1099. Battle of Ascalon; the Saracens under the sultan of Egypt defeated
by Godfrey de Bouillon, and totally overthrown.
1204. BONIFACE, marquis of Montferrat, disposed of the isle of Candia,
with the ruins of a hundred cities, to the Venitians, for 10,000 marks.
1241. GREGORY IX, pope, died. He incited the European powers to
undertake a crusade, which was joined by Frederick of Germany, who had
been twice excommunicated.
1332. Battle of Duplin moor; Edward Baliol defeated the Scots with
terrible slaughter. Donald, earl of Mar, the new regent, fell with the
host.
1417. HENRY V, by a letter to his chancellor, dated Tonques, in
Normandy, gave directions for the sealing annuities of £6 13s. 4d. each,
to seventeen masters of the "grete shippes, carracks, barges and
balyngers," belonging to the royal navy.
1560. THOMAS PHAER, an English physician, died. He published various
medical works, chiefly compiled from the French, and translated a part
of the _Æneid_.
1577. THOMAS SMITH died; a learned English statesman, historian, and
critic, and secretary of state under Edward VI, and Elizabeth.
1606. HENRY CHALLONS sailed in a ship of 50 tons to make farther
discoveries on the coast of North Virginia, and if it should appear
expedient to leave as many men as he could spare in the country. He was
fitted out by lord chief-justice Popham, sir Ferdinando Gorges and
others of the Plymouth company.
1652. Cardinal MAZARINE exiled the second time from France.
1652. An act of the protectorate for the _settlement of Ireland_.
1662. CHARLES SEYMOUR, "the proud duke of Somerset," died. He was in
office under several successive sovereigns.
1676. King PHILIP (or _Metacom_), killed at Mount Hope, in Rhode Island,
whither he had been driven by the English, as a last refuge. One of his
confederates proposing peace, so irritated Philip that he killed him. A
brother of the murdered Indian repaired to the English camp, and offered
to lead them to Philip's retreat. Captain Church set out with a small
body of men, accompanied by a few friendly Indians, and attacked the
chief in his den. He formed his men in extended order, placing an
Englishman and an indian together, with orders to fire on any who should
attempt to escape. At the dawn of day the sentinels alarmed the camp,
when Philip seized his arms and attempted to escape; as he approached
two of Church's guards, the Englishman leveled his gun, which missed
fire; the Indian sent two balls through his body, one of which piercing
his heart, laid him dead upon the spot. When the battle was over, the
English repaired to the place where he lay. He had fallen on his face in
a muddy spot of the ground, from which he was drawn; the head was taken
off and the body left to be devoured by wild beasts. Thus fell a
powerful chief, and a ferocious savage. It was then hailed with joy as
the extinction of a virulent and implacable enemy; but is now often
viewed as the fall of a great statesman and a mighty prince, who died in
defence of his just rights. This was a war of extermination; it was a
general rising of the Indians, under a powerful and sagacious warrior,
against the English, not a vestige of whom would have been left had they
been victorious. As it was, several of the tribes were annihilated; a
miserable remnant of the others incorporated themselves with distant and
strange nations. In this short but tremendous war, about 600 of the
white inhabitants, composing its principal strength, were either killed
in battle or murdered; 12 towns entirely destroyed, and 600 dwellings
burnt. The English triumphed, indeed, but the ravages of the enemy left
them in a deplorable condition.
1689. INNOCENT XI (_Benedict Odescalchi_), pope, died. He effected
several important and useful measures and reformations during his reign.
1712. The first stamp on English newspapers used this day.
1715. NAHUM TATE, an English dramatic writer and poet, died. He
succeeded Shadwell as poet laureate, and assisted in a version of the
_Psalms_.
1724. Battle of Norridgewock, in New Hampshire, and death of Ralle. He
was a Jesuit, and a principal agent in instigating the Indians against
the English colonies; had resided at this place twenty-six years, and
become thoroughly acquainted with the country. An expedition was fitted
out to destroy his den. The place was attacked by 240 men, and carried.
