Chapter III: Part 3

1797. FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, an American statesman, died at his residence in Virginia, aged 63.

1804. Goree taken by the French from the English.

1806. EUGENE NAPOLEON BEAUHARNAIS married to Augusta Amelia, daughter of the king of Bavaria.

1810. LYON LEVY, a jeweler, threw himself from the monument in London.

1811. Gen. JUNOT wounded in the face by a musket ball, while reconnoitering the British lines.

1813. Battle at Frenchtown in Michigan, between the United States troops and the British and Indians, when the latter were defeated. American loss, 12 killed, 55 wounded.

1815. The British decamped from before Fort St. Philip, on the Mississippi, which they had bombarded from the 9th. About 12 o'clock at night they took to their boats, leaving 80 of their wounded, 14 pieces heavy artillery, and a great quantity of shot.

1815. STANISLAUS, chevalier de Bouffleurs, died at Paris, aged 78. He was the son of the marchioness de Bouffleurs, mistress of Stanislaus, king of Poland. He distinguished himself in the army, which however he left to give his attention to literature. He was considered one of the most ingenious men of his time, and was noted for the elegance of his manners and conversation. The epitaph on his tomb, written by himself, is characteristic of him: _Mes amis, croyez vous que je dors?_

1816. Thanksgiving throughout England on the restoration of peace.

1819. JOHN WILLSON, died in London, aged 52. He sometime held the chief command at Ceylon, and subsequently administered the government of Upper Canada.

1826. OMMEGANCK, one of the most celebrated Dutch landscape painters, died at Antwerp. His pieces are distinguished for good taste, and for freshness and warmth of coloring.

1829. JOHN GEORGE HENRY HASSEL, a distinguished German geographer and statistical writer, died at Weimar.

1834. NATHANIEL AMES died at Providence. He was the son of Fisher Ames, and a seaman by profession. He is the author of _Mariners' Sketches_, _Nautical Reminiscences_, and _Old Sailor's Yarns_.

1848. JOHN DEIDRICH PETERSON died at Markham, Canada. He was the pioneer pastor of that town.

1854. JUDAH TOURO died at New Orleans, aged 78; bequeathing nearly two millions of dollars to the public institutions of that city.

1854. WILLIAM WALKER proclaimed the republic of Sonora.

JANUARY 19.

1472. Birthday of COPERNICUS, at Thorn in Prussia.

1514. VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA returned to his colony at Darien, after having made the discovery of the Pacific ocean. His expedition occupied four months and a half; his triumph was complete. The whole population poured down to the shore to meet him, to hail him as the author of their fortunes, as less a man than a gift of heaven, to guide them into the possession of glories and riches incalculable. The expedition had been undertaken in consequence of the extravagant representations by the Indians, of a people who lived on the borders of that ocean, six suns distant, who owned large ships, and whose eating and drinking vessels were of pure gold. They referred to the Peruvians.

1535. Date of the probate of the will of the famed early English printer, Wynkyn de Worde.

1547. HENRY HOWARD, earl of Surrey, a soldier, scholar and poet, beheaded on Tower hill for treason. In his youth he made the tour of Europe, and at Florence signalized his courage and romantic spirit, by publishing, in the style of a knight-errant, a challenge to all comers, Christians, Jews, Saracens, Turks and Cannibals, in defence of the surpassing beauty of his mistress, the fair Geraldine; and was victorious at the tournament instituted by the grand duke on the occasion. He served in the army sent against Scotland in 1542, and in 1544 accompanied the troops with which the king invaded France. For his services he was promoted, but being defeated in an attempt to seize a convoy, he was superseded. This unmerited disgrace was the beginning of his ruin. He is said to have aspired to the hand of the Princess Mary, and on some frivolous charges was tried by a common jury, by whom he was obsequiously found guilty of treason. Thus perished a man "no less valiant than learned, and of excellent hopes," aged 27.

1565. JAMES LAYNEZ, one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, died. He was born in Castile, 1512. His intimacy with Loyola was formed in Paris, where they matured the plan of the society. Loyola was chosen the first general, and in 1558 was succeeded by Laynez.

1576. HANS SACHS, the famous German master-singer, died. He was born at Nuremberg 1494; his occupation that of a shoemaker. At the age of 14 he began to write poetry, and made verses and shoes, plays and pumps, with equal assiduity, to the age of 77, when he took an inventory of his literary stock in trade. It consisted of 4200 songs, 508 comedies, and other pieces, in all 6048, making 32 folio volumes written by his own hand. From these a selection was published in 5 volumes folio. His poems are distinguished for _naïveté_, feeling, and striking description.

1643. Battle of Liscard, in Cornwall, England.

1657. MILES SYNDERCOMBE and others convicted of plotting the death of Oliver Cromwell.

1706. CHARLES SACKVILLE, earl of Dorset and Middlesex, died. He was an accomplished scholar and a good speaker, but declined all public employment, being wholly engrossed in gallantry and pleasure. He was the patron of poets and men of wit: his own productions are those of a man of wit, vigorous, gay and airy. He served in the Dutch war of 1665 as a volunteer, and on the night before an engagement, composed the celebrated song, beginning, "To all you ladies now at hand."

1728. WILLIAM CONGREVE, the English dramatist, died. He was educated for the bar, but like many others similarly situated, gave up the law for the pursuit of polite literature, in which he was eminently successful. His first work, _The Incognita_, was written at a very early age, and he produced his first comedy at the age of 21.

1730. PETER II of Russia died of the small pox. He was the grandson of Peter the Great, and ascended the throne by the will of Catharine, when but 13 years old.

1757. THOMAS RUDDIMAN, a celebrated Scottish printer and grammarian, and who excelled in many learned treatises, died.

1776. Great eruption of mount Vesuvius.

1777. HUGH MERCER, an officer of the revolution, died. He was a Scotchman by birth, and was in the memorable battle of Culloden. Soon after, he emigrated to America, and was engaged with Washington in the Indian wars of 1755. He joined the patriots of the revolution, and distinguished himself at Trenton and Princeton; was wounded in the latter engagement, of which he died. His funeral was attended by 30,000 people.

