1408. JOHN GOWER, an early English poet, died. He was a member of the
bar, and a severe contemner of the vices of the age.
1483. EDWARD V of England, and his brother the duke of York, smothered
in prison by order of the duke of Gloucester, their guardian.
1502. COLUMBUS sent his brother Bartholomew on shore at Orejas, and took
possession of South America in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella.
1544. St. Dizier surrendered to the emperor Charles V, after a noble
defence made by the French governor.
1590. The governor of the colony of Roanoke returned from England,
whither he had been for supplies (see August 27), and found the
settlement deserted, the houses taken down, and the word Croatoan
written upon the trees. He was compelled to return without finding the
place of their removal.
1657. ROBERT BLAKE died; one of the most intrepid and successful
admirals that have adorned the British navy.
1673. REGNIER DE GRAAF died in France, where he acquired great celebrity
as a physician and a writer; aged 32.
1679. JONAS MOORE, an English mathematician, died; noted in the reigns
of Charles I and II for his labor and enterprise in the cause of
science.
1682. A comet made its appearance before the people of New England, with
a tail of the very respectable length of 15 degrees; which that goodly
folk did not see the last of till the 15th September.
1714. GEORGE I arrived in England to succeed on the throne.
1720. ANNE LE FEVRE DACIER, a French lady of great learning, died. She
translated the principal Greek and Latin poets into her native language,
and was noted for her many virtues. (6th by some authors.)
1748. JONATHAN BAXTER performed the singular feat of crossing the Thames
at Blackfriars in a butcher's tray in 1h. 10m., paddling with his hands.
1755. GEORGE JEFFREYS, an English dramatic and miscellaneous writer,
died.
1758. RICHARD HOUSEMAN, a laborer of Knaresborough, was committed to
York castle on suspicion of having murdered Daniel Clark.
1765. TIMOTHY CUTLER, an Episcopal clergyman, died at Boston, aged 82;
formerly president of Yale college.
1779. The independence of the United States declared at New Orleans by
beat of drum.
1785. JONATHAN TRUMBULL, governor of Connecticut, died. He bore a
conspicuous part in public affairs during a period of 50 years; and
retired at the close of the revolution.
1786. FREDERICK II (_the Great_) of Prussia, died. He distinguished
himself as a warrior, and a man of letters, and was one of the most
celebrated characters of his day.
1796. The Dutch fleet under admiral Lucas surrendered to the British at
the cape of Good Hope.
1807. British army invested Copenhagen; at the same time the Danish gun
boats attacked the British with grape and round shot.
1808. Battle of Roleia, in Portugal, between the French, 6,000, under
Laborde, and a much superior force of British under Wellesley. The
French were compelled to retreat with the loss of 1,500; British loss
500.
1809. MATTHEW BOULTON, an English engineer, died. He erected an
extensive establishment at Soho, and expended £47,000 in the course of
experiments on the steam engine, before Watt perfected the construction
and occasioned any return of profit.
1812. First day's battle of Smolianovo, on the Dwina; the Russians under
count Witgenstein defeated the French under Oudinot, with great carnage.
Oudinot was dangerously wounded, and St. Cyr took the command.
1812. Battle of Smolensko, on the Boristhenes. Upwards of 100,000 men
were engaged, and the conflict was long and bloody. The French under
Bonaparte and his best generals maintained their ground; the Russians
retreated in the night, after having fired the city. The French are
supposed to have lost about 13,000, and the Russians about half the
number.
1813. Battle near lake George, between the United States troops under
Gen. P. B. Porter and a body of British and Indians; the latter were
defeated.
1818. JAMES CONSTANTINE PERIER, an able French machinist, died. He was
the greatest manufacturer of machinery in France, having at one time no
less than 93 establishments. Notwithstanding this weight of business, he
found time for literary pursuits, and was an author.
1830. LA FAYETTE created marshal of France.
1832. JEAN ST. MARTIN, an eminent French orientalist, died at Paris of
cholera. He was principal editor of the _Journal Asiatic_, and
particularly distinguished for his knowledge of the languages of western
Asia.
1836. M. DE RAYNEVAL, an eminent French diplomatist, died. He was
employed in important missions under Bonaparte, and after the
restoration had a still more distinguished career in diplomacy.
1838. LORENZO DA PONTE died in New York, aged 89. He was an Italian by
birth, but long a resident of the city of New York; distinguished for
his attainments, particularly in Italian literature and art, and author
of various publications, among which are some celebrated operas.
1840 MORDECAI MOOR, died at Clinton, Me., aged 104.
1848. Disastrous fire at Albany; several hundred buildings burned, and
one million of property destroyed.
1849. HENRY COLMAN, many years Unitarian minister at Salem, Mass., died
in London. He had for some time devoted himself to agricultural
inquiries, and published several volumes on the agriculture of foreign
countries.
1850. Ashtabula county court house, Ohio, with all papers and records,
destroyed by fire.
1852. POMPEO LITTA, an Italian author, died at an advanced age. He began
in 1819, a costly illustrated work on the genealogies of the principal
Italian families, existing and extinct.
1853. A difficulty occurred at the Chincha islands between the Peruvian
commandant and the American shipmasters in port.
1857. A block of pure chrystalline ice weighing 25 lbs. was discovered
in a meadow near Cricklewood, England. On the day previous a
destructive hail storm passed over the spot. Mezray, in his history of
France mentions a block of ice that fell of the weight of 100 lbs.,
during a thunder and hail storm in the year 1510.