Chapter XXXI: Part 31

1839. JAMES MAITLAND, earl of Lauderdale, died, aged 80. He was the author of various publications on finance and political economy.

1842. An Affghan army under Akbar Khan, numbering 13,000, defeated by the British under Gen. Pollock, at Tetzeen. Three days after the city of Cabul occupied by British forces.

1843. The town of Port Leon in Florida, was almost entirely destroyed by an inundation and hurricane. The inhabitants selected a new site upon which to rebuild, a few miles higher up the St. Marks, which was called Newport.

1847. LEVI TWIGGS killed at Chapultepec, Mexico; a distinguished officer of the United States army.

1848. ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE, an American naval commander, died at Tarrytown, N. Y., aged 45. In 1842 he made a cruise in the Somers, in which he felt constrained to hang several mutineers to the yard arm. He published several works, and was a man of integrity and devotional feelings.

1850. The Advance and Rescue, American vessels in search of sir John Franklin, were completely fastened in the ice.

1855. The expedition in search of Dr. Kane, who was in search of sir John Franklin, arrived at Lievely, isle of Disco, Greenland, where they found Dr. Kane and his companions, who had left their ship in the ice, and traveled 83 days to a Danish settlement.

SEPTEMBER 14.

258. THASCIUS CÆCILIUS CYPRIANUS, beheaded. He was bishop of Carthage, and a principal father of the Christian church.

407. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, one of the most illustrious fathers of the church, died. His works were edited by Montfaucon in 13 vols. folio.

533. The Roman general Belisarius achieved the conquest of Africa, a chaotic waste of enslaved humanity, where the image of _intelligence_ is unknown.

1321. ALGHIERI DANTE, a celebrated Italian poet, died. His most considerable work is the _Inferno_.

1403. Battle of Homildon hill, in which the Scots were defeated.

1499. VASCO DE GAMA landed at Lisbon from his immortal adventure.

1523. ADRIAN VI, pope, died. He was of obscure birth, but his abilities raised him gradually to consequence.

1528. RICHARD FOX, bishop of Exeter and Durham, died. He was of obscure origin; besides his episcopal offices he was employed on several embassies.

1544. The English under the duke of Norfolk raised the siege of Montreuil in France.

1646. THOMAS HOWARD, earl of Arundel, died; famous for the discovery of the Parian marbles which bear his name, and which he gave to the university of Oxford.

1661. The bodies of May the historian, the mother and daughter of Cromwell, Pym and several others, were removed from king Henry VII's chapel and buried in the churchyard.

1666. A French expedition, consisting of 28 companies of foot and all the militia of the colony, marched from Quebec for the purpose of destroying the Mohawks. This formidable army, entered the Mohawk country, after a march of 700 miles, and laid waste their villages; the Indians, retiring into the woods with their women and children, escaped. The expedition was commanded by M. de Tracy, then upwards of 70 years of age.

1677. RICHARD ATKINS, a typographical author, who suffered much on account of his loyalty, died in Marshalsea prison, being confined for debt. His writings were all of the ultra kind.

1704. WILLIAM HUBBARD, a New England clergyman and historian, died, aged 83. He was settled at Ipswich, Mass., and was one of the best writers of the time in which he lived.

1711. The British fleet intended for the reduction of Canada having met with numerous reverses, arrived at Spanish-river bay, a council of land and sea officers, considering that they had but ten weeks' provisions, and could not depend upon a supply from New England, concluded to return home and abandon the enterprise.

1712. JOHN DOMINIC CASSINI, a celebrated Italian astronomer, died. He was invited by the senate to teach mathematics at Bologna, at the age of 15; and before his death had enriched science with a thousand new discoveries.

1714. THOMAS BRITTON, a celebrated musical small coal man, died. He rented a house in London, commenced business, and occupied his leisure hours in learning chemistry and music. He became an adept in those sciences, and excelled in many curious arts and crafts, all which he had acquired without neglecting his business. During the day he was seen with his sack and measure crying small coal, and in the evening conducting a concert at his house, where men of fashion and well dressed ladies of high rank ascended to his room by a ladder, to regale their ears. He was a member of a weekly society of black-lettered literati, where leaving his sack at the door, he entered the room among noblemen in his checked shirt, and produced his books collected from stalls and shops in blind alleys. His death was occasioned by a ventriloquial friend, who during a musical conversation pronounced these words distinctly as coming from a distance: "Thomas Britton, go home, for thou shalt die." Honest Tom, supposing the voice to have proceeded from an angel, went home depressed in spirits, took to his bed and died. He was twice induced to sit for his portrait. In one he is represented in a blue frock, with a small coal measure in his hand; and in the other tuning a harpsichord. One of them is in the British Museum.