1778. FRANCIS FURGLER, the New Jersey recluse, died. During 25 years, without fire, he lived in a cell in the form of an oven, about four miles from Burlington.

1782. The emperor JOSEPH pardoned all those who kept out of his dominions on account of religion, provided they returned within a year; he also abolished several religious orders, and absolved the monks and nuns from their vows, and at the same time disclaimed all subordination to the pope in secular affairs.

1795. Insurrection in the island of Granada.

1795. The French under Devinther took Amersfoort in Holland, and the advance of the French army entered Amsterdam.

1796. The brass coffin, containing the bones of Columbus and the chains with which he had been loaded at Cuba, were removed from St. Domingo to Havana, by the direction of his descendants. They are now preserved in a silver urn on the left of the altar of the cathedral.

1806. JAMES JACKSON, an officer of the revolution, died. He came from England only two years before the war, and although but 19 years of age in 1776, he displayed great intrepidity at the attack upon Savannah. He continued in the service throughout the war, and in 1782 was presented by the legislature with a house and lot in Savannah. He held various civil offices in the state, and at the time of his death was a senator in congress.

1809. The French entered Corunna.

1812. Ciudad Rodrigo, a town and fortress in Spain, eight miles from the Portuguese line, garrisoned by 1700 Frenchmen, taken by storm by the British under Wellington, after a siege of 11 days.

1817. Riot and rebellion of the students of Princeton college.

1819. CHARLES IV, king of Spain, died. He was born at Naples 1740, and came to the throne of Spain 1788. Too imbecile to govern, he was always ruled by his wife and ministers. He was dethroned by Napoleon 1808, and died a pensioner at Naples of a relapse of the gout.

1836. JOHN BUTLER, "the celebrated huntsman," died, in Wake county, N. C. He was supposed to be at least 110 years of age, and left a wife surviving equally as old.

1840. The United States exploring expedition under Lieut. Wilkes reported the discovery of a new antarctic continent on this day. A subsequent British expedition sailed over its site without being able to discern any vestige of it. It is supposed to have been a series of icebergs.

1843. THOS. W. WHITE, editor of the _Southern Literary Messenger_, died at Richmond.

1847. PETER R. LIVINGSTON, a prominent man in the counsels and politics of the state of New York, died at Rhinebeck.

1848. ISAAC D'ISRAELI, author of the _Curiosities of Literature_, died aged 82.

1853. C. B. ADAMS, an eminent American naturalist, and professor in Amherst college, died.

1854. GEORGE MCFEELY, died at Carlisle, Pa., aged 73. He distinguished himself on the Niagara frontier in 1813.

JANUARY 20.

1265. The earl of Leicester having defeated Henry III, summoned a new parliament, in which the commons were first represented.

1546. FREDERICK, elector palatine, established without any acts of violence, the protestant religion.

1662. Three women condemned at Hartford, Conn., as witches, one of whom was hanged.

1706. HUMPHREY HODY died, an eminent English writer. A dissertation on the resurrection of the body asserted is one of his most useful works.

1745. CHARLES VII of Germany died at Munich, aged 48.

1764. MR. WILKES was expelled from the British house of commons for writing the _North Briton_ No. 45. This famed individual was subsequently outlawed; disregarded his outlawery; was three times elected for Middlesex, and his election as often voted void by the commons, though returned by large majorities.

1770. Lord Chancellor YORKE committed suicide in the 48th year of his age. He was a distinguished English politician, and his death is ascribed to remorse for neglecting a promise he had made to his brother to accept of no office from court.

1776. Gen. SCHUYLER disarmed the Highlanders at Johnstown, N. Y., and took six hostages.

1777. Gen. DICKINSON, with 400 militia and 50 Pennsylvania riflemen, defeated a British foraging party, took 9 prisoners, 100 horses, 40 wagons and a number of cattle.

1779. BENEDICT ARNOLD condemned to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief, for misdemeanor at Philadelphia.

1779. DAVID GARRICK, the actor, died. He formed a new era in the English stage, a reform both in the conduct and license of the drama, which was honorable to the genius that had the power to effect it.

1781. A revolt of 160 of the Jersey line at Morristown. It was suppressed and two of the ringleaders executed.

1783. The Independence of the United States acknowledged by Great Britain.

1788. GEORGE JOACHIM ZOLLIKOFER, a Swiss divine, died. He was born 1730, and became one of the most eminent preachers of the last century. His sermons have been published in 15 vols.

1788. Australia first colonized, nearly three centuries after the discovery of the Ladrones by Magellan, which constitute a part of it. Governor Philip arrived with a number of convicts from England, and established a colony at Port Jackson in preference to Botany Bay.

1790. JOHN HOWARD, the philanthropist, died at Cherson in Russia, aged 63. He had taken up his residence at this settlement on the Baltic sea; a malignant fever prevailing there, he was prompted by humanity to visit a patient laboring under the contagion, when he received the infection, and died in consequence.

1790. LAFAYETTE, in the assembly of the states general supported the motion for the abolition of titles of nobility, from which period he renounced his own, and never afterwards resumed it.

1795. The French under Pichegru entered Amsterdam, and Geertruidenberg capitulated to Gen. Bonneau.

1795. A great fire occurred at Bergen in Norway, when 60 houses and a great many stores were burnt.

1796. PICHEGRU attacked Kaiserslautern, but was repulsed with the loss of 2000 men and several cannon. Austrian loss about 700 killed and wounded.

1798. The frigate Crescent sailed from Portsmouth, N. H., as a present from the United States to the dey of Algiers; she also carried out presents to the amount of $300,000.

1800. THOMAS MIFFLIN, an officer of the revolution, died. He was a member of the first congress, and for many years governor of Pennsylvania.

