Chapter XVI: Part 16

1794. ROBESPIERRE appeared before the French convention as the _Champion of the Supreme Being_! It was thought advisable to found a religion, and it was necessary first to enact a supreme being, for _God had been abolished by a decree of the convention_. The tyrant made an eloquent speech, and concluded by declaring the real temple of the supreme being to be the universe; his worship, virtue; his festivals the joy of a great nation. His propositions were carried by acclamation, and a solemn festival proclaimed, which under the arrangement of David, the painter, was a magnificent affair.

1795. ANTHONY QUENTIN FOUQUIER TINVILLE, a notorious French revolutionist, guillotined. As public accuser, he caused the death of immense numbers, of all ages and either sex.

1796. BONAPARTE and the army of the French republic crossed the Po at Placenza.

1800. NICHOLAS PICCINI, an eminent musical composer, died at Naples.

1811. RICHARD CUMBERLAND died; eminent as a British poet, essayist, novelist and dramatic writer. The number of his works is very extraordinary, as was also his vanity.

1825. JOHN GABRIEL CHASTELER, governor of Venice, died. He was a Spanish grandee of the first rank, entered the Austrian service, and distinguished himself in several engagements with the French. He possessed a chivalrous and cultivated mind, and spoke 12 languages.

1830. Treaty between the United States and Turkey signed at Constantinople, securing to the United States the free navigation of the Black sea, and the trade of the Turkish empire.

1838. MARY SPROUSE died in Albemarle county, Va., aged 99. She was in the practice of carrying poultry, vegetables, &c., to market at Charlottesville, a distance of 8 miles, on foot, till within a few weeks of her death.

1838. THOMAS BRADFORD, the oldest master printer in America, died at Philadelphia, aged 94. He was the successor of Dr. Franklin as editor, and entered upon the business in 1763. During the revolutionary war he was commissary-general to the Pennsylvania division, and printer to congress. He was long known as a distinguished printer, editor and publisher.

1840. A tremendous tornado passed over the city of Natchez, very destructive to life and property. Almost every building in the city was more or less injured, many being utterly demolished. The amount of property destroyed was estimated at $1,500,000; and 317 persons were killed.

1840. THOMAS BARNES, principal editor of the _Times_ newspaper, died in London, aged 56. He was unquestionably the most accomplished and powerful political writer of the day, and particularly excelled in the portraiture of public men.

1842. The island of Hayti destroyed by an earthquake. Not a single town escaped without some casualty. Thousands of lives were lost, and property to an incalculable extent was destroyed. Cape Haytien was entirely leveled with the ground, and of 12,000 inhabitants, one half were buried under the ruins, and of those which escaped, a great part perished by fire and other disasters which followed. Bands of armed negroes came in the next day to plunder, and stabbed and shot the wounded wherever they found them, for the jewels and clothing they wore.

1844. It was discovered that all the watches on board the British schooner Henry Curwen, and the chronometer, had stopped, and on referring to the three compasses on board, they were found to point different ways, and were entirely useless. In about two hours afterward the watches and chronometer recommenced going, and the compasses resumed their position. This occurred in 44° north, and 32° 35´ long., at 4 A. M.

1848. The Polish insurgents surrendered to the Prussian troops, after great slaughter, at Posen.

1848. Insurrection at Madrid, when many lives were lost.

1848. The Indians, who were in a state of insurrection in Yucatan against the Spanish population, entered the town of Marie, and butchered 200 of the inhabitants, besides committing other outrages.

1849. Gen. WORTH died at San Antonio de Bexar of cholera.

1849. MACREADY, the English tragedian, hissed from the stage of the Astor opera house in New York.

1852. JAMES SAVAGE, a distinguished London architect, died, aged 74. The _Gentleman's Magazine_ contains a long list of the bridges and churches which attest his reputation and skill.

1854. The gallery of the Catholic church at Erie, Pa., fell, crushing the people below, and killing and wounding several persons.

MAY 8.

685. Pope BENEDICT II died.

1360. The treaty called the _great peace_ signed at Bretigni, by which Edward III renounced all his claims to the French crown and its territories.

1429. The siege of Orleans was abandoned. At dawn, the English army was discovered at a small distance from the walls, drawn up in battle array, and braving the enemy to fight in the open field. After waiting for some hours, the signal was given; the long line of forts, the fruit of 7 months' labor, was instantly in flames and the soldiers, with mingled feelings of shame and regret, turned their backs to the enemy. This was one of the inexplicable feats of Joan d'Arc.

1493. FERDINAND and ISABELLA confirmed, at Barcelona, the appointment of Columbus, on his return from the new world. "The office of admiral of the said ocean, _which is ours_, commences by a line, which we have ordered to be marked, passing from the Azores to the cape de Verd islands, from the north to the south, from pole to pole; so that all which is beyond the aforesaid line to the west is ours, and belongs to us; and of all this we create our admiral, you and your children."

1532. FRANCIS ALVAREZ PAEZ died; a Portuguese divine of the order of the Cordeliers, and an author.

1535. HENRY VIII of England had his _head shaved_, and commanded all about his court to follow his example.

1538. EDWARD FOX, an English prelate and statesman, died. He was the principal pillar of the reformation in England.

1572. Dame DOROTHY PACKINGTON sent the trusty and well beloved Thos. Lichfield and George Borden to be her burgess in parliament, informing the queen that whatever they might do in her service in parliament should receive her (Dorothy's) approval.

1638. CORNELIUS JANSENIUS died; founder of the Jansenists, who gave the pope and the Jesuits much trouble in Europe.

1655. EDWARD WINSLOW died; one of the first settlers of Plymouth colony, Mass., and afterwards its governor. He joined the fleet sent over by Cromwell to attack St. Domingo, the only place of strength which the Spaniards had in Hispaniola, and died at sea, aged 60. His marriage was the first that was celebrated in the colony.

1657. CROMWELL refused the title of king of England.

1659. A remnant of the long parliament assembled during the anarchy, and has been termed the _rump_.

1662. PETER HEYLIN, an English historian, died. He was an able and indefatigable writer, principally known by his _Description of the great World_, and _History of the Reformation_.

