69. Cremona, in Italy, sacked and burned, 286 years after its
foundation.
1270. The seventh and last crusade ended by the treaty of Barbary.
1270. Conflict on London bridge, between the retainers of the bishop of
Winchester (bad Beaufort) and the duke of Gloucester.
1485. Coronation of HENRY VII, two months after Bosworth field, when was
instituted the _Yeomen of the Guard_, consisting of 50 archers. At that
time there raged in London a malady called the sweating sickness, which
terminated fatally in twenty-four hours.
1553. JAMES STURMIUS, a learned German ambassador, died. He contributed
greatly to the reformation of Strasburg, where he erected a college, and
assisted in the publication of a history of the reformation.
1574. MARY OF CLEVES, wife of Henry I, prince of Conde, died, aged 18,
probably by poison. She was loved so ardently by the duke of Anjou,
afterwards Henry III, that when he came to the throne he determined to
annul her marriage; but her sudden death intervened.
1602. JOHN JAMES BOISARD, a French antiquary, died. He pursued his
favorite study in Italy and the isles of the Adriatic; but many of his
materials were destroyed by the ravages of war.
1605. GEORGE CLIFFORD, earl of Cumberland, died; a celebrated English
navigator.
1632. HENRY DE MONTMORENCY, admiral of France, beheaded for conspiracy.
He distinguished himself by his valor, and was made admiral at the age
of 18.
1655. JOHN SELDON, the learned English antiquary, died.
1680. ANTOINETTE DE LA PORTE BOURIGNON, a celebrated French enthusiast,
died, aged 64. She was so very deformed at her birth, that a
consultation was had about stifling her as a monster. But she early
developed great powers of mind, became a traveling preacher, wandered
about incessantly, and was expelled from many countries. Her reveries
fill 22 volumes.
1732 Shipped for transportation to Virginia, 68 men and 50 women, felon
convicts.
1750. JOHN MOTTLEY died; an English dramatic writer and historian of
Peter the Great of Russia.
1760. Great earthquake in Syria and Barbary; 6000 persons killed in
Damascus.
1762. British king's ships Panther and Argo captured Spanish galleon
Santissima Trinidad, from Manilla, valued at three millions of dollars.
1781. The Oneida Indians, part of Col. Willet's force, defeated the
British, colonel John Butler; when that execrable savage, Butler, was
killed.
1782. ANTHONY TERRASSON, a distinguished French advocate, and professor
of the royal college, died. He wrote a history of Roman jurisprudence,
and other works.
1787. FERDINAND GALIANI, a noble Italian writer, died. His genius and
learning were employed on useful and practical subjects.
1793. Twenty-two deputies of the French national convention of the
Girondists, convicted and sentenced to death. De Valaze, a lawyer, on
hearing his sentence, with great sang froid, drew a poignard and stabbed
himself to the heart.
1802. CHARLES ALEXANDER DE CALONNE, a French statesman, died. He
succeeded Necker as comptroller of the finances.
1804. SAMUEL AYSCOUGH, assistant librarian in the British Museum, died.
He is chiefly memorable for his patient industry in arranging the
collections. He published a catalogue of the manuscripts, and a
catalogue of the ancient charters in that institution; the latter
amounting to 1,600.
1805. ANQUETIL DU PERRON, a learned Frenchman, died. His death is also
placed, by different authorities, in November and January. (See Jan. 15,
1805.)
1808. JOHN WHITAKER died; an able English theologian, historian,
critic, politician, and poet.
1810. Battle of Los Cruces, in Mexico, between the revolutionists under
Hidalgo, and a corps of Spaniards, in which the latter were defeated.
This was the first battle of the revolution.
1813. SARAH RODGERS, a celebrated painter, died at Philadelphia.
1822. The Caledonian canal, uniting the British sea with the Atlantic
ocean, was opened. It is a great national work, but not much in
requisition.
1822. ITURBIDE dissolved the Mexican congress in the same manner as
Cromwell dissolved the long parliament, and the same day formed a new
legislative assembly, composed of persons favorable to his plans. This
step was fatal to his reign.
1825. CHARLES ROBERT MATURIN, an Irish divine, dramatist, and poet,
died. His genius was great, but not always under the control of a pure
taste.
1840. Earthquake at Zante, which demolished 240 houses in the town, and
injured nearly all the rest. The villages and country houses of the
island were destroyed, or greatly injured.