Ralle was found in his cabin firing upon the English; orders had been
given to take him alive, if possible; but refusing to ask quarter he was
shot down. Eighty were killed, among which were some of the most noted
warriors of the tribe, and the remnant scattered. Ralle was a man of
extensive learning, and of great service to the French; he wrote a
dictionary of the Norridgewock language, which was taken, and is
deposited in Harvard library. He was sent out as a missionary, had
acquired the languages of nearly all the tribes in America, and spent
thirty-seven years among them.
1728. WILLIAM SHERARD (_Sherwood_), an eminent English botanist and
antiquarian, died. He spent the greater part of his life, abroad, in the
pursuit of his favorite studies, and founded a professorship of botany
at Oxford.
1759. Battle of Kunersdorf; the Prussians under Frederick II defeated
with great loss by the Russians and Austrians. The allies by their own
confession lost 24,000 men, says Gillies (Smollet says 10,000); the
Prussians fought desperately and left 20,000 dead on the field, among
whom were several generals. The king had two horses killed under him,
and his clothes perforated by several balls. He lost his whole train of
artillery.
1759. EWALD CHRISTIAN DE KLEIST, a Prussian general and poet, killed at
the battle of Kunersdorf.
1765. The great mogul constituted the East India company receivers of
all the revenues of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa.
1778. The French fleet under count d'Estaing dispersed in a gale off
Rhode Island, and much damaged.
1778. ROBERT GOADBY died; an English printer and bookseller, and author
of several useful publications.
1801. THOMAS HASTINGS, author of the _Wars of Westminster_, and other
political papers, died. He was an itinerant bookseller.
1803. Agra taken by the British under the duke of Wellington. Among the
trophies was an immense gun, 25 feet long, said to have carried shot
into the camp of the British, though out of the range of all ordinary
weapons, also a howitzer 14 feet long and 22 inches calibre, throwing a
shot of 1,494 lbs.
1805. Capt. LEWIS arrived at the head of the Missouri river, and having
crossed the mountain this day struck the waters of the Columbia, in the
Shoshone country, which he named Lewis's river.
1806. Spaniards recaptured Buenos Ayres, and made the British troops
there prisoners.
1811. MIRANDA reduced New Valentia, in South America.
1812. Lord WELLINGTON entered Madrid, Joseph Bonaparte having evacuated
it the day before.
1812. Sanguinary battle on the heights, near Kobrine, between the allied
French, Austrian and Saxon army, under Schwartzenberg, and the Russians
under Tormozoff. The latter retired with the loss of 4,000; loss of the
allies 5,000. Many officers of rank were wounded on both sides.
1813. SAMUEL OSGOOD, an officer of the revolution, and for a time
postmaster-general, died, aged 65. He published several works of a
religious character.
1814. LODOWICK MORGAN, major 1st U. S. rifle regiment, killed, with 10
of his men, in an attack on the British near fort Erie.
1822. ROBERT STUART, lord Castlereagh, premier of England, committed
suicide by opening the jugular vein with a penknife.
1828. WILLIAM BLAKE, an English painter, died. He is described as a
gentle visionary in shapes and fancies, and airy somethings upon paper.
1830. First American rail road, Mohawk and Hudson, between Albany and
Schenectady, completed.
1849. ALBERT GALLATIN, a statesman and scholar, died at Astoria, N. Y.,
aged 88. He was a native of Switzerland, and emigrated to America in
1780. He settled in Pennsylvania, and became soon a prominent member of
the legislature, and then of congress. He was secretary of state under
Jefferson, and spent many years abroad as American minister.
1851. The steamer Prometheus arrived in New York from San Juan, the
Atlantic terminus of the Nicaragua route, now for the first time opened.
1854. Lord JOCELYN died in London, aged 38; military secretary of the
Chinese expedition, and author of _Six Months in China_.