1676. Bridgewater, Mass., invaded by the Indian enemy, and 17 buildings laid in ashes.

1703. VINCENT ALSOP died; a presbyterian clergyman, who attacked Dr. Sherlock with great wit and some seriousness.

1725. Capt. JOHN LOVEWELL, with a party of 36 men, encouraged by his former success against the Indians (see Feb. 20), undertook an expedition against Pigwacket, on Saco river, was ambuscaded, and himself and a great part of his men killed. They made a brave resistance, determined to die rather than yield, and by their well directed fire thinned the number of the savages so that their cries became fainter, and they finally left the field, carrying off their dead.

1729. WILLIAM KING, archbishop of Dublin, died; author of a celebrated treatise on the origin of evil.

1744. GILES JACOB died; an English law writer, biographer, and lexicographer.

1758. BENEDICT XIV (Prosper Lambertini), pope, died. His character was that of a learned, liberal-minded and benevolent man. His works fill 16 vols. folio.

1775. The great tunnel at Norwood hill, through which the Chesterfield and Trent canal was to pass, was opened; its length nearly 1¾ miles.

1779. CHARLES HARDY, an English admiral, died. He was two years governor of New York, and was appointed commander in chief of the western squadron, 1779.

1782. SEBASTIAN JOSEPH CARVALLO DE POMBAL, a Portuguese statesman, died. He displayed great wisdom and abilities in the offices to which he was promoted; and under his munificence and patriotism the city of Lisbon rose from her ruins by the earthquake, in new splendor and increased magnificence.

1793. Battle of Vicogne, the French defeated by the Austrians under Clairfait, after an obstinate action and great carnage.

1793. JAS. RIDGWAY and H. D. SYMONDS, booksellers in London, severely fined and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for selling the books of Thomas Payne.

1794. ANTHONY LAWRENCE LAVOISIER, a French chemist, guillotined. His philosophical researches were of great service to science, and of practical utility to his country; he was condemned on the most frivolous pretexts.

1799. BONAPARTE made an unsuccessful attempt to carry St. Jean d'Acre by assault.

1806. ROBERT MORRIS, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, died. He was one of the most extensive merchants in America, and in 1781 was appointed to the control of the government finances, where the services he rendered the country were of the utmost importance. The army was frequently supplied by his own personal credit. It is painful to add, that the latter years of his life were passed in prison, where he was confined for debt.

1813. The Americans evacuated York, Upper Canada, after burning the blockhouses, barracks and king's stores.

1815. DAVID RAMSAY, an American physician and historian, died. By unwearied industry and economy of time he was enabled, amidst an extensive practice, to publish several important histories, and left others in manuscript.

1815. Saxony dismembered, and a great part of the kingdom given to Prussia.

1816. The United States ship Washington, 74 guns, put to sea, being the first American ship of the line afloat.

1822. JOHN STARK, a major general in the revolutionary army, died, aged 93. By his skill and intrepidity the first step was achieved towards the capture of Burgoyne, by the defeat of colonel Baum in the battle of Bennington.

1829. CHARLES ABBOT, lord Colchester, died; a British statesman.

1842. More than 70 lives lost by a rail road accident between Versailles and Paris among whom were the celebrated navigator, admiral Dumont d'Urville and his wife and children.

1846. Battle of Palo Alto. The Americans, 2,000, under Gen. Taylor, were attacked on their return from Point Isabel, by 5,000 Mexicans. The former fought their way through the Mexican lines, dispersing the enemy, capturing their baggage and artillery, and several of their superior officers.

1848. Great hail storm at Charleston, S. C.; some of the stones that fell were 7½ inches in circumference.

1852. The emperor of Russia visited the emperor of Austria at Vienna, and two days afterwards reviewed the Austrian troops, consisting of 20,000 infantry and 10,000 artillery and cavalry.

1853. JOHN FARRAR, a distinguished American mathematician, died, aged 54. He gave the active portion of his life to the service of Harvard college, to which he brought great natural tastes and aptitudes, habits of persevering labor, and deep conscientiousness.

1854. The sultan of Turkey gave a grand banquet in honor of Napoleon.

1855. JANE DAVY, widow of sir Humphrey Davy, died in London; conspicuous in literary circles for her accomplishments, unwearied conversation and physical activity.

MAY 9.

1502. COLUMBUS sailed from Cadiz, with four vessels and 140 men and boys, in search of a passage to the South sea, being his fourth voyage across the Atlantic. It was a disastrous expedition for the admiral, against whom the elements seem to have joined his countrymen, to complete the ruin of his fortunes.

1657. WILLIAM BRADFORD, second governor of Plymouth colony, died. He removed to America with the first settlers of the colony, and was their governor thirty years. He wrote a history of the colony from 1602 to 1646, which was deposited in the library of the old south church in Boston, where it fell a sacrifice to the fury of the British, 1775.

1657. A secret treaty signed at Paris between Louis XIV and Cromwell, for "the ruin and destruction of the proud and tyrannical monarchy of Spain."

1760. NICHOLAS LEWIS ZINZENDORF, a German count, died; founder of the sect of Moravians, or Hernhutters.

1767. CASSINI observed, by the position of certain spots, the revolution of the planet Venus on its axis.

1768. BONNELL THORNTON died; an English poet, essayist and miscellaneous writer, and translator of Plautus.

1776. ELLEN ELLIS at Beumaris in Anglesey gave birth to a child in her 72d year.

1781. British generals Arnold and Philips took Wilmington, Va.

1781. Spaniards took Pensacola and all Florida.

1791. FRANCIS HOPKINSON, one of the signers, died. He was judge of the admiralty court of Pennsylvania; his writings abound with wit, humor and satire.

1794. CHARLES HENRY D'ESTAING, a French admiral, guillotined. He was commander of the French squadron in the American war; and at the revolution in France became member of the assembly of notables.

1799. Sally from the garrison of St. Jean d'Acre, when they succeeded in spiking 4 cannon within the French lines.

1803. ROBERT CHAMBERS died at Paris; a learned English judge and orientalist.

1805. FREDERICK SCHILLER, an eminent German dramatist, died. He is also the author of a history of the revolt of the Netherlands from Spain.

1813. The siege of fort Meigs raised. It had continued 13 days, and it was computed that 1760 cannon balls and shells had been fired at the fort, by which 17 were killed and 66 wounded.