1813. CHRISTOPHER MARTIN WIELAND, a German author of great repute, died aged 80. He was the father of 14 children, and 42 quarto volumes of books by the sale of which last he was enabled to purchase an estate. He was knighted by Alexander of Russia, and by Napoleon.

1817. The weather had been so moderate that up to this time no ice had been seen on the Delaware at Philadelphia.

1817. JAMES ANTHONY, of Hanover co., Va., died, aged 104.

1823. The British government received advice that a Bengalee newspaper had been issued, edited by a learned Hindoo. Its title was _Sungband Cowmuddy_, or the _Moon of Intelligence_.

1835. The city of Mocha taken by the Egyptians under Achmet Pacha; by which the whole of Arabia was rendered subject to Mehemet Ali, pacha of Egypt.

1836. XAVIER SAUBERT, the celebrated fire-king, being engaged in making some experiments in chemistry, with phosphoric ether, it exploded and scattered his body into a thousand pieces.

1836. Treaty of peace and commerce signed between the United States and the republic of Venezuela.

1839. The army of the confederation of Bolivia and Peru, commanded by Santa Cruz in person, was entirely defeated and destroyed, at Yungay, with a loss of 2,600 killed and 3,400 prisoners. Santa Cruz immediately resigned his office.

1843. A report fully approving of the conduct of Com. McKenzie and his officers on board the United States brig of war Somers, was brought in by the court appointed for that purpose.

1848. CHRISTIAN VIII, king of Denmark, died in the 62d year of his age and 9th of his reign. A constitution was offered the same day by his successor.

1854. A tornado in Ohio half a mile in width demolished every thing it encountered, and almost entirely destroyed the town of Brandon.

This day in the calendar of Hesiod, is most propitious for the birth of men.

JANUARY 21.

988. ADALBERO, archbishop of Rheims, died. He assisted in placing Hugh Capet on the throne of France.

1582. FERDINAND ALVAREZ DE TOLEDO, duke of Alva, a Spanish general and minister of state, died, aged 74. It is said of him that during nearly sixty years of warfare against different enemies, he never lost a battle, and was never taken by surprise. He was undoubtedly the ablest general of his age; had a proud mien, a noble aspect and a strong frame; slept little, labored and wrote much. But pride, severity and cruelty tarnished his renown, so that he became odious even to his own countrymen.

1609. JOSEPH JUSTUS SCALIGER died, aged 69. His education commenced early, and he was one of the most indefatigable students through a long life, that was ever known. So entirely immersed was he in his studies, that he passed whole days in his chamber without eating or drinking, and paid very little attention to the common affairs of life. He may be called the founder of the science of chronology.

1647. The plague broke out at Edinburgh. A writer of the time says, that the last plague they had raged so violently that the fortieth person lived not of those who dwelt there four years before, but that it was peopled with new faces.

1666. SHAH JEHAN, a Mogul emperor, died, aged 74. He was the son and successor of Jehangir, but did not inherit much of the talent and spirit of that powerful ruler. During a severe illness the government was usurped by his son, and on his recovery he was removed from Delhi to Agra, where he died, probably by poison.

1692. King WILLIAM and his court issued a proclamation against vice and profaneness.

1702. The affirmation allowed by Queen Anne to the quakers in England, extended to those of Pennsylvania.

1707. AURUNGZEBE, (_ornament of the throne_,) died; the last powerful and energetic sovereign that ruled over the Mogul empire of Hindostan. From his 20th year, military duties devolved upon him; he raised a body of troops, and obtained the government of the Deccan. He invited his old friends the fakirs, or religious mendicants, to a feast, and compelled them to put on new and decent clothing. The gold and silver pieces which he found on burning their old garments, was of great service to him in prosecuting the war against his elder brother for the sovereignty. He stirred up dissensions among his brothers, by which they were put out of his way, shut up his father in his harem, and in 1659 ascended the throne. Notwithstanding his cruelty he governed with much wisdom, and consulted the welfare of his people. Two of his sons endeavoring to form a party in their own favor, he caused to be put to death by slow poison. In the midst of his activity he died at Ahmednagar, and with his death terminated the brilliant epoch of the Moguls.

1721. FRANCIS PAGI died, author of a chronological history of the popes.

1733. BERNARD DE MANDEVILLE, an English author, died. He was born at Dort in Holland, and went to England to practice medicine. Meeting with poor encouragement, he turned author; but his topics, though professedly intended for the promotion of the public morals, introduced him to the notice of the grand jury. His pen procured the means of subsistence, but acquired for him an unenviable notoriety.

1750. JOHN BLAND, the renowned writing master, died at his academy in London.

1759. Battle of Wandewash, in India. The French under Lally defeated with the loss of 800 killed and wounded, by the British under Col. Coote, who lost 262 do.

1769. The first letter of JUNIUS appeared in Woodfall's _Public Advertiser_; and the last number was also published on this day, 1772.

1773. ALEXIS PIRON, a French dramatist, died. His first effusions were satires, which procured him so many enemies that even in the latter part of his life he could not get admission into the Academy. He revenged himself by calling them _les invalides du bel esprit_, and composing his own humorous epitaph:

_Ci-git Piron, qui ne fut rien,
Pas même académicien._

1774. MUSTAPHA III, emperor of Turkey, died, and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamet.

1775. PUGATCHEF, the daring chief of the Tartars, defeated by the Russians, into whose hands he fell and was put to death.

1780. Admiral RODNEY of the English fleet arrived with his prizes and transports for the relief of Gibraltar; the garrison was short of provisions.

1782. Grand fete in Paris on the birth of the dauphin.

1793. LOUIS XVI beheaded at Paris, aged 38. He had reigned 17 years and 7 months, and is now represented as an amiable and benevolent man, anxious to make his subjects happy; who in turn treated him in the vilest manner, and executed him as a tyrant and a traitor. His behavior on many trying occasions vindicated him effectually of timidity, and showed that the unwillingness to shed blood by which he was particularly distinguished, arose from benevolence, and not from pusillanimity. Upon the scaffold he exhibited a firmness that became a noble spirit.

