375. VALENTINIAN I, emperor of Rome, died. He rose by his merit to the
throne, and divided the empire with his brother Valens. He defeated the
Germans, and restored tranquility to his African provinces. In giving
audience to the ambassadors of the Quadi, whose country he had subdued,
he ruptured a blood vessel in a fit of passion, which proved fatal.
537. BELISARIUS, who was then defending Rome against the Goths, exiled
pope Sylverius for treachery.
1292. The government of Scotland was adjudged to John Baliol, by the
forty peers assembled at the congress in Berwick castle.
1307. The Swiss patriots met at night in the field of Rutli, to concert
measures for their independence.
1338. EDWARD III, of England, issued a writ, permitting the coinage of
money by the abbots of Reading.
1372. JOHN DE MANDEVILLE, the English warrior and traveler, died, aged
72. He received an education unusual for those times, and in 1327, went
to Palestine, and joined the Turks. He afterwards served in India under
the Sultan, and in Southern China, under the khan of Cathay. He resided
three years at Pekin, and appears to have traveled over a large part of
Asia. On his return to England, after an absence of about 33 years, he
wrote a narrative of his travels.
1494. JOHN PICUS, earl of Mirandula, an Italian nobleman, and a prodigy
of learning, died, aged 32. At the age of 23 he published 900
propositions in logic, mathematics, physics and divinity, drawn from
classical, Jewish and Arabian authors, and challenged through Italy any
philosopher or divine to enter the lists with him in disputation. He
declared war against the astrologers, because they had foretold his
death at the age of 32, which proved true.
1558. MARY, queen of England, died. She was the daughter of Henry VIII
and Catharine of Arragon; was learned, but bigoted, jealous and
resentful. Her memory is rendered detestable by the blood of the
protestants whom she caused to be burnt.
1562. ANTHONY OF NAVARRE (_Pantagruel_), a Spanish prince, died of a
wound received in battle. He was weak and irresolute; his son was
afterwards the celebrated Henry IV, of France.
1604. Trial of sir WALTER RALEIGH for treason.
1615. THOMAS CHALONER, an English nobleman, tutor of the prince of
Wales, died. He is celebrated for the discovery of the first alum mines
known in England.
1640. HENRY DE SCHOMBERG, a distinguished French officer, died. For his
distinguished services he was promoted; and also figured as a minister
to Germany and England, and as a historian.
1664. NICHOLAS PERRET, a learned Frenchman, died; celebrated for his
excellent translations of the Greek and Latin classics.
1664. A comet visible in New England, which appeared first in the east
_bearded_, and disappeared in the west with a _tail_.
1665. JOHN EARLE, an English bishop, died; known by a work called the
_Microcosmography, or a Piece of the World_, which has often been
reprinted.
1679. In commemoration of queen Elizabeth's birth, the effigies of the
pope, the devil, sir George Jeffries, Mr. L'Estrange, &c., were carried
in procession, and burnt in Temple bar, by a _whig mob_, as it was then
called.
1690. FABIAN PHILLIPS, a learned English antiquary, died.
1708. JEAN FRANCOIS FOY VAILLANT, a French antiquary and medalist, died.
His father was the founder of the medalists in France, to whom Louis XIV
was indebted for half his cabinet.
1747. ALAIN RENE LESAGE, the French novelist and dramatic writer, died.
1747. Great tumults in Boston, on account of the British commodore,
Knowles, having ordered several inhabitants of that city to be impressed
there.
1768. THOS. PELHAM HOLLES, duke of Newcastle, died in his 76th year. He
played a bustling if not a brilliant part in the political movements of
his day.
177-. BRUCE, the traveler, in passing the Taranta mountain, in
Abyssinia, encountered an extraordinary phenomenon. The mountain tops
were hid in the clouds, and loud thunder was heard. The river scarcely
ran at the time of passing it, when suddenly a noise was heard in the
mountain above, louder than the loudest thunder. His guides flew to the
baggage, and removed it to the top of a green hill, which was no sooner
done than the river was seen coming down in a stream about the height of
a man, and the breadth of the whole bed it used to occupy. An antelope,
surprised by the torrent, was driven to the station where they stood.
1775. Americans, under colonel Easton, took at the point of Sorel river,
Canada, 11 British vessels with stores.
1782. EDWARD DRINKER, a quaker of Philadelphia, died, aged 103. He had
been the subject of seven crowned heads, and lived to see a village
become a great city.
1793. Battle of Sarbruck; the Prussians defeated by the French under
Pichegru.
1794. N. DUGOMIER, a French revolutionary general, killed at the battle
of St. Sebastian, in which his army was victorious over the Spaniards.
His name was inscribed in the Pantheon.
1794. JAMES BENTHAM, an English prelate and historian, died. He also
directed his attention to the introduction of turnpike roads, against
the popular prejudice, and to the rendering of unfruitful into valuable
fields by drainage.
1795. ALEXANDER ABERCROMBY died; a Scottish jurist, and a cooperator
with Mackenzie in establishing the _Mirror_ and _Lounger_, to which he
contributed.
1800. Battle of Mincio, in Italy; the Austrians defeated by the French
under general Brune, with the loss of 24 cannon, and 4,000 men.
1804. Launch of the Hibernia, at Plymouth, England, of 130 guns; length
of keel 167 feet, tonnage 2499--the largest man-of-war that had ever
been built in England.
1812. Battle of Koutovo, near Krasnoy, in Russia; the Cossacks under
Miloradovitch surrounded the French under Davoust, and defeated them
with horrible slaughter. The French general, however, maintained his
reputation for bravery, and cut his way through, with the loss of 4,000
killed, and 9 prisoners, and 70 cannon. The wretched beings who escaped
the swords and bayonets of their conquerors sought shelter in the woods
which skirt the Dnieper, and there, wounded, starving and naked, died in
great numbers.
1812. British gun boats cannonaded Ogdensburgh.
1818. CHARLOTTE, queen of England, died, aged 75.
1823. THOMAS ERSKINE, an English nobleman, and one of the most
celebrated of modern forensic orators, died.
1832. THOS. TAYLOR, styled the patriarch of the states-right party of
South Carolina, died at Columbus.
1835. Remarkable aurora borealis; in extent and magnificence one of the
grandest forms of this mysterious phenomenon. It attracted notice
throughout the United States and Canada, and on the 18th was seen in
Europe.
1854. DUDLEY COUTTS STUART died at Stockholm, Sweden, aged 51; well
known in England and elsewhere, for his devotion to Poland and the
Polish exiles.