1832. ISRAEL THORNDIKE, a Boston merchant, died. He possessed a talent for business which enabled him to accumulate the largest fortune ever acquired in New England, amounting to nearly two millions. In 1818 he purchased the valuable library of professor Ebeling, of Hamburg, 4,000 vols., and presented it to Harvard university. This library is considered the most valuable and extensive in American history and antiquities, ever collected.

1832. CAMILLO PHILIP LOUIS BORGHESE, an Italian prince of immense wealth, died. He was an officer under Bonaparte, whose sister he married. After the abdication of the emperor, he broke up all connection with the Bonaparte family, and separated from his wife.

1836. CALEB P. BENNETT, governor of the state of Delaware, died, aged 78. He was the last surviving officer of the Delaware regiment in the revolutionary army.

1846. Battle of Resaca de la Palma and death of major Samuel Ringgold, whose place of sepulture in Baltimore is surrounded by an inclosure of Mexican bayonets.

1846. CHARLES TURNER TORREY died in the jail at Baltimore, Maryland, while sustaining an imprisonment for a breach of the laws of Maryland in relation to kidnapping slaves.

1853. An earthquake completely destroyed Schiraz in Persia; 12,000 lives were lost.

1854. An imperial ukase in Russia called for nine men out of every thousand souls of the "eleventh ordinary partial levy in the eastern portion of the empire," and, independently of this, three recruits out of every thousand souls to bring up arrears; the Jews furnishing ten men out of a thousand.

MAY 10.

664. The memorable pestilence in Ireland began.

1307. Battle of Loudown hill; Bruce defeated Aylmer de Valence, earl of Pembroke.

1422. HENRY V reduced Meaux, after a siege of 7 months.

1503. COLUMBUS discovered the Tortugas islands.

1547. CHARLES V summoned Wittenberg, defended by Sibylla, wife of the elector of Saxony; refusing to surrender, he ordered a court-martial who condemned her husband, then a prisoner, to death.

1574. Queen ELIZABETH issued her royal license under seal, for the performance of stage plays; the first establishment of a regular company of players in England.

1611. Sir THOMAS DALE arrived at the Jamestown colony, with 3 ships, 300 people, 12 cows, 20 goats, and all things needful. Lord Baltimore had previously left for England on account of his health, and Dale took command. Sir Thomas Gates arrived in August following, with 6 ships, 280 men, 20 women, 100 cattle, 200 hogs, and military stores, and assumed the government. These added to the 200 left by lord Baltimore, swelled the number to 800.

1631. Magdeburg taken by the Austrians under general Tilly, by assault, and given up to pillage, massacre and fire, only two churches and some ruins remaining.

1632. LOUIS DE MARILLAC, marechal of France, beheaded. He conspired against Richelieu, to whom he was indebted for much of his good fortune, and to whose resentment he fell a victim.

1641. JOHN BANNIER died; a Swedish general under Gustavus Adolphus.

1646. MANUEL D'ALMEIDA, a Portuguese Jesuit, died; a missionary to India 40 years, and author of a work on Ethiopia.

1649. Governor ENDICOTT, and other influential men in Massachusetts, formed an association against wearing long hair!

1671. The English admiral Sprague destroyed 12 Algerine pirate ships at Bugea, a seaport of Algiers.

1696. JOHN DE LA BRUYERE, a noted French author, died. His _Characters_, in imitation of Theophrastus, is a work of established excellence, and descriptive of the manners of that age.

1733. BARTON BOOTH died; a celebrated tragedian in the reign of queen Anne, author of some songs and minor pieces.

1773. An act of parliament passed, authorizing the East India company to export their own tea, duty 3d. per pound; in consequence of this act they determined to send it to New York, Philadelphia and Boston. In October of the same year the Americans refused to receive it.

1774. LOUIS XV of France died, in the 60th year of his reign. He outlived the respect of his subjects.

1775. Colonels ALLEN and ARNOLD surprised Ticonderoga, which surrendered, without the loss of a man. Crown-point was taken by them the same day.

1775. CAROLINA MATILDA, the divorced queen of Denmark, died at Zell, aged 24: youngest sister of George III.

1779. Portsmouth and Norfolk, Va., taken by the British, and many vessels, stores and houses destroyed.

1781. Lord RAWDON evacuated Camden, after destroying the public and private houses, and much of his own baggage.

1784. ANTHONY COURT DE GEBELIN, a French writer, died; celebrated as the author of _The Primitive World compared with the Modern_, a work which the French academy were so well satisfied with that they twice decreed him the annual prize of 1,200 livres for the best work.

1790. The _Gabelle Tax_ in France was abolished. This was a duty on salt capricious and unequal in its operation, which notwithstanding had continued since the beginning of the 14th century.

1793. CLAIRFAIT attacked and carried the wood of Hasnon; the slaughter of the French was great.

1794. Battle of Tournay and defeat of the French by the British and Austrians under the duke of York.

1794. ELIZABETH of France, sister of Louis XVI, guillotined.

1796. Battle of Lodi, in which Bonaparte gained an important victory over the Austrians, under the veteran general Beaulieu. The long narrow bridge which led to the city, was defended by 30 pieces of cannon. The French generals put themselves at the head of 3000 grenadiers, and in the face of a murderous fire crossed the bridge over the dead bodies of their comrades, who were mowed down by hundreds, and took possession of the Austrian batteries. The loss was about 3,000 men on each side. This was one of the most striking military achievements of Bonaparte. It was on this occasion that he received the title of _the little corporal_.

1796. The Babeuf conspiracy was discovered by the council of 500 in Paris. Babeuf and Darthe, the principal leaders were secured and executed, which completely crushed the Jacobin power.

1809. The Swedish diet renounced all allegiance to Gustavus IV, and deprived him and his heirs of the crown.

1811. French evacuated Almeida, after destroying everything, and the next day they abandoned Portugal entirely.

1824. JOHN GUTHRIE, the celebrated Edinburgh bookseller of the firm of Guthrie & Jait, died. Like Benjamin Franklin he wheeled home his own purchases.

1831. JOHN TRUMBULL, an American poet, died. He was for many years judge of a court in Connecticut, and is known as the author of the popular poem, _McFingal_.

1831. Battle of Terlepe; 20,000 Albanians under the pasha of Scodra defeated by the Turks under the grand vizier.

1837. All the banks in the city of New York without exception, and by common consent, stop specie payments. The banks throughout the Union adopted the same course.

