44 B. C. CICERO delivered the first of those speeches against Marc
Antony, called his _Philippics_.
31 B. C. Battle of Actium, off the promontory of Epirus, in which the
fleet of Marc Antony was defeated and his hopes utterly prostrated.
1338. EDWARD III was invested by the emperor at Coblentz, with the title
of his vicar, but refused to kiss the imperial foot.
1483. The renowned Caxton issued from his press a book entitled,
_Confessio Amantis_: That is to saye in Englisshe, The Confessyon of the
Louer.
1504. COLUMBUS sailed from Hispaniola to Spain--his final leave of the
country which he had discovered--a discovery that had been to him a
source of unutterable vexation and the vilest ingratitude.
1519. Battle of Zehuacingo, between 400 Spaniards under Cortez, and the
whole force of the Tlascalan Indians, amounting to about 40,000
warriors. The Indians closed in upon the Spaniards in a dense mass, and
bore down with determined bravery upon the sturdy little band of
invaders. A body of them, wielding two-handed swords succeeded in
killing one of the horses at a blow; but the rider was saved, and the
saddle also at the cost of ten men wounded. The cannons and guns of the
Spaniards made terrible havoc among the dense masses of the Indians, and
they were compelled to retire with a great loss, leaving their enemy too
much fatigued to follow them, and greatly rejoiced to find that they
had escaped annihilation.
1591. RICHARD GRENVILLE, an English naval officer, died. He
distinguished himself in battle against the Turks, and on the American
coast against the Spaniards.
1592. ROBERT GREEN, an English poet, and one of the famous Grub street
writers, died in London. So infamous was Grub street at that time, that
Mr. Henry Welley says in his narrative, that he lived there 40 years
without being seen of any one.
1666. Great fire in London, which consumed 400 streets, 13,200 houses
and 89 churches--and destroyed the plague!
1685. ALICIA LISLE beheaded at Winchester. Her offence was harboring a
non-conforming minister named Hicks.
1701. The court of chancery of the state of New York organized.
1746. JOHN BAPTIST COLBERT, marquis of Torrey, died; a French statesman,
celebrated for his embassies.
1755. Sir CHARLES HARDY arrived in the port of New York, to succeed De
Lancey as governor of the province, and his commission was published on
the next day, with the usual solemnities, and was followed by an
entertainment, bonfires, illuminations and other expressions of joy.
1766. ARCHIBALD BOWYER, a learned Scottish Jesuit, died. He wrote a
_History of the Popes_, and some other historical works; but is accused
of much imposture.
1784. JOHN BAPTIST ANTHONY VISCONTI, an Italian antiquary, died. In his
researches for ancient monuments at Rome, he discovered the tomb of the
Scipios.
1792. The prisons of Paris, filled with nobles, ecclesiastics and
opulent citizens, suspected of favoring the court and aristocratical
party, were burst open, and the inmates massacred to the number of
12,487, during this and the following day. Neither age, rank nor sex
were respected by the Jacobins, who urged the expediency of destroying
these persons before the Austrians should reach the capital.
1792. MARIE THERESE DE LAMBALLE, an Italian princess, murdered in Paris.
She escaped from Paris at the same time with the royal family, by
another road, and reached England. But on hearing the fate of her friend
the queen, hastened back to share her fortune, and met with a barbarous
death from the hands of the mob.
1806. An immense rock forming the summit of the Rosenburg in Switzerland
was precipitated into the valley with a vast amount of rubbish,
overwhelming several villages, and partly filling lake Lauwertz. Upwards
of 1,000 persons perished, and three villages totally disappeared.
1813. JEAN VICTOR MOREAU, one of the most distinguished generals of the
French revolution, died of wounds received at the battle of Dresden.
1832. FRANCIS XAVIER DE ZACH died of cholera at Paris. He was a native
of Hungary, and one of the most eminent astronomers of the age.
1832. JOHN OLDING BUTLER died; an English writer, author of a _Geography
of the Globe_.
1834. THOMAS TELFORD, a distinguished architect and civil engineer, died
at London. He was a self-made man, rising from a shepherd boy in
Eskdale, Scotland, to rank with the most learned of his age.
1836. WILLIAM HENRY, a celebrated writer on chemistry, died.