1716. The Thames both above and below London bridge nearly dry, supposed to be caused by a strong west wind keeping back the tide.

1726. The Senecas, Cayugas and Onondagas surrendered to the English their habitations and country, from Cayahoza to Oswego, and sixty miles inland.

1741. CHARLES ROLLIN, the celebrated French historian, died, aged 81. He was the son of a cutler, and became famous not only as a writer, but also for his eloquence.

1751. JAMES PHILIP D'ORVILLE, a Dutch critic, died; professor of eloquence, history and Greek at Amsterdam.

1772. A bow and quiver were found in the new forest, England, supposed to have lain since the time of William Rufus, who was killed by an arrow in this forest in 1100.

1777. BURGOYNE, having collected about thirty days' provision, and thrown a bridge of boats over the Hudson, crossed and encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga.

1778. During the celebration of mass at Bourbon-les-bains, in Bassigni, France, the vault under the church gave way, which occasioned the death of 600 persons.

1784. JAMES ESSEX died; an Englishman famous for his skill in Gothic architecture.

1788. JORDAN NOEL DE VAUX, a celebrated French general, died. He was made governor of Corsica in 1769, and completed the conquest of that island; he was afterwards raised to the dignity of marshal of France. He had been present at 19 sieges and 14 battles.

1792. JOHN VANDER MERSCH died. He headed the insurgents of Brabant against the imperial forces, in 1789, and distinguished himself by his valor and prudence.

1795. The English drove the Dutch from their camp at the cape of Good Hope, and captured the Williamstad of 26 guns.

1811. JAMES GRAHAME, a Scottish poet and divine, died.

1814. The French advance guard under Murat and Beauharnois entered Moscow. No defence was made except by the populace in the Kremlin, who fired the palace, and the whole city was wrapt in flames. Of 4,000 superb stone houses, only 200 remained; of 800 churches, all were destroyed or heavily damaged, and of 8,000 wooden houses, about 500 escaped.

1814. Gloutzk attacked and stormed by the Russians; the Poles and French under Dombrofsky retreated with the loss of 1,000 men.

1816. WILLIAM BAWDWEEN, an English vicar, died. He was an excellent Saxon scholar, and translated the two first volumes of that curious national work the _Domes-day Book_, which was published by a vote of the British parliament. He proposed to publish the whole work, and is said to have left the other 8 vols. prepared for the press.

1835. JOHN BRINKLEY, bishop of Cloyne in Ireland, died. He was distinguished as a mathematician and astronomer.

1836. AARON BURR, third vice-president of the United States, died, aged 81. He possessed very distinguished talents, but manifested a lamentable want of principle.

1839. Don CARLOS abandoned Spain and retired with his family into France, by which the long protracted civil war in Spain was regarded as at length closed.

1847. Battle of Gareta San Cosme in Mexico, which preceded the entrance of the Americans into the city.

1848. The British forces under Gen. Whish had besieged for several days the city of Moultan, in northern India. After much bloody fighting, the desertion of Shere Singh, an important ally, they were compelled to withdraw.

1851. JAMES FENNIMORE COOPER, a distinguished American novelist, died, aged 62. He was born at Burlington, N. J., graduated at Yale, and adopted the navy as his profession. He stands at the head of nautical novelists, and is the author of historical works besides.

1852. The world-renowned duke of WELLINGTON, died at Walmer Castle, in Kent, England, aged 83; and the numerous honors concentrated upon him were scattered in various directions. (See Nov. 18.)

1852. AUGUSTUS N. W. PUGIN, styled the _Christian architect_, died at Ramsgate, England, aged 41. The revival of Gothic architecture in England is associated with the names of himself and his father.

1853. The engine of a freight train on the Ohio and Pennsylvania rail road exploded while running, lifting the locomotive from the track and hurling it fifty feet.

1853. The first ground broken of the European and North American rail road, at St. John, by lady Head, assisted by the lieutenant-governor in the presence of 25,000 people.

1854. ALEXANDER W. STOWE, chief justice of the state of Wisconsin, died at Milwaukee.

SEPTEMBER 15.

1590. GERARD BONTIUS, professor of medicine at Leyden, died. He was the first who immortalized himself by pills, having invented a kind, the secret of which was long unknown.

