1656 A. M. The rain of the deluge having ceased to fall, having
continued 40 days, from the 17th of the 2d month, answering to our 2d
Nov., q. v.
404 B. C. DARIUS II (_Nothus_), king of Persia, died, after a reign of
nineteen years, and was succeeded by Artaxerxes Mnemon, his son. Cyrus,
the younger, another of his sons, carried on several successful wars
during the reign of Darius.
1271. RICHARD, king of the Romans, died, at Berkhamstead, England.
1600. JOHN CRAIG, a Scottish ecclesiastic, died. He was at first a
Dominican, and by his talents recommended himself to cardinal Pole. But,
becoming a heretic, narrowly escaped being burnt. He afterwards became
the coadjutor of Knox, the great reformer.
1611. THOMAS SUTTON, a rich English bachelor, died. He was the founder
of the Charter house.
1630. DAVID PIETERSZEN DE VRIES, who had associated himself with Samuel
Godyn, Kilian Van Rensselaer, Samuel Bloemart, and Jan de Laet, sailed
from Texel for the South (Delaware) river, intending to plant a colony
there. Godyn being informed that whales were plenty in those regions,
and fish oil being 60 guilders the hogshead, the vessel was laden with
utensils for fishing, and planters and cattle for the colony.
1653. OLIVER CROMWELL declared lord protector of England for life, and
the same day dissolved the convention called Barebones's parliament, by
the corporal of the guard and a file of soldiers.
1671. VOPISCUS FORTUNATUS POLEMPIUS, a Dutch physician and professor at
Louvain, died, leaving several valuable works.
1676. WILLIAM MORICE, a learned Englishman, died; secretary of state
under Charles II.
1680. The extraordinary comet of this year observed throughout Britain.
1685. JOHN PELL died; an English divine, and very eminent mathematician.
1688. JAMES II, of England, made his escape from London.
1731. JOHN HORSLEY died; author of a very learned and excellent work
entitled _Britannia Romana_; being an ample account of the vestiges of
the Romans in Britain.
1733. The bills of mortality in London this year, showed the death of
14,372 males, and 14,861 females.
1753. An act passed the provincial assembly, of New York, that mortgages
should be subjected to public registry for the prevention of frauds. But
this act, though a useful one, did not reach all the mischiefs intended
to be prevented.
1757. COLLEY CIBBER, poet laureate to George II, died. He was also a
very noted comedian. He wrote a curious apology for his life.
1764. JOHN OTHO TABOR died at Frankfort. He was a native of Lusatia,
became counselor to the landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, and wrote several
works on law.
1776. The neighborhood of Philadelphia having became the seat of war,
congress adjourned to Baltimore.
1777. ALBERT HALLER, an eminent Swiss physician, died. He was a
voluminous writer, and one of the most acute, various and original men
that have appeared since Boerhaave.
1781. Action between the British fleet, 12 sail, under Kempenfelt, and a
French convoy, protected by 19 heavy ships of the line, and 2 armed _en
flute_. Of the merchantmen, 20 were captured, having on board 1,100
troops, and about 600 seamen, besides valuable cargoes of military
stores, cannon, &c.
1782. Action between British ship Mediator, and American ship Alexander,
24 guns, captain Gregory, and French ship Menagerie, 212 men, laden with
powder, naval stores, &c. The two latter were captured without any loss
on the part of the British.
1783. JOHN SCOTT died; an English quaker poet, called the poet of
Arnwell.
1787. Pennsylvania (the second state), ratified the constitution of the
United States, without amendments.
1789. RICHARD ALTON, an Austrian general, died. He commanded in the Low
countries, in 1787, and though a strict disciplinarian and a man of
bravery, betrayed so much weakness during the insurrection in Brabant,
that he was sent for to answer charges, and died on the journey.
1793. Battle of Mans; the royalists of La Vendee defeated with great
slaughter by the French under Marceau.
1804. JOHN BOYDELL died; a most distinguished encourager of the arts of
painting and engraving, in England.
1809. Action at night between British sloop Trincomale, and French
privateer Iphigene. The sloop was blown up and all on board but two
perished; the privateer had her side stove in and her masts forced out
by the shock, and lost 115 men.
1822. Napoli di Romania, the ancient Nauplia, surrendered to the Greeks,
after a long and tedious blockade, during which the Turkish garrison was
reduced to feed on the corpses of their companions. The crescent had
been flying on the fortress uninterruptedly since 1714, at which time it
was treacherously given up to the Coumourgi, and made the seat of the
Turkish government for the Morea.
1830. BENJAMIN CONSTANT, a distinguished French author, and one of the
greatest orators of his day, was honored with a magnificent funeral.
1834. The Carlists, of Spain, under Gen. Eraso, defeated at Soraida, by
the troops of the queen, under general Mina.
1834. The government of Greece transferred from Napoli to Athens.
1836. JOHN DAVIDSON, an English traveler, murdered by the El Hareb tribe
of Africans, on his way to Tombuctoo. He commenced traveling in 1826,
and had visited North and South America, India, Egypt, as far as the
second cataract, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and
Germany, and had proceeded to within 25 days' journey of the city of
Tombuctoo. He was conversant with the different languages of the east,
and possessed extraordinary enterprise and great accomplishments as a
traveler.
1838. CHARLES PHILIP WREDE, a Bavarian field-marshal, died. He
distinguished himself under Bonaparte, in the war against Austria, and
was severely wounded at the battle of Wagram. In the celebrated Russian
campaign he commanded, with great credit, the Bavarian contingent army.
1840. J. D. E. ESQUIROL, who so successfully introduced a new mode of
treating the insane, died.
1842. ELKANAH WATSON, a great friend of and writer on internal
improvements, died at port Kent, Essex county, N. Y., aged 86.
1847. JAMES KENT, so long distinguished as an American jurist and
philanthropist, died at New York, aged 84.
1849. ISAMBARD BRUNEL, the celebrated engineer of the Thames tunnel,
died at London.
1856. HERMAN E. LUDEWIG, a Saxon scholar, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., aged
47. He is known by his _Literature of American Local History_.