1848. A very destructive fire occurred in Detroit, Michigan. The houses were of wood principally on leased land.

1849. The city of Leghorn taken by the Tuscan troops.

1849. Astor house opera riot in the city of New York.

1853. ASHBEL STRONG NORTON, an American preacher, died, aged 87. He was born in Farmington, Ct., graduated at Yale college in 1790; filled the pastoral office at Clinton, N. Y., with distinguished usefulness and success forty years, during which he was largely concerned in laying the foundations of social and religious institutions in central New York.

1853. The pope prohibited the circulation of _Uncle Tom's Cabin_, an American novel, in his dominions.

1855. A mob of armed men destroyed the Birch creek reservoir, in Clay county, Indiana, connected with the Wabash and Erie canal.

MAY 11.

1491 B. C. The Egyptians under Pharaoh drowned in the Red sea.

1153. DAVID I, of Scotland, died. He was earl of Northumberland and Huntington, and married the daughter of the king of England, for whom he claimed the throne on the death of her father. He was a mild and popular king.

1310. JAMES DE MOLAI, grand master, and 54 knights of the temple, publicly burned at Paris, under the decree of an archiepiscopal council. They were condemned on confessions of Islamism and paganism, extorted by the rack, and afterwards retracted.

1537. A terrible and destructive eruption of Mount Ætna.

1553. Three vessels sailed from England, under Sir Hugh Willoughby, to explore the northern seas. By this voyage an inlet was discovered to the White sea and the bay of Archangel, and an almost exclusive commerce established with Russia in that quarter.

1554. FRANCISCO DE ORELLANA sailed from St. Lucar, in Spain, with 4 ships and 400 men, for the purpose of exploring the river Amazon. He forced his way up about 120 leagues, and meeting with disasters by which he lost his ships and the greater part of his men, he turned about and died on his way back. "Orellana was very _warmly_ received by armed swift-footed females, which originated the fanciful name _Amazonia_."

1676. The Indians assaulted the town of Plymouth, Mass., and burned 11 houses and 5 barns; and two days after they burned 7 houses and 2 barns, and the remaining houses in Namasket.

1686. OTHO GUERICKE, a Prussian philosopher, died. He was the most celebrated mathematician of his time, and invented the air pump.

1690. Charlemont, in Ireland, taken by the English.

1696. The Reformed Dutch church at New York incorporated.

1723. JEAN GUALBERT DE CAMPISTRON, a French poet, died. He is thought to be little inferior to Racine in the merit of his dramatic compositions.

1743. Several tons of leaden pipe were dug up in Fleet street, London, laid down 300 years before.

1749. CATHARINE COCKBURN, an English poetress, died. She produced the tragedy of _Agnes de Castro_ in her 17th year, which was followed by several others. She possessed also a great and philosophic mind, and wrote an able defence of Locke.

1776. At an action near Charleston, S. C., between count Pulaski and the British, Major Huger of the American army was killed by mistake.

1778. WILLIAM PITT, earl of Chatham, a most illustrious English statesman, died. He was the friend of liberty and justice, and eloquent in their cause.

1781. Orangeburgh surrendered to the American Gen. Sumpter; prisoners taken, 82.

1782. RICHARD WILSON died; an English landscape painter of great merit.

1799. PHILIP NICHOLAS PIA, a French chemist, died. He was sheriff of Paris, 1770, and employed his leisure in objects of benevolence, till the revolution overwhelmed him.

1807. Action in the Dardanelles, between the Russian and Turkish fleets; 3 of the latter stranded.

1810. Hastalrick, in Catalonia, evacuated for want of provisions; the garrison cut their way through the French troops.

1813. SPENCER PERCEVAL, prime minister of Great Britain, shot in the lobby of the house of commons.

1814. ROBERT TREAT PAINE, one of the signers, died. He was a distinguished lawyer, of learning and integrity, member of the first congress, and judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts.

1821. GEORGE HOWE, editor of the _Sydney Gazette_, died. His paper commenced in March, 1803, in the 15th year of the colony, and was the first Australian periodical.

1838. ANDREW THOMAS KNIGHT died. His horticultural writings were exceedingly beneficial, as well to the gardeners as farmers.

1839. THOMAS COOPER, president of South Carolina college, died, aged 80. He wrote on law, medical jurisprudence and political economy, and translated Justinian and Broussais.

1844. STEPHEN WOOD, died at Miami, Ohio, aged 82. He was the last survivor of those who were associated with John Cleves Symmes in the settlement of North Bend.

1848. An expedition under Sir James Ross, sailed for the Arctic regions, in search of Sir John Franklin.

1853. PETER HITCHCOCK, an eminent civilian, died at Painesville, Ohio, aged 70. He was a member of the Ohio senate, and of the house of representatives at Washington; also for twenty-five years a judge of the supreme court of Ohio.

1854. The packet Pike, from St. Louis to Louisville, struck a snag, and sank in a few minutes, by which about fifty passengers lost their lives.

1854. J. DELIUS, of Bremen, assistant professor of English literature at Berlin, fell into the crater of Vesuvius, and perished there.

MAY 12.

48 B. C. Battle of Pharsalia, between Cæsar and Pompey, in which the latter was defeated, and escaped on foot. This battle forms an important era in the history of the world.

824. PASCHAL I, pope, died; distinguished for his benevolence and toleration.

1264. Battle of Lewes and defeat of Henry III by Leicester.

1294. EDWARD I of England met at Norham the states of Scotland, when they acknowledged his sovereignty, and engaged to deliver up to him their castles.

1430. The famous JOAN OF ARC, or maid of Orleans, pretended to be sent from God to save the kingdom of France.

1539. FERDINAND DE SOTO sailed from Havana with ten ships for the conquest of Florida.

1618. The Calvinists of Bohemia entered the castle of Prague, cast the leading members of the council from the windows, and took possession of the capital.

1621. The first marriage in the colony at Plymouth took place, between Edward Winslow and Susanna White.

1641. THOMAS WENTWORTH, an English statesman under Charles I, beheaded on a false charge of treason. The king was compelled by the clamors of the populace to order his execution.

