1069. The Danes under Harold and Canute landed in England, at the mouth
of the Humber, and laid waste the country.
1297. Battle near Cambuskenneth, on the Forth, between the Scots under
Wallace, and the English, in which the latter were defeated with the
loss of 5,000 slain. The victors, to show their utter detestation of
that tool of Edward, Cressingham, flayed his body, and converted his
skin into thongs for their horses.
1539. Date of the will of Henry Pepwell, a distinguished book publisher,
who died this year.
1609. HUDSON while at anchor in the harbor of New York, was visited by
the natives, who made a great show of friendship, giving tobacco and
Indian corn.
1649. Drogheda, in Ireland, taken by assault by the English, under
Cromwell. A universal massacre was permitted during five days. "I
believe we put to the sword," is the general's despatch, "the whole
number of the defendants. _This is a marvellous great mercy._" The
garrison alone consisted of 2,500 foot and 300 horse. There was scarce
thirty lives saved in the whole town, and these were by Cromwell
reserved to be sent to Barbadoes.
1677. JAMES HARRINGTON, an eminent English political writer, died;
author of the political romance of _Oceana_, in imitation of Plato's
_Atlantic Story_.
1697. The famous peace of Ryswick proclaimed.
1709. Battle of Malplaquet, in Belgium; the allies under the duke of
Marlborough and prince Eugene, defeated the French army of 120,000 men,
under Villars and de Boufflers. This was a dear victory to the allies,
who lost 20,000 of their best troops.
1745. MARY CHANDLER died; an English lady, distinguished for her poetic
talent.
1776. Great tempest on the coast of Newfoundland; a large amount of
shipping, and a great number of lives lost.
1777. Battle of Brandywine; the Americans under Washington and Green
entirely defeated by the British, under Cornwallis. The Americans lost
about 1,300 killed, wounded and prisoners. This was the first battle
Lafayette was in; he was wounded in the leg.
1781. JOHN AUGUSTUS ERNESTI died; professor of theology at Leipsic, and
author of numerous literary and theological works.
1798. The Sublime Porte, incensed at the invasion of Egypt, declared war
against France, and joined with his old adversary, the emperor of
Russia.
1799. Tortona surrendered to Suwarroff. Thus was Italy nearly
reconquered.
1813. Running action between the United States commodore, Chauncey, on
lake Ontario, and the British commodore, Yeo; the latter succeeded in
getting into Amherst bay.
1814. The British, 8,000 strong, commenced disembarking their troops at
North Point, about 12 miles from Baltimore, for the purpose of attacking
that city.
1814. Battle of lake Champlain and Plattsburgh. The British fleet 95
guns, under commodore Downie, defeated and captured by the United States
fleet, Com. Chauncey, 86 guns. British loss 57 killed, 72 wounded;
American loss 52 killed, 58 wounded. At the same time the British troops
under general Provost, about 14,000 veterans, the flower of the duke of
Wellington's army, attacked the American lines at Saranac, Plattsburgh,
and were defeated by general Macomb. American loss, killed 38; wounded
64; missing 20.
1820. HOME RIGGS POPHAM died; a distinguished British naval officer.
1823. DAVID RICARDO, a celebrated English writer on finance and
statistics, died. He was of Jewish descent, and abandoned by his father
at an early age for marrying a quakeress. His talents however, procured
him wealth and distinction.
1826. WILLIAM MORGAN, a freemason in western New York, abducted by his
fellows of the craft for revealing their secrets.
1833. Deaths by cholera in the city of Mexico, from the 5th August to
this date, 10,000.
1840. LONG-KIEWA, a Chinese linguist, died at Calcutta, aged 59. He was
inspector of the tea plantations established by an English company at
Assam, but was obliged to exile himself on account of a family
misdemeanor. He is represented to have been a man of immense knowledge.
Besides his erudition in the sciences, he was proficient in all the
principal languages spoken in Europe and Asia, as well as Hebrew, Greek
and Latin. He made for the most part the Chinese translation of the
scriptures published by Marshman, and left in MS. a Chinese-Latin-English
dictionary. He bequeathed to the Asiatic society of Calcutta his
library, containing 30,000 volumes, more than 20,000 of which are in the
Chinese language.
1840. The town of Beyrout, in Syria, fired upon, reduced to a mass of
ruins, and taken, by the British and Austrian fleets.
1842. A Mexican army 1,300 strong, took possession of Texas, but soon
retreated.
1851. A riot at Christiana, Pa., upon the attempt to remove a fugitive
slave. Mr. Gorsuch, the owner of the slave was killed and his son
mortally wounded; the United States marshal and his posse were driven
from the ground by armed negroes, and the slave escaped.