361. CONSTANTIUS, the last of the sons of Constantine the great, died,
after a reign of 23 years, and was succeeded by Julian.
461. LEO I (_the Great_) pope, died. Rome was pillaged fourteen days by
Genseric during his reign.
1327. JAMES II (_the Just_), king of Arragon, died, aged 65; deservedly
regretted for his moderation, courage, benevolence and magnanimity. He
conquered Sicily, and waged a long war against the Moors and the people
of Navarre. He had the good fortune to unite Valencia and Catalonia to
his crown.
1369. That famous code of Godfrey, called the _Assize of Jerusalem_,
restored by John d'Ibilen, count of Jaffa, was finished under the
revision of sixteen native commissioners for the use of the Latin
kingdom of Cyprus.
1493. COLUMBUS, on his second voyage to the new world, descried land,
which in honor of the day he called Dominica.
1580. Sir FRANCIS DRAKE returned from his voyage round the world.
1603. HENRY IV of France granted to Pierre du Gast, sieur de Monts, a
patent of the American territory, from the 40th to the 46th degree of
north latitude, with power to colonize and rule it, and to subdue and
Christianize its native inhabitants; and the exclusive right to the
commerce of peltry in Acadie and the gulf of St. Lawrence.
1611. ANTONIO PEREZ, a distinguished Spanish statesman and author, died
at Paris, where he retired when disgraced at the court of Spain. He
twice escaped the inquisition, and even eluded the emissaries sent to
murder him, but although highly esteemed by the learned men of France
and England, he died miserably poor.
1640. The long parliament of England began; Wm. Lenthal was chosen
speaker.
1643. JOHN BAINBRIDGE died at Oxford; a physician and astronomer of high
reputation.
1669. CHARLES DRELINCOURT, a French Calvinistic divine, died. His
_Consolations against the Fear of Death_ have passed through numerous
editions, and been translated into several languages.
1680. The great comet of this year approached so near the earth as in
many places to occasion no small alarm.
1710. LUKE ROTGANS, a Dutch poet, died. After being engaged two years in
the wars of Holland he retired to his country seat to devote himself to
poetry.
1739. CHARLES JERVAS, an English painter, died. He is immortalized more
by Pope's panegyric than by his own pictures.
1741. BEHRING wrecked on the island which bears his name.
1760. Battle of Torgau; the Austrians under Daun defeated by Frederick
II of Prussia, with the loss of 20,000 men, 8,000 of whom were taken.
Prussian loss 13,000.
1762. The remarkable peace between England and France was signed at
Fontainebleau.
1771. First newspaper printed in Albany, N. Y.
1771. An attempt was made by count Pulaski and some other Polish
nobleman to carry off Stanislaus Augustus, the king. They took him
prisoner, but after wandering about all night, in the morning they found
themselves near where they set out, and were obliged to liberate their
captive.
1774. GLOUCESTER RIDLEY, an eminent English divine, died. He commenced
life as an actor.
1775. St. Johns surrendered to the Americans. General Carleton in
attempting to cross the St. Lawrence with 800 men, was attacked by 300
Green Mountain boys under colonel Warren and compelled to retire; which
induced the garrison to capitulate. They found 17 brass and 22 iron
cannons, 2 howitzers, 7 mortars, 800 stand of arms, &c.
1775. VALENTINE JAIMERAI DUVAL, an extraordinary French character,
died. He at first gained his subsistence by watching poultry and sheep;
but by perseverance and labor he obtained books and maps, became one of
the most learned men of his time, and enjoyed the patronage of princes
and the notice of the learned.
1787. ROBERT LOWTH, an eminent English bishop, died; known by his
translation of Isaiah, "the sublimest poetry in the world."
1793. MARY OLYMPE DE GOUGES, a French authoress, guillotined. Becoming
disgusted with the brutalities of the revolutionists, she turned her pen
against them, and fell a victim to their vengeance.
1797. WILLIAM ENFIELD, an eminent English dissenting minister died;
known by many ingenious and useful publications.
1812. Battle near Wiazma; the French under Ney, Davoust, and Beauharnois
defeated by the Russians with the loss of 6,000 killed, and 3,500 taken
prisoners, and 28 cannon. Of the wounded French, all who fell must have
unquestionably perished, as in the night the Russian winter set in, with
a degree of iron severity almost unknown to the oldest inhabitants; on
the following morning all was buried under a deep, wide waste of snow.
1832. JOHN LESLIE died; an eminent Scottish chemist, mathematician, and
natural philosopher, inventor of the differential thermometer, and
author of various scientific works. He rose from humble life, and
received the honor of knighthood for his acquirements.
1834. DR. HORNER, died at Zurich, Switzerland. He accompanied
Krusenstern in his first Russian voyage round the world, and wrote the
_Natural History of Russia_.
1839. CARTER BERKLEY, an eminent Virginia physician, aged 72, died while
feeling the pulse of a dying patient. He was a lineal descendant of sir
William Berkley, and an excellent character.
1840. St. Jean d'Acre bombarded by the allied British and Turkish
fleets. The firing commenced at half past 2 P. M., and ceased at 6. The
magazine, containing 500 barrels of powder, was blown up, over which
about 2,000 soldiers were stationed, who were nearly all buried in the
ruins. The number of killed in the town is unknown; loss of the British
and allies 18 killed and 42 wounded. The Egyptians evacuated the place
on the following morning, and it was possessed by the conquerors, who
found 121 mounted guns and 20 mortars on the walls, and 97 brass field
pieces and 97 mortars in store, besides stores of all kinds and the
military chest, valued altogether at about one million pounds.