1663. The books of the London stationers company record the names of 59 persons exercising the trade as master printers.

1690. JOHN RUSHWORTH, an English writer, died in the king's bench prison, where he had been confined 6 years; author of _Historical Collections_, in 7 vols. folio.

1763. JOHN JACKSON died; an English divine and historian, author of _Chronological Antiquities_.

1763. JOHN BELL, the distinguished anatomist of Scotland, was born at Edinburgh.

1771. CHRISTOPHER SMART, an English poet and miscellaneous writer, died; known by a popular translation of Horace. By some authorities his death is placed in 1770.

1780. Charleston, S. C., surrendered to the British; 2,500 prisoners and 400 cannon fell into the hands of the enemy.

1781. Fort Motte surrendered by the British to the American generals Marion and Lee.

1785. Mr. MCGUIRE having ascended from Dublin in a balloon, was carried with great velocity towards the sea, into which he descended, and was taken up nearly lifeless.

1791. FRANCIS GROSE died; author of the _Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_, a complete collection of British technicals, vulgarisms, and billingsgate used by gamblers, ostlers, servants, fishwomen, &c., which, though not very popular, or creditable to him, is yet quite a curiosity. He produced some other works of great merit, which mark him a profound antiquary.

1795. EZRA STILES, president of Yale college, died. He was eminent as a divine, and an indefatigable scholar. His publications were few, but he left 40 vols. in manuscript.

1796. The French under Bonaparte defeated the Austrians with great slaughter, who were compelled to abandon their guns and baggage, and take refuge under the cannon of Mantua.

1797. BONAPARTE took possession of Venice, boasting an independence of fourteen centuries.

1798. SIDNEY SMITH escaped from France after two years imprisonment.

1809. Vienna capitulated to the French, and Napoleon established his head quarters in the imperial palace of Schoenbrunn. The emperor had already quitted it, with all his family except his daughter the archduchess Maria Louisa, afterwards wife of Napoleon, who was confined to her chamber by sickness--on learning which, Bonaparte ordered that there should be no firing in that direction.

1809. Lord WELLINGTON took Oporto by assault, and the French under Soult were compelled to retreat to Amarante.

1809. Alcantara, in Spain, taken by a division of the French under Victor, together with the British garrison.

1848. ALEXANDER BARING, lord Ashburton, died in England, aged 78. He passed much of his youth in America, and was British embassador at Washington, to settle the Maine boundary in 1842. He acquired great wealth, and was a highly accomplished man.

1848. Posen incorporated with Germany, and the insurgent Poles disarmed.--Violent earthquake at Sienna, Italy.

1849. A crevasse was made in the levee above New Orleans flooding much of the city.

1854. The British ship Tiger, 16 guns, was captured near Odessa by the Russians, with 226 prisoners.

1855. D. J. MCCORD, an American lawyer, died at Columbia, S. C. He published law reports, and edited the _Statutes at Large_, on the death of Dr. Cooper, to whom the work was first entrusted.

MAY 13.

432. B. C. METON, the Athenian astronomer, began his famous _lunar cycle_ of 19 years (then marked by successive letters in gold, which are now called the golden numbers), with the new moon nearest to the summer solstice falling upon the 16th of Scirophion.

48 B. C. POMPEY, in passing through the Archipelago, stopt at Mitylene to receive his wife, the exemplary Cornelia, and there conversed with Cratippus, the philosopher, _on the nature of providence_.

1213. King JOHN received Pandulph, the pope's legate, in whose presence he subscribed an instrument by which the sentences of interdict, excommunication and deposition were revoked, conditionally that he reversed all his former acts of oppression.

1520. Massacre of the Mexicans by Alvarado, during the absence of Cortez. This happened on the great festival of their god _Huitzilopochtli_, in the month Toxcatl, the emperor being then a prisoner of the Spaniards in his palace, and the principal nobles gathered there for the dance, when the Spaniards fell upon them with the utmost fury. The victims were unable to defend themselves or escape by flight, and the slaughter was terrible. An insurrection immediately followed, and the quarters of the Spaniards were assaulted with such determined energy that they were compelled to hasten the return of Cortez, and led to the disaster of the 1st July (q. v.)

1539. A bill brought into the English parliament vesting in the crown all the property of the monastic institutions. This was followed by the fall of 644 monasteries, 90 colleges, 2,374 chantries, and 110 hospitals. The revenue of these establishments amounted to £161,000.

1568. Battle of Langside hill, Mary queen of Scots defeated by the regent Murray, and fled to England.

1607. Jamestown, Virginia, settled. Three small ships, with 105 persons intended to form a settlement, under Sir Christopher Newport, took possession of a peninsula in Powhatan river, and gave it the name of Jamestown. Though they had to strive against appalling difficulties, and were several times on the verge of losing or abandoning the enterprise, they were ultimately established, mainly through the great exertions and talents of Capt. John Smith, one of the most remarkable persons connected with the early history of the country, and indeed one of the most remarkable of an age prolific of memorable men. Jamestown was for a long time the capital of the state, but has sunk into ruin, and is almost desolate. Two or three old houses, the ruins of an old steeple, a churchyard, and faint marks of the rude fortifications, are the only memorials of its former importance.

1614. MARGUARD FREHER died. His books on law, criticism and history are numerous and respectable.

1619. JOHN VAN OLDENBARNEVELDT, a Dutch statesman, beheaded. Zeal for his country led him to oppose the arbitrary measures of the stadtholder, for which he was accused of treason and condemned at the age of 72. (See April 14.)

1625. CHARLES I issued a proclamation for "settling the plantation of Virginia." The colony was reduced under the immediate direction of the crown, and the commission to the new governor and council was accompanied with arbitrary instructions. "The commerce of the colony was restrained, and the persons of the colonists enslaved."

1649. WILLIAM CHAPPEL, bishop of Cork, died. His works have been translated into English. To him is ascribed, among others, the authorship of the _Whole Duty of Man_.

1704. LOUIS BOURDALOUE died; esteemed the best preacher that France ever produced.

1728. Counsellor HAGEN, formerly secretary to the famous baron Gortz, shot himself through the head. He left a letter to king George II, and a paper stating "I am quite weary of eating and drinking, of shunning my creditors, weary of being burthensome to my friends, weary of being vexatious to my enemies, and lastly tired with myself."

