954. LOUIS IV, king of France, killed by a fall from his horse, at the
age of 38.
1167. MATILDA, of England, empress of Germany, died. She was the
daughter of Henry I of England, married Henry IV of Germany, and was
afterwards acknowledged queen of England; but her conduct not suiting
the nobles, she was deposed and Stephen placed on the throne.
1543. The small remains of the army which had sailed from Cuba in 1539
(see May 18) under de Soto, for the conquest of Florida, arrived at
Panuco on their return. This great expedition ended in the poverty and
ruin of all concerned in it. Not a Spaniard remained in Florida.
1547. Conspiracy of Placentia, when Peter Louis Farnese, son of pope
Paul III, was assassinated. The place was taken by the conspirators and
delivered to the troops of the emperor Charles V before daylight next
morning.
1547. Battle of Pinkey, in Scotland; the English under the protector
Somerset, defeated the Scots under the earl of Arran, and obtained one
of the most finished victories on record. The Scots lost 10,000 men.
1604. WILLIAM MORGAN, bishop of Asaph, formerly of Landaff, died. He
directed and superintended the translation of the scriptures into Welsh.
1621. King JAMES gave sir William Alexander a patent of the whole
territory of Acadia, by the name of Nova Scotia. It was erected into a
palatinate, to be holden as a fief of the crown of Scotland. An
unsuccessful attempt was soon after made to effect a settlement, and he
sold it to the French in 1630. Twenty years afterwards three thousand
families settled there from New England.
1649. PETER GOUDELIN, a poet of Gascony, died. He was so celebrated that
he acquired the title of the Homer of Gascony.
1691. EDWARD POCOCKE died; a most learned English critic and
commentator, and famous particularly for his great skill in the oriental
languages.
1714. An agreement between the Van Hoorn or Berbice company, and the
Dutch East India company, to furnish the former annually after this day,
240 negroes from Angola, or Ardrah (one-third to be females), at 165
florins a head.
1730. GUICHARD JOSEPH DU VERNEY died; professor of anatomy at Paris, of
great celebrity.
1738. THOMAS SHERIDAN, an Irish divine and poet, died. He published a
prose translation of _Perseus_.
1752. JOHN BAPTIST BERTRAND died; a French physician, known for his
interesting account of the plague of Marseilles.
1759. Second action off Pondicherry, between the British fleet, admiral
Pococke, and the French under admiral d'Auché. British loss 164 killed,
385 wounded. A deserter reported the French loss to have been 1500
killed and wounded.
1771. Birthday of MUNGO PARK, a celebrated Scottish adventurer. He twice
attempted the discovery of the course and outlet of the Niger, so long a
source of conjecture with geographers, in the second of which he lost
his life in the 35th year of his age.
1779. Indian village of Canandaigua burnt.
1781. Count D'ESTAING returned with his fleet to the Chesapeake, and
captured two British frigates of 32 guns each.
1782. The firing on Gibraltar from the isthmus continued by the
Spaniards, at the rate of 6,500 cannon shot, and 1,080 shells in every
24 hours.
1785. Treaty of amity and commerce between the United States and
Prussia.
1791. A great insurrection among the negroes in St. Domingo, attributed
to the new opinions of liberty and equality, called in Paris _L'Ami des
Noirs_.
1797. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT GODWIN died; a lady of very superior literary
accomplishments, who distinguished herself by many able productions, and
the peculiarity of her views.
1802. A lunar rainbow observed at Mattock, in Derbyshire, England.
1806. JOHN CHRISTOPHER ADELUNG, a German professor at Erfurt, died;
author of a grammatical and critical dictionary of the German language,
in 5 vols. quarto. He was never married, and it was said of him that his
writing desk was his wife, and the 70 volumes which he wrote were his
children. His wine cellar, which was unique, he called his _bibliotheca
selectissima_.
1809. AUGUSTUS LOUIS VON SCHLOETZER, a German historian, died. He wrote
a _History of Lithuania_, &c.
1813. Battle of lake Erie, and defeat and capture of the entire British
fleet under Com. Barclay, by the United States fleet under Com. Perry.
The British force consisted of 6 vessels, 63 guns; Americans had 11
vessels, 54 guns. The action commenced at 15 minutes before 12, and
ended about 3 P. M. The loss of the British was estimated at 200;
Americans lost 27 killed, 96 wounded--123.
1827. UGO FOSCOLO, a distinguished Italian writer, died. His works are
numerous, but giving offence to the authorities, he was driven from
country to country, and died from disease and penury.
1845. JOSEPH STORY, one of the most distinguished American jurists, died
at Cambridge, Mass., aged 66.
1851. The steamer Pampero, which had been used in the Lopez expedition
against Cuba, was seized by the United States revenue officers, at
Dunn's lake, Florida, and subsequently condemned.
1852. URQUIZA, director of the Argentine confederation, was deposed.
1852. The Burmese evacuated and burned Prome.