1814. JACQUES BERNARDIN HENRY DE ST. PIERRE, a French philosophical writer, died, at his estate near Paris. He is best known as the author of _Paul and Virginia_, which appeared in 1788, and passed through fifty editions in one year. It has been generally translated in Europe.

1815. MATTHIAS CLAUDIUS, a German poet, died. His prose and poetry are said to bear a peculiar stamp of humor, frankness and cordiality, and many of his songs, set to music by the first composers, have become a part of the national melodies. He filled several public offices.

1816. Day of general mourning in France, on account of the death of Louis XVI, twenty-three years after his execution.

1820. AMBROISE MARIE FRANCIS JOSEPH PALISOT DE BEAUVAIS, a French naturalist, died. He came to America in the pursuit of science, and while at Philadelphia learnt that he had been proscribed by the revolutionists as an emigrant. He supported himself as a teacher of music and languages until the arrival of the French minister, who afforded Palisot the means of prosecuting inquiries into the natural history of America. He was employed to arrange Peale's collection. On returning to France with his rich collections, he was admitted into the Institute, in the place of Adanson.

1824. CHARLES MACARTHY killed. He commanded at the Cape-Coast against the Ashantees. Whilst making preparations to repel these savages in 1821, the king sent his compliments to him, and said he hoped to have his head as an ornament to their great war drum. Subsequently Sir Charles marched against the enemy with a mixed force of Europeans and blacks; the latter ran away, and the whites being defeated and their commander captured, the ferocious menace was realized. The trophy however was afterwards recovered.

1839. Great conflagration at Constantinople, in which the grand vizier's palace, called the Sublime Porte, including the ministerial and administration offices, was destroyed. Loss estimated at 20,000,000 piasters.

1847. Major JAMES MORTON, died at High Hill, Virginia, aged 90. In the revolutionary war he acquired the cognomen of _Solid Column_, by which soubriquet he was recognized by La Fayette in 1824, at Richmond.

1854. The magnificent British vessel Tayleur on its voyage to Melbourne, wrecked on the Irish coast, and 370 persons lost.

JANUARY 22.

The _Catagogia_, an erotic and bacchanalian festival
celebrated at Ephesus by its licentious devotees, about the
first century.

97. TIMOTHY, to whom St. Paul addressed several epistles, is said to have been killed at Paris (Ephesus).

1265. First English parliament constituted of members from counties, &c., as at present, met.

1528. HENRY VIII and FRANCIS I declared war against Charles V of Germany.

1552. The duke of SOMERSET beheaded on pretence of inciting others to imprison Dudley, the duke of Northumberland. He was a distinguished writer of that age.

1561. Birthday of FRANCIS BACON, the English philosopher.

1562. The two houses of convocation subscribed the 39 articles of the English church.

1575. Queen ELIZABETH granted to Thomas Tallis and William Birde an exclusive patent for printing music, for the term of twenty-one years.

1683. ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, first earl of Shaftsbury, died. The career of this able, but dubious and versatile statesman was cast in a stormy period, and his acts have been severely reprehended. Yet much of it is to be attributed to the odium excited by opposing party feelings. His vices appear to have been redeemed by corresponding virtues, and had he appeared in a different age, it is likely he would have developed a different character.

1689. The British parliament having met under the name of a convention, declared that the king, James II, had abdicated the throne. William and Mary succeeded him.

1696. Birthday of JAMES BRUCKER, a German scholar, remembered by his _Critical History of Philosophy_, 6 vols. 4to. He gives an account of every school, from the Hebrew, Chaldaic and Egyptian, down to the Huron in America.

1749. MATTHEW CONCANEN, some time attorney-general of Jamaica, and a dramatic writer, died.

1788. Birthday of Lord BYRON.

1795. The French under Macdonald entered Naarden, Holland.

1800. GEORGE STEVENS died, best known as the editor of Shakspeare, though to the versatility and richness of his talent there are numerous testimonials. His literary collections were extremely curious, and as regards the days that are gone, of great value.

1809. Naval action off Guadaloupe between the British frigate Cleopatra and sloop of war Hazard, and the French frigate Topaz, 40 guns. The engagement lasted 45 minutes, and resulted in the capture of the Topaz, which was laden with provisions to relieve the garrison at Cayenne.

1810. The French forced the passage of the Sierra Morena, in Spain.

1812. Madame REICHARD ascended in a balloon to a great height at Kœnigsberg in Prussia. The balloon was totally destroyed by a hurricane, and the aeronaut precipitated to the earth, yet escaped with life.

1813. Second battle of Frenchtown in Michigan. The van of Gen. Harrison's army, about 750 men, was attacked at day break by 2000 British and Indians under Proctor and Tecumseh. Notwithstanding the superiority of the latter in numbers, the Americans fought with desperation six hours, when they surrendered. British loss, as stated by Proctor, 24 killed, 128 wounded; the loss of the Indians is supposed to have been greater. American loss, 200 killed, 522 prisoners, 27 escaped. Proctor was promoted.

1815. The remains of LOUIS XVI and his queen taken up from the burial ground, and deposited with much solemnity in the royal church of St. Denis.

1815. American commodore PATTERSON captured a British transport schooner, and took 63 prisoners. His own force was 53.

1815. United States privateer schooner Tomahawk 9 guns and 84 men, captured by the British ship Bulwark.

1818. CASPAR WISTAR died, a distinguished physician of Philadelphia. He was of German parentage, and a member of the society of Friends; became eminent as an anatomist, and corresponded with Cuvier and other eminent naturalists of Europe. He held scientific meetings at his own house, and was an active contributer to knowledge of all kinds. He died of a slow fever, caught by attending a poor family in a close apartment.

1822. JOHN JULIUS ANGERSTEIN died, celebrated as the founder of the British national gallery, which was purchased by the government after his death for £40,000, (_Cyclopedia Americana_ says £60,000) and was first exhibited in May, 1824. He was born at St. Petersburg, 1735.

