69 B. C. The senate published a general thanksgiving in the name of
Cicero for preserving the city from the Catalinian conspiracy. It was
the first that had ever been decreed to any man in the gown; all other
thanksgivings having been appointed for some particular _service_ only.
1553. PEDRO DE VALDIVIA, having conquered the greater portion of Chili,
and founded the city of Conception, was attacked by the Araucanians,
defeated and made prisoner.
1557. The bond or covenant signed at Edinburgh, by the duke of Argyle
and others, renouncing the _congregation of Satan, with all the
superstitious, abominations and idolatry thereof_.
1586. In Verde, in Hanover, there fell large quantities of matter,
partly red, partly blackened, accompanied by lightning and thunder, a
fiery meteor, which burst with a loud noise. This matter burnt the
boards on which it fell.
1610. The new bell of the cathedral church of Lincoln, called _Great
Tom_, placed in the steeple of St. Mary. It is the largest bell in
England, being seven feet in diameter at the mouth.
1632. DE VRIES, on his second voyage, arrived at the Delaware river. He
found that the little colony, left here two years before (see Dec. 12),
had been destroyed by the Indians, and the ground strewed with the
skulls and bones of his murdered countrymen.
1647. BUONAVENTURA CAVALIERI, an Italian astronomer, died. He was the
pupil of Galileo, and enjoyed a remarkable reputation in his day, but
has descended to posterity solely through his method of _indivisibles_,
one of the predecessors of the doctrine of fluxions.
1658. JOHN MICRELIUS, professor of divinity at Stettin, died; a
distinguished theological disputant.
1688. The abdication or flight of JAMES II, and revolution in England.
1699. Captain DAMPIER arrived at the island of Papua or New Guinea, in
Australasia, and named its eastern extremity New Britain.
1705. PEDRO, king of Portugal, died in the 58th year of his age. Juan IV
succeeded.
1758. Daring attempt to assassinate Joseph, king of Portugal. It was for
this offence that the Jesuits were expelled the kingdom and their
property confiscated--a judgment perhaps unequal to the crime.
1775. The continental flag was displayed for the first time, on board
the flag ship of Esek Hopkins, who was commander-in-chief of the first
American fleet.
1787. Delaware adopted the federal constitution, being the first state
to do so. (7th?)
1798. Coni, the strongest fortification in Italy, was taken by the
Austrians.
1800. Battle of Hohenlinden; the Austrians under the archduke John,
defeated by the French under Moreau in a severe snow storm, with great
slaughter, and night alone saved them from complete destruction. The
Austrians lost nearly the whole of their baggage, a great number of
cannon and ammunition wagons, 3 generals, and from 10 to 15,000
prisoners.
1809. Intelligence was received at London, that the Ionian isles, the
principal of which are Zante, Ithaca and Cerigo, had submitted to the
British. They form an independent state under the British government,
and contain about 200,000 persons, who carry on a considerable commerce.
1810. The French, under general Decaen, surrendered the isle of Man to
the British general, Abercrombie, with 209 pieces of ordnance.
1812. The 29th bulletin of the retreating French army was dated at
Molodechno, describing their severe privations.
1814. The mayor of Lyons, in France, published an order forbidding all
artists to engrave or paint the likeness of Napoleon Bonaparte.
1815. JOHN CARROLL, first catholic bishop in the United States, died,
aged 80. He was born in the state of Maryland, and educated in France,
where he became a Jesuit. On his return to America he rose from a parish
priest to the dignity of archbishop.
1818. Illinois admitted into the union.
1821. Royal dance of torches, at Berlin, on the occasion of the marriage
of the prince royal with the princess of Bavaria.
1823. JOHN BAPTIST BELZONI, one of the most eminent travelers in Egypt,
died. He was an Italian, who came to England, where he obtained a
subsistence by exhibiting feats of strength and activity at the
amphitheatre. He was afterwards engaged in exploring and bringing to
light the antiquities of Egypt.
1826. JOHN FLAXMAN, the celebrated English sculptor, died. His death is
differently placed on the 7th and 9th.
1834. SIMEON DE WITT died, aged 79; surveyor-general of the state of New
York. He had filled this office from the time of its establishment to
that of his death, 50 years, with the highest satisfaction and ability,
and was distinguished for his attainments in astronomy, engineering and
physical science.
1838. JOHN BLEECKER VAN SCHAICK, a poet of some merit, died at Albany,
aged 35.
1839. FREDERICK VI, king of Denmark, died. He was a benefactor to his
country, which is indebted to him for the liberty of the press,
emancipation from the last remains of feudal authority, abolition of the
slave trade, in which Denmark set the example to the rest of Europe,
reforms of the laws, the establishment of schools for general education,
the introduction of popular representation, and system, order and
economy in the financial affairs of the kingdom.
1839. Pope GREGORY XVI issued a bull for abolishing the slave trade;
"urgently invoking all Christians of whatever condition, that none
henceforth dare subject to slavery, unjustly persecute or despoil of
their goods, Indians, negroes, or other classes of men, or be
accessories to others in so doing; and on no account henceforth to
exercise that inhuman traffic, by which negroes are reduced to slavery,
as if they were not men but automata, or chattels," &c.
1849. WILLIAM L. HUNTER, a Rhode Island diplomat, died, aged 75. He
studied medicine in London under his kinsman, John Hunter, but
subsequently adopted the law. He was chargé at Brazil more than ten
years.
1851. All attempts to oppose the assumption of power by Louis Napoleon
were unsuccessful; the few barricades that were erected were soon torn
or battered down.
1854. The people of Mexico completed three days' balloting, and decided
with great unanimity that the republic should continue to be governed by
Santa Anna.