638. HONORIUS I, pope, died. He presided over the church with great zeal
and wisdom.
1303. BONIFACE III (_Benedict Cajetan_), pope, died. His ambition and
insolence were unbounded, and he hurled the thunders of the Vatican
against the kings of France and Denmark; but the former despising his
threats, had him seized.
1307. All the knights templars in France ordered to be arrested, and on
the following day the grand master, the templars and all their
possessions were seized.
1424. JOHN DE TROEZNOU ZISCA, a famous Bohemian patriot, died. He was
the formidable general of the Hussites, who undertook to avenge the
death of their leader; he also defended his country against the emperor
Sigismund, and performed prodigies of valor after he had lost both his
eyes.
1428. The siege of Orleans commenced, memorable as one of the most
extraordinary incidents in history.
1492. COLUMBUS landed on the island of Guanahani, of which he had seen
the first twinkling on the previous night; thus in the space of 36 days
completing a voyage which he had been 20 years in projecting, which
opened to Europeans a new world, which enlarged the empire of Spain, and
stamped with immortality the name of Columbus.
1573. Great naval victory of the Dutch over the Spaniards.
1576. MAXIMILIAN II died. He was elected king of the Romans 1562, and
afterwards succeeded his father as king of Hungary and Bohemia, and
emperor of Germany.
1621. PETER MATTHIEU, a French historian, died. He was historiographer
to the king, and wrote the history of France, and of several of the
French kings.
1646. FRANCIS BASSOMPIERRE, marshal of France, died; a distinguished
statesman, whom Richelieu confined 10 years in the Bastile, during which
he wrote his own memoirs.
1649. The fall and massacre of Wexford under Oliver Cromwell.
1653. HUMPHREY CHETHAM, a great patron of learning and libraries, died,
aged 73, at Manchester, England, endowing the city with munificent
bequests.
1711. KING CHARLES III, of Spain, elected emperor of Germany at
Frankfort, by the name of Charles IV.
1716. LUDOLF KUSTER, a learned German critic, died.
1753. Sir DANVERS OSBORNE, who had arrived at New York on the 7th to
succeed Clinton as governor of the province, was found in the morning
suspended by the neck in the garden, and dead.
1764. RENE MICHAEL SLODTZ, an eminent French sculptor, died.
1793. St. Domingo ceded by its inhabitants to the British.
1798. British fleet, admiral Warren, intercepted the French fleet and
captured several ships laden with troops and stores destined for
Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of the united Irishmen, was on
board, and taken.
1822. The independence of Brazil, under don John, was proclaimed.
1834. THOS. S. GRIMKE, of South Carolina, died of an attack of cholera.
He distinguished himself in a speech against the test oath of his native
state.
1842. BARTLETT BENNETT, one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, and a
baptist preacher, died at Cincinnati, aged 99.
1851. LEWIS WASHINGTON, an American commodore, died, aged 69. His
services in the Tripoli war and the war of 1812 made his name familiar
to the American people, as a brave, energetic and skillful captain.
1851. SAMUEL BEAZLEY, a distinguished English architect died, aged 66.
He was not only the designer of more theatres than any other modern
architect, but also a dramatic compiler.
1855. General WALKER took possession of Grenada, with a loss to the
enemy of 15 killed and several wounded.