1830. Great fire at Pera, Constantinople, extinguished by the exertions of the crew of an English ship.

1834. Great earthquake in South-America; the cities of Popayan and Pasto almost entirely destroyed, and many lives lost.

1835. ANDREW WALLACE died at New York, aged 105. He emigrated from Scotland in 1752, enlisted in the American army in 1776, and continued in it till 1813, when he was honorably discharged, on account of his disability, having suffered a stroke of paralysis.

1840. JOHN FREDERICK BLUMENBACH died at Göttingen, aged 88. He was long a distinguished professor at the university, and a very eminent naturalist. His collection of skulls was said to be the richest in the world. The 50th year of his professorship was celebrated in 1826.

1849. JOHN C. CALHOUN'S draft of an address to the people of the United States adopted in preference to Berrien's, and the Southern convention adjourned sine die.

1854. PATRICK O'DONAHOE died at Brooklyn, N. Y.; one of the Irish exiles who escaped from Van Diemen's Land.

JANUARY 23.

1401. TAMERLANE introduced his troops into the city of Damascus, in violation of a truce; and after levying an enormous contribution in gold, massacred the inhabitants, and reduced the city to ashes, in revenge of the murder of the grandson of Mahomet, seven centuries before, by the Syrians.

1516. FERDINAND V of Spain died. He inherited the crowns of Aragon and Sicily, and united to them the kingdom of Castile by marriage. In 1492 he added to these the kingdom of Granada, the last possession of the Moors, by conquest; at the same time Columbus was discovering for him the new world. By force and treachery he acquired the kingdom of Naples, and by similar means Navarre was also added to his dominions. Thus the whole of Spain was united under him; so that he may be considered as the restorer if not the founder of the Spanish monarchy. He was the most powerful monarch of his time; but his conduct was characterized by a total want of faith, and a recklessness of principle of which he made no scruple of boasting. He was the founder of that fearful tribunal, the Inquisition.

1570. Earl MURRAY, regent of Scotland, shot by Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh. The latter, after the battle of Langside hill, had been condemned to death as a rebel, and pardoned. A part of his estate, however, was bestowed upon one of the regent's favorites, who seized Hamilton's house and turned his wife out into the fields naked in a cold night, by which she became deranged. This injury induced him to seek revenge on the regent, after which he escaped to France.

1722. HENRI DE BOULAINVILLIERS, count of St. Saire in Normandy, died. Having finished his studies he entered the army, which however, he soon left to devote his attention to literature. A marked antipathy to revelation pervades his writings, and exhibits itself in singular contrast with a superstitious reverence for judicial astrology, and the mystic sciences, which he cultivated with much diligence.

1733. O. S. Birthday of BENJAMIN LINCOLN, a revolutionary general, at Hingham, Mass. Great reliance was placed in his abilities by Washington, and many important commissions entrusted to him. In 1781 he was appointed secretary of war, which office he held three years, and then retired to his farm. He died 1810.

1761. Action between the British frigate Minerva, 22 guns, Capt. Hood, and French ship Warwick, 34 guns, M. de Bellair, near cape Pinas, which resulted in the capture of the latter. French loss 14 killed, 32 wounded; British loss 14 killed, 33 wounded, 3 of whom died.

1765. The British under Capt. Byron colonized the Falkland islands.

1766. WILLIAM CASLON, an eminent English type founder, died. He was induced to attempt letter-cutting by a friend, and such was the perfection to which he carried the art, that the beauty of his type exceeded all others of the day, and was sought for from other countries on the continent. He was employed to cut characters for several languages of Asia.

1772. Mrs. CLUM died near Litchfield, England, aged 138. She had lived 103 years in one house.

1775. The Pennsylvania convention declared their determination, in case the arbitrary laws of England were attempted to be executed by force, to repel the same by the most determined resistance.

1780. The British ship Culloden of 74 guns lost off Long island.

1789. FRANCES BROOKE died, an English lady, remarkable for her literary accomplishments. Her works consist of novels, periodicals, tragedies, musical dramas, and translations.

1789. JOHN CLELAND died; author of the notoriously immoral romance, _Fanny Hill_.

1790. The mutineers of the ship Bounty having arrived at Pitcairn's island, and landed all their effects, set fire to the vessel and destroyed every vestige that could lead to the discovery of their retreat. The island was then divided into nine equal portions between them, and the natives were reduced to the condition of slaves. (See Oct. 3.)

1795. JOHN SULLIVAN, a distinguished general in the revolutionary army, died. He was of Irish descent, and before the revolution practiced law in New Hampshire. He was among the first to take an active part in the contest; resigned his seat in the first congress to enter the army; was conspicuous at several engagements; and terminated his military career in laying waste the country of the Six Nations, in order to put a stop to their depredations. After the peace he filled several important state offices.

1795. The French took possession of the Hague and Helvoetsluis, made 800 Englishmen prisoners, and liberated 600 Frenchmen.

1799. The French under Championnet entered Naples.

1800. A convention signed between Gen. Kleber and the grand vizier for the evacuation of Egypt by the French troops.

1800. EDWARD RUTLEDGE, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, died. He was a member of the first congress and acted a conspicuous part during the war. While the British beleaguered Charleston, his native city, he commanded a company of troops, and was taken prisoner. On the restoration of peace he returned to the practice of law, and a short time previous to his death was elected governor of the state of South Carolina.

1802. HUMBOLDT and his companions ascended Chimborazo to the height of 18,576 feet above the surface of the sea. The blood started from their eyes, lips and gums, and they became almost torpid with cold. A narrow deep valley prevented them from reaching the summit, which was 1344 feet higher.

1806. WILLIAM PITT, second son of the earl of Chatham, died. He was born 1759, and at the age of 23 became chancellor of the exchequer and the next year prime minister. It was during the early part of his career that the American war was concluded. Notwithstanding the emoluments of his offices were great, so far from acquiring wealth, he died involved. Parliament decreed him a public funeral, and £40,000 to pay his debts.