1596. Cadiz taken and plundered by Howard and Essex. Loss computed at 20,000,000 ducats.

1607. HUDSON returned to England from his first voyage of discovery, having discovered the island of Spitzbergen, but failed in the great object, the discovery of a north-west passage to India.

1609. HUDSON, in his first ascent of the great river, came in view of mountains which lay from the river's side, and anchored, it is supposed, near the present site of Catskill landing.

1613. THOMAS OVERBURY, a polite English writer, poisoned in the Tower. He wrote in verse and prose. (See 17th.)

1623. NICHOLAS BERGIER, historiographer of France, died. He wrote a history of the great roads of the Roman empire.

1643. RICHARD BOYLE, the great earl of Cork, died. He went to Dublin with a small fortune, and by his great industry and ability enriched himself and benefited his country.

1678. The expedition under La Salle arrived at Quebec from France; count Frontenac being governor of Canada.

1712. SIDNEY, earl of Godolphin, died. He began his political life under Charles II; voted for the exclusion of the duke of York, but became minister to the same person when James II; voted for a regency when James fled; became minister to William III, and under queen Anne became premier.

1745. ARTHUR BEDFORD, a learned English clergyman, died. He made great exertions for the reformation of the drama.

1775. ANDREW FOULIS, a learned Scottish printer, died. From his press issued some of the finest specimens of correct and elegant printing that were produced in the eighteenth century.

1776. The British under general Howe took possession of New York.

1777. WASHINGTON left Philadelphia and crossed the Schuylkill with the remains of his army, determined to give battle to sir Wm. Howe wherever he could meet him.

1784. The first ærial voyage made in England by Vincent Lunardi, an Italian.

1793. Battle at Parmesans; the French defeated by the Prussians under the duke of Brunswick, with the loss of 3,000 taken prisoners, and 27 cannon. Same day Wurmser advanced upon the French lines at Lauter and Weissenburg, and carried by assault the different redoubts, took all their tents and 26 cannon, and would have destroyed the greater part of the army had not their retreat been favored by a fog.

1794. Battle of Boxtel; the French under Pichegru defeated the Prussians. The French under Jourdan also defeated the Austrians under Clairfait.

1797. LAZARUS HOCHE died; a brave and intrepid general in the French army during the revolution.

1810. A plot discovered to massacre the British at Lisbon, though defending the Portuguese cause.

1814. One of the large vats in the brew house of Meux & Co., London, burst, and demolished two houses; 3,500 barrels of beer were lost and four persons killed.

1814. British ship Hermes, destroyed in an attack on fort Bowyer, at Mobile point, and the other three ships compelled to put to sea. The fort was attacked at the same time by the British and Indians on the land side. The American garrison consisted of 130 men, of whom 4 were killed and 4 wounded. British loss, killed and wounded, 232.

1819. An edict of the king of the Netherlands required, that in certain provinces, none other than the national language, the Flemish-Dutch, should be used in public business.

1829. Slavery abolished in Mexico by the president.

1829. JAMES HAMILTON died at Dublin; inventor of the Hamiltonian method of instruction.

1830. WILLIAM HUSKISSON, an English statesman, killed by a train of cars on the Liverpool rail road.

1833. JOHN GORDON SMITH, an eminent English scholar, died. He published a celebrated work on medical jurisprudence; became involved in pecuniary difficulties, and terminated his short and useful life within the walls of the Fleet prison.

1834. WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD, an American statesman, died. He was minister to France in 1813, and in 1825 a candidate for the presidency.

1838. ADALBERT VON CHAMISSO, one of the most popular modern poets of Germany, died at Berlin.

1843. Revolution in Athens, which, though not sufficient to eject king Otho from the throne of Greece, yet obliged him to concede much to the popular will.

1849. STRAUSS, the celebrated musical composer, died at Vienna.

1849. The sultan of Turkey formally refused to deliver up Kossuth and his colleagues, Hungarian refugees, on the demand of Russia and Austria, and diplomatic relations with the ambassadors of those powers were broken off.

1855. GEORGE T. NAPIER, a celebrated British general, died, aged 72. He first distinguished himself at Martinique in 1809, and afterwards in the Peninsula, where he lost an arm. He was seven years civil and military governor of the cape of Good Hope, where he introduced important measures and reforms.

SEPTEMBER 16.