1734. JAMES THORNHILL, an eminent English historical painter, died.

1736. The foundation of the Ratcliffe library laid at Oxford, England.

1781. ROGER BYRNE, the Irish giant, was buried. He weighed with his coffin 578 lbs., and died of no other disease than suffocation occasioned by a superabundance of fat, which stopped the play of his lungs, and put a period to his life in the 54th year of his age. His height, it is believed, was nearly 8 feet.

1760. A copy of Tendall's testament sold at Oxford for 20 guineas, supposed to be the only copy of that edition unburned by Tonstall. This book occasioned some prelates to say that they must root out printing or printing would root out them.

1783. Society of Cincinnati established; originated by Gen. Knox, and composed exclusively of officers who had served in the regular army during the revolutionary war.

1790. Action in the port of Revel, between the Swedish fleet of 23 ships and 18 frigates, and the Russian fleet of 11 sail and 5 frigates, protected by several batteries and fortifications. A furious storm raged at the time, which destroyed two Swedish ships.

1799. BARTHOLOMEW MERCIER, abbot of St. Leger, died; a learned French author and a worthy man, whom the revolution reduced to poverty and wretchedness.

1806. Broome county in the state of New York erected.

1814. Madam MURAT surrendered the fleet and arsenal at Naples, and Ferdinand returned to his capital.

1814. British cannonaded and bombarded the town of Charlotte at the mouth of Genesee river. It was successfully defended by Gen. Peter B. Porter, with 150 volunteers and 350 militia.

1816. Treaty between the United States and the Sac Indians of Rock river.

1825. CHARLES WHITWORTH, an English earl, died; employed by the government as ambassador to different courts of Europe--a man of much private worth and unquestioned talent.

1832. GEORGE LEOPOLD CUVIER, the French naturalist, died. His grand work, the _Animal Kingdom_, forms an imperishable monument of his genius.

1835. ELIZABETH COOK, widow of Capt. James Cook, the circumnavigator, died near London, aged 94. She survived her husband 55 years, and was highly esteemed for her virtues.

1835. JOHN NASH, the architect of Regent street, Buckingham palace, &c., London, died.

1836. Sir CHARLES WILKINS, an eminent oriental scholar, died.

1838. ZACHARY MACAULEY, a distinguished philanthropist, died at London, aged 70. He edited the _Christian Observer_ from 1802 to 1816, with ability, and for more than 40 years dedicated his eminent talents and active energies in conjunction with other distinguished men to the abolition of African slave trade.

1839. JOSEPH FRESCH, archbishop of Lyons, died. He was the uncle of Bonaparte, and after the fall of the emperor resided at Rome in the enjoyment of immense wealth, and one of the first picture galleries in that city.

1841. The American Bible Society celebrated its 25th anniversary at New York. The whole amount of receipts during the year preceding, was $118,860·41; the number of Bibles and testaments published and circulated through the efforts of the society since its organization, _three millions_.

1849. A revolution at Carlsruhe, and the grand duke of Baden fled.

1852. GEORGE DOLLAND, an English astronomer and optician, died, aged 78. His father and grandfather followed the same pursuits. He is the author of the _Atmospheric Recorder_.

MAY 14.

1097. The siege of Nice, the Turkish capital of Soliman, sultan of Roum, opened by the French crusaders, whose camps formed an imperfect circle of more than 6 miles.

1501. AMERIGO VESPUCCI sailed with three ships furnished him by Emanuel of Portugal. This was his third voyage, which he extended as far as Patagonia.

1602. BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD, after a passage of 7 weeks direct west from England, discovered land on the American coast, and fell in with a shallop with sails and oars, manned by Indians, with whom they had friendly intercourse. They are represented as naked, "save neere their wastes seale skins tyed fast like to Irish dimmi trouses;" and the chief wore a few things of European fabric, described the coast with a piece of chalk, and "spake diverse Christian words." Their vessel is supposed to have belonged to some wrecked fishermen of Biscay.

1610. HENRY IV of France assassinated by Ravaillac. Above 50 historians and 500 panegyrists, poets and orators, have spoken in his praise; but the _Henriade_ of Voltaire is the most likely to immortalize him.

1652. British commodore YOUNG fell in with a Dutch convoy, and demanded that according to an act of king John (A. D. 1200) they should strike their flag to the British flag. This being refused, a severe action ensued, which ended in the Dutch flag being struck, after which they were permitted to proceed!

1667. JOAN HENRY URSINUS died; a Lutheran divine, eminent for his learning in sacred and profane history.

1692. Sir WILLIAM PHIPS arrived at Boston with the new charter by William and Mary, where he was received with great pomp, and conducted by the military, magistrates, ministers, and principal men of the country to the town-house, where the charter was published. This charter included the whole of old Massachusetts, Plymouth colony, the provinces of Maine and Nova Scotia, the islands of Elizabeth, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as the province of Massachusetts, of which Phips was appointed governor.

1731. A final settlement was made of the boundary line between New York and Connecticut; 60,000 acres called the Oblong being ceded to New York in exchange for lands near the sound.

1761. THOMAS SIMPSON, an eminent English mathematician, died. He was a weaver in the lowest circumstances, who raised himself to distinction by close application to science.

1780. PETER MONTAN LE BERTON died; an eminent French musician, and manager of the operas at Paris.

1781. Lieut. col. CHRISTOPHER GREENE (the conqueror of count Donop) and major FLAG, surprised and murdered at Croton river, by a party of refugees.

1785. Canal opened between the Baltic and North seas.

1796. Vaccination for cowpox first applied by Dr. Jenner.

1796. BONAPARTE made his public entry into Milan under a triumphal arch.

1798. DAVID RUHNKENIUS died; professor of belles-lettres and history, and librarian in the university at Leyden, and a learned and able critic.

1805. ROBERT BISSET died; a Scottish historian, biographer, and novelist.

1810. Lerida, in Spain, surrendered to the French general Suchet, who found large quantities of stores. Same day, Catalonians defeated the French, whose loss is stated at 45,000, and that of the Catalonians 25,000.

1814. British fleet on lake Champlain commenced a heavy cannonade on the American batteries under colonel Davis, at the mouth of Otter creek. The British were compelled to retreat.