1813. GEORGE CLYMER, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, died. By the death of his parents he was left an orphan at the age of 7 years; but he was taken care of by his uncle, who left him a large fortune, with which to continue the business of a merchant in Philadelphia. His services to the country during the revolution, in raising supplies and devising ways and means to continue the struggle, were of incalculable importance.

1813. Horrible massacre of the United States prisoners taken by the British and Indians at the battle of Frenchtown the day before. The houses in which the helpless wounded lay were set on fire, and those who were too feeble to continue the march were shot or tomahawked on the road. It is morally certain that the British generals Proctor and Elliott were culpable for this wanton sacrifice of human life to satiate the revenge of the savages.

1813. ROBERT JAMISON died in South Carolina, aged 104. His eyesight, which had failed him some years previous to his decease, returned again just before his death in all its strength.

1815. Thanksgiving day in New Orleans, and a solemn _Te Deum_ on account of Jackson's victory.

1820. EDWARD, duke of Kent, died. He was the fourth son of George III. In 1802 he was appointed governor of Gibraltar, but his rigid discipline produced a mutiny, and he was recalled. The present queen of England is his daughter.

1824. STEPHEN ACOUR KOVER, an Armenian writer of distinction, died, aged 84.

1833. BANASTRE TARLETON died, aged 78. He commanded the British cavalry in the Carolinas, in the revolution.

1841. SARAH ANN DAVIS sentenced at Philadelphia for murder; the first capital conviction of a female in Philadelphia.

1844. WILLIAM GASTON died at Raleigh, the capital of his native state. The prudence and energy of his mother made a disposition, naturally volatile and irritable, become a pattern of patience and perseverance. His speeches when a member of congress were highly finished.

1853. JUNIUS SMITH died, aged 74; having devoted a considerable portion of his life to the establishment of transatlantic steam-navigation, and the naturalization of the teaplant in the United States.

1854. ALEXANDER DE BODISCO died at Georgetown. He was seventeen years Russian minister at Washington, and was very popular with the American people.

1855. There was an earthquake in a part of New Zealand, by which the surface of the earth was raised between three and four feet, and the shellfish attached to the rocks died.

JANUARY 24.

41. CAIUS CALIGULA, the Roman emperor, assassinated. He commenced his reign with every promise of becoming a good monarch. But at the end of eight months he was attacked with a fever, which appears to have left a frenzy upon his mind, for his disposition was totally reversed. After committing the most atrocious acts of cruelty and folly, he was assassinated by a tribune as he came out of the amphitheatre, in the 29th year of his age, and the 4th of his reign.

76. Birthday of PUBLIUS ÆLIUS ADRIAN, the Roman emperor. He was a renowned general and great traveler; who, on a visit to Britain, built the famous wall or rampart, which still retains his name, extending from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway frith, 80 miles, to prevent the incursions of the Caledonians into England.

1559. CHRISTIAN II, king of Denmark, died. His history affords a series of cruelties and usurpations almost without a parallel, from 1515, when he ascended the throne, until 1523, when he was deposed. The remainder of his life was passed in imprisonment.

1709. GEORGE ROOKE, an English admiral, died. He took the fortress of Gibraltar, by surprise, 1704; since which it has continued in the hands of the British, and is considered impregnable.

1712. Birthday of FREDERICK the Great of Prussia.

1727. PHILIP DE VENDOME, a French general, died. He distinguished himself in the army of Louis XIV.

1762. JAMES RALPH, a voluminous writer of poetry, politics and history, died. He was an American by birth, but went over to England about 1729. He wrote a history of England, commencing with the Stuarts.

1781. The British garrison at Georgetown, South Carolina, surprised and taken by General Lee.

1793. The French minister, M. CHAUVELIN, ordered to quit England before the 1st of February.

1795. Lord HOOD sailed from England, on an expedition against Corsica.

1797. At a dinner complimentary to Charles J. Fox, the chairman, the duke of Norfolk, gave as a toast, "Our sovereign's health, the majesty of the people;" for which offence he lost all his offices.

1812. DANIEL MCDONALD died at Canajoharie, aged 102. He was a native of Ireland, born in the reign of Queen Anne, and had seen four monarchs on the English throne. He took an early and active part in the revolutionary war; and was possessed of a most remarkable degree of activity, both of body and mind, until the morning he expired.

1834. WILLIAM DONNISON, an officer of the revolution, died. He was appointed adjutant and inspector-general of the Massachusetts militia by Gov. Hancock in 1788, which office he held until 1813.

1838. JOSEPH GOUGE, a revolutionary soldier, died, aged 109.

1838. Defeat of the Indians at Loche-Hatchee by the United States troops under Gen. Jessup; loss of the latter, 7 killed and 32 wounded.

1841. MATTHIAS DENMAN, an enterprising western pioneer, and in early life one of the first owners of the land on which Cincinnati now stands, died at Springfield, N. J., aged 91.

1851. G. L. P. SPONTINI died in Italy; a celebrated dramatic composer, in the line of opera.

1857. Dr. MEDHURST, English missionary to China, died, aged 71. He was also a noted linguist, and author of a work on China, a Chinese dictionary, and a Japanese and English vocabulary.

JANUARY 25.

275. LUCIUS DOMITIUS AURELIANUS, emperor of Rome, assassinated. He was the son of a peasant; his mother a priestess of the Temple of the Sun. He enlisted as a common soldier, and rose from that humble station to the highest military offices during the reigns of Valerian and Claudius, the latter of whom, on his death bed, recommended Aurelian to the choice of the troops. He delivered Italy from the barbarians, and conquered the famous Zenobia queen of Palmyra. He had planned an expedition against Persia, and was waiting in Thrace for an opportunity to cross the straits when he fell a victim to a conspiracy.

1327. EDWARD II of England, then a prisoner in Kenilworth castle, compelled to resign his crown in favor of his son, Edward III.

1533. HENRY VIII privately married to Ann Boleyn in a garret at Whitehall.

1640. ROBERT BURTON, an English divine, died. He is known principally by his _Anatomy of Melancholy_, a rare book, which it is said he wrote to divert his own thoughts from that feeling.

