated at West Point, and studied law in
Mississippi. He was some time state senator of Fayette county, Ky., and
at the time of his death had been ten years professor of law in
Transylvania university.
1849. General OUDINOT surrendered the civil administration of the Papal
states into the hands of the pope's three commissioners, who entered on
the work of _reaction_.
1850. JACOB JONES, an American commodore, died at Philadelphia, aged 82.
He stood nearly at the head of the list of post captains, two names only
taking precedence. Capt. Jones, we believe, was a native of Delaware. He
is one of the number who, in the war of 1812, contributed to establish
the naval renown of our country. He fought in the Wasp one of the
bloodiest naval battles in our history, and captured in 45 minutes the
British brig-of-war Frolic of superior force, and under circumstances
highly unfavorable to success. For this action the states of Delaware,
Massachusetts and New York, each voted him a sword in commemoration of
his gallantry, which was in no wise impaired by the subsequent capture
of both the Wasp and the Frolic, when in a crippled condition, by a
British 74. He was afterwards appointed to the Macedonian. Temperate
himself, he deserves honorable mention as a promoter of temperance
among his crew; many seamen were reclaimed by him.
1851. The steamer Pampero, with about 500 troops, composing the
expedition against Cuba under general Lopez, left New Orleans at
daybreak.
1854. Colonel LORING, a receiver of public moneys at Benicia, Cal., was
murdered at the St. Nicholas hotel, New York, by Dr. Graham, of New
Orleans.
1856. EDWARD CURTIS, a prominent New York lawyer and politician, died.
He was a native of Vermont, was graduated at Union college, and began
his political career in 1834 in the New York common council. He was
collector of the port under president Harrison.
1857. EUGENE SUE, a celebrated French novelist, died, aged 49. _The
Mysteries of Paris_ and _The Wandering Jew_, are known in all Europe and
America.