1814. French defeated at Madrid by lord Wellington.

1814. Spanish squadron belonging to Monte Video, defeated by the Buenos Ayrean squadron under com. Brown.

1820. HENRY GRATTAN, an Irish statesman, died. He warmly espoused the interests of his country, and many important measures were effected by his eloquence.

1826. State prison at Sing Sing, New York, commenced.

MAY 15.

164 B. C. The Jews, upon the 15th Sivan, celebrate a feast for the victory of Judas Maccabæus over the people of Bethsan, or Scythopolis.

67. VESPASIAN invested Jotopata, in Galilee, defended by Josephus, the historian, a very interesting siege as it respects the latter.

392. VALENTINIAN, emperor of Rome, strangled at Vienne, in Milan, by order of Arbogastes, his rebellious general.

1213. King JOHN, oppressed with guilt and despair, resigned the kingdoms of England and Ireland to the pope, to be held of him and of the Roman church in fee, by the annual rent of 1,000 marks.

1464. Battle of Hexham, on the banks of the Dilswater, and defeat of the Lancastrians under the duke of Somerset, by Edward IV. The fate of the royal family after this defeat was extremely singular and distressing.

1494. COLUMBUS discovered a great number of small islands in the West Indies, which he called the _Queen's Garden_. These were in his opinion the 5,000 islands which Marco Polo and Mandeville described as the boundary of India.

1548. The emperor CHARLES V laid before the diet of Augsburg a _rule of faith_, which he compelled them to acquiesce in, notwithstanding that it was disapproved by both protestants and papists.

1567. Marriage of Mary, queen of Scots, and the earl of Bothwell.

1571. Moscow burnt by the Tartars, who had surrounded the city, and set it on fire at all points. The entire city was burnt down, and upwards of 200,000 of the inhabitants perished in the flames.

1602. BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD, in search of a suitable place to settle a plantation, discovered a head land in 42 deg., where he came to anchor; and taking a great number of cod at this place, they called it cape Cod, which name it still retains.

1618. The celebrated KEPLER discovered his canon for the periodical motion of the planets.

1645. Battle of Alderne, in which the earl of Montrose defeated the Scots under Urrey with great slaughter.

1664. The Dutch governor surrendered the island of Cayenne to the French, by treaty.

1674. Besançon, an ancient city of France, taken by Louis XIV.

1679. The Ashmolean museum, at Oxford, England, founded for the purpose of receiving the antiquary's "twelve cartloads of rarities."

1716. JOHN BAGFORD, an English antiquary, died. He was originally a shoemaker, became a bookseller, and an amateur of old English books and curious prints, with which he enriched several famous libraries.

1719. FRANCIS MALAVAL died; a Frenchman, who, although he lost his sight when 9 months old, acquired celebrity as a mystical writer on quietism.

1737. ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM, a Scottish historian, died. He wrote a valuable _History of Great Britain_ in Latin, which remained in manuscript till 1787, when it was translated by Thompson, and published in 2 vols. quarto.

1740. EPHRAIM CHAMBERS, an English encyclopedist, died. He was apprenticed to a globemaker, and during his minority projected his _Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences_, which appeared in 1728 in 2 vols. folio. It was extended by Dr. Rees to 45 vols. quarto.

1747. British fleet under Anson captured 1 French ship of 74 guns, 5 of 64, 4 of 60, 1 of 50, and 20 merchantmen.

1766. JOHN ASTRUC, a French physician, died; author of several useful and curious works.

1772. ANTONY FRANCIS RICCOBONI died; an Italian actor, author of _Art du Théatre_, a work of great merit.

1773. ALBAN BUTLER died; director of the English college of St. Omer's, and author of the _Lives of the Fathers, Saints and Martyrs_, with valuable notes.

1775. Congress resolved to issue paper money.

1776. American fort at the Cedars, 43 miles above Montreal, surrendered by maj. Butterfield, with 390 men, to capt. Foster, with 650 British and Indians. (See May 20, 27.)

1781. Fort Granby surrendered by the British to col. Lee.

1789. The number of emigrants which had passed through Muskingum to settle in Kentucky since the first of Aug., 1786, (not including those who passed in the night unnoticed) was 19,882. These were accompanied by 8,884 horses, 2,297 cattle, 1,920 sheep, 627 wagons, and 1,067 boats.

1800. JAMES MALLET DU PAN died in England, where he took refuge from the revolutionary mania of France. He was a literary and political writer, distinguished by the extent of his knowledge and vigor of style, as well as probity and independence of character.

1800. BONAPARTE crossed the mount St. Bernard. Each man, says sir Walter Scott, carried from sixty to eighty pounds, up icy precipices, where a man totally without encumbrance could ascend but slowly. Probably no troops but the French could have endured the fatigue of such a march; and no other general than Bonaparte would have ventured to require it at their hands.

1802. The Portuguese frigate Cine captured by the Algerines, after a smart action. The crew having ran below, the officers were all cut to pieces.

1814. The British plundered Poultneyville, on lake Ontario. They were driven off by general Swift.

1817. DAVID IRVING died at Philadelphia. He was taken prisoner on board the United States frigate Philadelphia at Tripoli and imprisoned there two years.

1821. JOHN WALL CALLCOTT died; an English musical composer, and author of a _Musical Grammar_.

1821. JOHN BONNYCASTLE died; an English mathematician, whose works are in use in this country. He contributed the mathematical articles for _Rees's Cyclopedia_.

1830. An extensive shower of red dust extending over Italy, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, &c., observed by Dr. John Davy.

1833. EDMUND KEAN, a celebrated English tragedian, died. It is ascertained that the total sum which he received for acting from 1814, was £177,000, averaging nearly $40,000 per annum for 19 years; yet he died poor.

1836. The village of Roanoke, on the Chatahoochee, Ga., attacked and stormed by 300 Indians, and burnt to ashes.

1838. JOHN MURPHY died in Fauquier county, Va., aged 106.

1847. DANIEL O'CONNEL, the Irish agitator, died at Genoa, on his way to Rome. His heart was sent forward and his body carried back to Ireland.

1848. Attempted communist counter revolution in Paris.

1848. RICHARD H. TOLER, a distinguished writer and for 23 years editor of the _Lynchburgh Virginian_, died at Richmond.

1854. GEORGE PERKINS, a retired Boston merchant, was murdered by the Chinese crew of a boat which he had engaged to take him ashore at Macao, whither he had just arrived from San Francisco.