1692. The Indians, accompanied by some French, attacked the town of York in Maine, killed 50 and carried away 100 of the inhabitants, and destroyed the town.

1717. The episcopal clergy of Scotland, who had before been fined for not praying for King George by name were forced to abscond or fly their country.

1726. WILLIAM DE LISLE, a distinguished geographer, died at Paris. His maps are still of great authority.

1730. A fire which broke out in the archduchess's apartments at Brussels, consumed the palace, with the national records and state papers.

1745. Action in the Straits of Banca, (Sumatra) between the British ships Debtford and Preston, Com. Barnet, and three French company ships, in which the latter were captured.

1759. Birthday of ROBERT BURNS.

1782. DE GRASSE attacked the van of the British fleet under Admiral Hood. The French were drawn from their anchorage ground, and by a masterly manœuvre the British succeeded in obtaining it.

1786. CHARLES PRICE, one of the most successful counterfeiters ever known, committed suicide in prison, London. He had continued to practice forgeries on the Bank of England to an incredible amount during six years, contriving all the while to elude the most cunning devices of the police to detect him, although the notes were traced in every quarter to have proceeded from one man, always disguised and always inaccessible.

1787. Battle with the insurgents under Shays, at Springfield, Mass., who retreated with the loss of 3 killed.

1791. GEORGE SELWYN, a noted English wit, died, aged 72.

1804. JEAN JACQUES DESSALINES declared emperor of Hayti.

1807. Battle at Mohringen, in Prussian Poland, in which Bernadotte defeated the Russians under Pahlin and Salitzin, who lost 1200 killed and 300 prisoners.

1813. Concordat signed at Versailles, by which Napoleon allowed the pope to exercise the pontificate in France and Italy, in the same manner as his predecessors.

1834. Castle of St. Louis at Quebec, the residence of the British governor-general, destroyed by fire.

1836. General PAEZ gained a victory over the rebels at Venezuela near Porto Cabello.

1838. Earthquake in the eastern part of Europe. Seven severe shocks occurred during a few days, by which 300 houses were thrown down in the city of Bucharest, and 60 persons killed.

1841. The shock of an earthquake was felt in the city of New York and vicinity to such a degree as to excite considerable alarm.

1843. EDWARD DRUMMUND, private secretary to Sir Robert Peel, was assassinated in the streets of London. For nearly 20 years he discharged duties second to those of a cabinet minister, because less conspicuous.

1845. ABIGAIL LEONARD died at Raynham, Mass., 101 years old. She was the fifth in descent from John Alden, who first landed from the Mayflower on the Plymouth rock.

1849. The usual convention of the two houses of congress declared that the people had elected Zachary Taylor their president and Millard Fillmore vice-president.

JANUARY 26.

477. Subterranean thunders were heard simultaneously from the Black to the Red sea, and the earth was convulsed without intermission for the space of six months after. In many places the air seemed to be on fire. Towns and large tracts of ground were swallowed up in Phrygia, during this convulsion, the particulars of which would seem incredible, were they not corroborated by contemporary historians.

1564. The pope confirmed by a bull the decrees of the Council of Trent.

1630. HENRY BRIGGS, an English mathematician, died.

1679. Keel of the Griffin, the first vessel in the western waters, laid 6 miles west of Niagara falls, by La Salle.

1679. The invaluable library of Elias Ashmole destroyed by fire at his chambers in London, together with his collection of coins and other curious antiquities.

1681. Two Cameronian women hanged at Edinburgh for calling the king and bishops "perjured, bloody men."

1699. Peace of Carlowitz concluded between Leopold I of Austria, and Mustapha II sultan of Turkey, after fifteen years of hostility.

1721. PETER DANIEL HUET, a celebrated French critic and classical scholar died. He was engaged twenty years in publishing an edition of the Latin classics, which extended to 62 vols.

1730. A leaden pot containing a human heart preserved in spirits dug up at Waverly in Surrey, England, supposed to have been there 700 years.

1733. A negro for an assault upon a white woman was burnt alive in New Jersey.

1737. All the prisoners for debt in White Chapel jail, England, were discharged by the executors of the will of the late Mr. Wright who paid their debts.

1769. JOHN WHITE, printer and publisher of the _Newcastle Courant_, died, aged 81. At his decease he was the oldest master printer in England.

1779. ARNOLD sentenced by court martial to be reprimanded by Gen. Washington.

1782. DE GRASSE with the French fleet, 29 sail, attacked the British under Hood, 22 sail, but was repulsed with the loss of 1000 killed and wounded. British loss trifling.

1787. The assembly of notables met at Paris, having been called together to assist the king, Louis XVI, and M. Calonne, to raise a revenue to meet the exigencies of the times. M. Calonne presented his new plan of reform and taxation, imposing a share of the burden upon the privileged classes: but as the assembly was composed of these classes they could not make up their minds to impose taxes upon themselves which had hitherto been borne by the lower classes. The assembly was called to help the king and his minister out of a dilemma, but plunged them deeper in trouble, and accelerated the revolution.

1793. The stadtholderate of Holland abolished, and the Batavian republic under the protection of France established.

1793. The senate of Venice acknowledged the French republic.

1795. The French national convention declared Marseilles in a state of siege.

1795. The assembly of the states of Holland met and chose Peter Paulus their president for the term of fifteen days.

1814. The Russians under Blücher passed the Marne and marched upon Troyes. Bonaparte at the same time entered Vitry.

1820. HENRY ANDREWS, a self-taught English mathematician, died. For more than forty years he produced an almanac for a company of stationers under the name of Francis Moore, physician, and astonished the simple and ignorant by his marvelous predictions. His prophecies were as much laughed at by himself as by the worshipful company of stationers for whom he annually manufactured them in order to render their almanacs salable among the ignorant, with whom a lucky hit covered a multitude of blunders. A few years before his death he predicted that the people would soon know better than to be influenced by the prophecies which his employers required him to write. He did not live to see the publication of the _British Almanac_, which effected the downfall of _Poor Robin_ (the title of one of his almanacs), which ceased to exist in 1828.