1854. The ship Townsend, from Boston to San Francisco destroyed by fire, and several lives lost.

1854. An explosion took place in the Blackheath coal mines, Virginia; by which of the twenty-three workmen only one escaped death.

1855. The universal industrial exhibition was opened at Paris by Louis Napoleon.

1855. A destructive tornado swept over a portion of Lapeer county, Michigan.

MAY 16.

1277. JOHN XXI, pope, killed by the fall of a building. He was a Portuguese, and wrote on philosophy, medicine, &c.

1525. THOMAS MUNZER, a Saxon divine, executed. In conjunction with Stork, he pulled down all the images in the churches which Luther had left standing, and finally at the head of 40,000 men, commenced leveler of all ranks and distinctions, as usurpations on the rights of mankind. He was at length defeated in battle, when 7,000 of his followers were slain and himself captured.

1568. MARY, queen of Scots, crossed the frith of Solway, the _irremeable stream_, and landed in England.

1681. Female dancers first introduced on the Parisian stage, in a court opera, called _Le Triumphe de l'Amour_.

1691. LEISLER and MILBOURNE hung as the cause of the Schenectady massacre.

1710. THOMAS SMITH died; a learned English writer on the manners and religion of the Turks, &c.

1725. PAUL DE RAPIN DE THOYRAS, an eminent French historical writer, died. He served in the English army, and devoted 17 years to a _History of England_, which was published in 10 vols. quarto.

1747. M. BUFFON, the celebrated naturalist, communicated to the Academy of sciences the results of some experiments on burning glasses, asserting the account of Archimedes burning the Roman ships at Syracuse, were neither absurd nor false.

1770. LOUIS XVI of France espoused Maria Antoinette, archduchess of Austria. A violent tempest on that day was regarded as an omen of future misfortunes.

1776. The French navigator, DE PAGES, passed the 81st degree of north latitude, in an attempt to reach the pole.

1776. JOHN HOADLEY, an English poet and dramatic writer, died. He was the son of bishop Hoadley, took orders and was loaded with preferments.

1782. DANIEL CHARLES SOLANDER, a celebrated Swedish naturalist, died. He was the pupil of Linnæus; visited England, and went with Cook on his voyage round the world.

1793. EDMUND C. GENET, the French minister, arrived at Philadelphia. He was received with much enthusiasm by the citizens. (See July 14.)

1795. The Batavian republic formed, by the aid of the French, in imitation of France; being governed by a legislature and a directory of five.

1796. Earthquake in Syria; Lataka, the ancient Laodicea, was laid in ruins, and more than 3,000 persons buried under the fallen mass. The village of Gibel was totally destroyed, and many houses in Tripoli were tumbled down.

1801. Battle of Heliopolis; the French under Belliard defeated by the Turks under the grand vizier.

1806. Blockade of the Elbe and of Brest, a coast of 1000 miles, with no place invested by land, and before many of the ports no blockading ships.

1809. The rear guard of the French army attacked at Salamonde in Portugal, and compelled to retreat before superior forces, with the loss of their artillery and baggage; having lost about 8,000 men, 2,000 of whom were slaughtered by the Portuguese. The army was a fortnight without clothing, shoes, provisions, &c., excepting those procured by marauding, and they must all have been destroyed but for the great military talents of Soult.

1811. Battle of Albuera, in Spain; the allies defeated by the French under Soult; about 20,000 men fell in this battle.

1811. Action between the United States frigate President, Rogers, and British ship Little-Belt, which was captured.

1813. Battle of Mignano, Italy, and defeat of the French.

1828. WILLIAM CONGREVE, a British officer, died; inventor of the Congreve rocket, a hydro-pneumatic canal lock, and a new method of manufacturing gun powder, &c.

1830. The bill to remove the civil disabilities of the Jews rejected in the British parliament by a vote of 288 to 165.

1830. Great eruption of mount Ætna; seven new craters were formed, and eight villages were destroyed, to which the lava had never before extended.

1835. FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS, a celebrated English poetess, died. Her poems were extremely popular during her lifetime, and have been published in 2 vols.

1838. New York state banks resumed specie payment.

1841. A constitution of the republic of Yucatan decreed by the legislature and published at Merida, the capital; Yucatan having declared its absolute independence of the republic of Mexico.

1842. Count DE LAS CASAS, author of the _Memoirs of Napoleon_, died near Paris.

1849. The city of Bologna capitulated to the Austrians after a conflict of eight days.

1850. WILLIAM HENDRICKS, for some time governor of Indiana, died at Madison, aged 67.

1854. Tornadoes occurred in Alabama, Missouri and Illinois, accompanied with extensive damage to property.

1855. General CANROBERT resigned the command of the French troops in the Crimea, and was succeeded by general Pelissier.

MAY 17.

1039. HAROLD I, the second Danish monarch of England, died, at Oxford. A heavy tax which he imposed on his people made him unpopular. He was buried at Winchester; but by the cruel edicts of his brother the body was dug up, beheaded and thrown into the Thames; recovered and again buried only to be a second time disinterred and committed to the Thames; found and privately buried at Westminster.

1163. HELOISE, abbess of the Paraclete, died; celebrated as the mistress of Abelard, and for her learning. She was entombed with her husband. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1792, the principal inhabitants of Nogent-sur-Seine went in grand procession to the Paraclete, to transfer the remains of the lovers to a vault in their church. In 1800 they were transported to Paris, and one of the most picturesque and interesting ornaments in the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, is the sepulchral chapel covering their remains, constructed from the ruins of the Paraclete.

1498. VASQUEZ DE GAMA discovered the continent of India. On his return he again doubled cape Good Hope, which had long been regarded as the _ne plus ultra_ of navigation.

1536. GEORGE BOLEYN, an English statesman, beheaded. He was a man of learning and ability, whose elevation followed that of his sister Anne as queen; and when she fell, he too was degraded and unjustly condemned.

1575. MATTHEW PARKER, second protestant archbishop of Canterbury, died. He was deeply versed in Saxon literature and published a work on the antiquity of the English church.

1610. GERVASE BABINGTON died; bishop of Worcester and an eminent theological writer.

1617. JACOB AUGUSTUS THUANUS (alias De Thou) died; an illustrious French statesman and historian.