1823. EDWARD JENNER died, aged 74, celebrated for having introduced the practice of vaccination as a preventative of the small pox. He was the youngest son of a clergyman, born in England 1749. He commenced his investigations concerning the cow pox about the year 1776, and twenty years afterwards the practice was introduced into London hospitals. The success of this discovery procured him honorary titles, and a grant from parliament of £20,000.

1838. JOHN O'NEIL died at Havre de Grace, Md., distinguished for the resistance which he made at that place, to the British under admiral Cockburn, during the last war.

1839. STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER died at Albany. He was born in the city of New York 1764, and graduated at Cambridge, Mass. He was the fifth in descent from Kilian Van Rensselaer, the original proprietor and patentee of the colony of Rensselaerwyck, a territory 48 miles long and 24 broad. He filled several offices, civil and military; was a man of great wealth, and distinguished for his magnificent charities and Christian virtues.

1839. Tremendous gale and heavy rain in the United States. The river at Philadelphia rose 17 feet above low water mark, and at Kenebec 13 feet above high water mark. New York and Albany were considerably flowed.

1850. FRANCIS JEFFREY, a Scottish jurist, celebrated by his long connection with the _Edinburgh Review_, died, aged 77.

1853. SYLVESTER JUDD died, aged 40; a unitarian clergyman at Augusta, Me., author of several works which found many admirers.

JANUARY 27.

438. St. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, one of the Fathers and archbishop of Constantinople, died.

1673. JEROME LALLEMANT, superior of the Jesuits in Canada, died, aged 80; leaving behind him a high reputation in his order. He furnished seven of the _Relaçons_.

1676. The Narragansetts, in retreating from their country in Rhode island, drove off from one of the inhabitants of Warwick, 15 horses, 50 oxen and 200 sheep.

1696. The Royal Sovereign burnt by accident. She was the first great ship built in England, and became one of the best men of war in the world. For sixty years she was so formidable to her enemies that none of the most daring of them willingly ventured an engagement. The levies of money for building this noble vessel caused the rebellion.

1733. THOMAS WOOLSTON, an English divine, died in prison. He imbibed a fondness for allegorical interpretations of scripture from reading some of the early writers--particularly Origen. His speculations finally led to an indictment for blasphemy, and being unable to pay the fine imposed, he was retained in prison. He was a learned man, but held notions peculiar to himself, which was a high offence in those days.

1760. The ice carried away one of the dykes of the Rhine, in consequence of which the neighboring country was inundated.

1783. The British under Gen. Mathews took possession of Bednapore and Candapore, without firing a gun, and the whole country, except Mangalore, yielded in consequence.

1795. PICHEGRU made a requisition upon the Dutch for the French army of 200,000 quintals of corn, 5,000,000 rations of hay, 5,000,000 measures of oats, 200,000 rations of straw, 150,000 pairs of shoes, 20,000 pairs of boots, 20,000 cloth coats and waistcoats, 40,000 pairs of stocking breeches, 150,000 pairs of linen pants, 200,000 shirts, 50,000 hats, to be furnished within a month, and 12,000 oxen to be furnished within two months.

1800. King John's castle, at Old Ford near Bow, in England, was blown down by a storm. It was built in 1203 and afforded the king a sleeping place after signing the magna charta.

1807. BURR'S conspiracy communicated to congress.

1807. BONAPARTE confiscated the possessions of Ernest Frederick Anthony, hereditary prince of Saxe Coburg, for holding a commission in the Russian service.

1807. Action between the British ship Caroline and the Spanish ship St. Raphael, which resulted in the capture of the latter, bound from Lima to Manilla, with 500,000 Spanish dollars, 1,700 quintals of copper, and a valuable cargo.

1814. Camp Defiance attacked by the Indians at day break. The United States troops and friendly Indians were commanded by Gen. Floyd, who repulsed the assailants with great slaughter.

1823. CHARLES HUTTON, an eminent English mathematician, died. He was born 1737; his father, a viewer of mines, intended him for the same employment; but he rose by his own energy and application to a high degree of fame and fortune.

1832. AUGUSTIN DANIELS, count de Billiard, died, a French statesman and soldier. He fought at Jemappes, was with Bonaparte through the Egyptian campaign; at Austerlitz; in all the great battles in Prussia; at Moskwa; and lost an arm at Leipsic. He made himself useful under Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe.

1832. ANDREW BELL, founder of the Bell or Madras system of education, died. It has been made a subject of dispute whether Bell or Lancaster is the progenitor of the monitorial or mutual system of instruction. In 1796 Dr. Bell returned from Madras, and submitted his system to the public. It has since been widely diffused over the civilized world.

1836. FREDERICK DAVID SCHAEFFER died, pastor of the German Lutheran church in Philadelphia. He was born and educated in Germany, but came to this country in early life. He was a man of learning, and distinguished for his knowledge of languages.

1840. ISAAC CHAUNCEY, a distinguished American commodore, died at Washington.

1841. MCLEOD arrested within the limits of the state of New York. Though engaged in burning the steamboat Caroline in 1837, yet being a British subject and that government having assumed the responsibility of that act, his arrest threatened a rupture of the peace between the two nations.

1850. WILLIAM ATKINS COLEMAN, for more than thirty years connected with the literature of New York, died.

1856. CHARLES MORRIS, a commodore in the United States navy, died, aged 71. He was the acknowledged chief of the navy in administrative wisdom and in varied professional attainments; had displayed great heroism and intrepidity in the capture of the Philadelphia and Guerriere; in the latter action he was shot through the body by a musket ball.

JANUARY 28.

814. CHARLEMAGNE, or Charles I of France, died. He was an illustrious sovereign, as well in the cabinet as in the field; and though he could not write his name, was the patron of men of letters and the restorer of learning. He wanted the virtue of humanity.