1757 A. M. The covering of the ark removed by Noah on the 1st day of the 1st month, answering to our Sept. 16. (See Nov. 2.)

322 B. C. DEMOSTHENES, the Grecian orator, died by poison, on the most mournful day of the _Thesmophoria_, 16th of Pyanepsion.

36. HEROD AGRIPPA thrown into bonds at Rome by Tiberius.

655. MARTIN I, pope, died. He caused the doctrines of the monothelites to be condemned, and was afterwards sent to the Crimea by Constantine, where he died of ill treatment.

1186. A conjunction of all the planets at sunrise in Libra, on which occasion the astrologers had predicted great calamities.

1380. CHARLES V (_the Wise_), of France, died. By his abilities and energy, the English were dispossessed of nearly all their provinces in France.

1519. JOHN COLET, an English divine, died; known as the founder of St. Paul's school, London, for the gratuitous education of 153 pupils perpetually. His father had 22 children, yet at the time of making the above endowment, he had no near relative to inherit the property.

1589. MICHAEL BAIUS, an able French ecclesiastic, died. His writings are superior to the learning of the times in which he lived.

1655. The Swedish settlement on the Delaware, called fort Casimir, commanded by Suen Scutz, surrendered to the Dutch under Gov. Stuyvesant. The strength of the place consisted of 4 fourteen pounders, 5 swivels and some small arms, which were delivered to the conquered, who became possessed of the west side of Delaware bay, and the fortress was called New Amstel by the Dutch, and New Castle by the English.

1681. Action off cape Spartel between a British ship and an Algerine corsair with 327 men and 88 Christian slaves on board. The battle lasted from 2 till 8 P. M., within pistol shot, and was renewed again next morning, when the corsair, having lost two masts, called for quarter.

1686. FYCHAN GAUNOR died at Abercowarch, in Wales, aged 140. (1786?)

1701. JAMES II, of England, died in France. He was dethroned in 1688, and remained a pensioner on the bounty of the king of France till his death.

1732. The tide in the river Thames, England, flowed eight hours instead of four and ebbed five instead of eight.

1736. GABRIEL DANIEL FAHRENHEIT, a Prussian philosopher, died; eminent for his great improvement in the construction of thermometers.

1745. Bergen-op-Zoom surrendered to the French.

1775. ALLEN BATHURST, an English statesman, died. His biographers claim for him almost every talent and every virtue.

1776. Unsuccessful attack of the British on the Americans at Harlem Heights. British lost 20 killed and about 100 wounded.

1779. Count D'ESTAING summoned Savannah, Georgia, garrisoned by the British under general Provost, who amused the French until he received a reinforcement.

1782. CARLO BROSCHI (_Farinelli_), died; an Italian singer of great celebrity.

1784. ROBERT BELL the first who kept a circulating library in Philadelphia, died at Richmond, Va.

1785. Darkness so great at Quebec that no person could read at noonday. (See Oct. 16, 1783.)

1792. Three thousand French refugees had landed in England from the revolution in France; and in the course of the following year they were reckoned at 8000 priests and 2000 laymen. These were mostly destitute, and down to 1806, about two million pounds had been contributed to their support.

1795. Cape of Good Hope surrendered to the British by the Dutch.

1800. Battle of Lambach: the French took from the Austrians 1000 wagons of provisions, equipage and ammunition.

1804. WILLIAM TINDALL, an English divine and antiquary, died.

1805. An experiment with a calamaran made on a vessel of 300 tons burden opposite Walma castle, England, which succeeded and blew up the vessel.

1808. PETER ISAAC THELLUSON, a rich London merchant, died, leaving 500,000 pounds to accumulate till the male children of his grandsons are dead, which may extend to 120 years from his death, when it will amount to £140,000,000, and if there should be no lineal descendants, it goes to the benefit of the sinking fund.

1824. LOUIS XVIII, of France, died. During the reign of Napoleon he lived in England. He is represented as a mild and amiable prince, who consulted the wishes and happiness of his people.

1833. CALVIN EDSON, the _living skeleton_, died. His weight was about 40 pounds.

1833. The boundary line between New York and New Jersey settled.

1834. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD died in Edinburgh; eminent as a bookseller, and publisher of the well known periodical, _Blackwood's Magazine_.

1838. The entire rail way from London to Birmingham opened; when the passage including stoppages of 34 minutes, was performed in 4 hours, 48 minutes.

1839. The expedition under Dease and Simpson regained the Coppermine river after the longest voyage that had ever been performed by boats in the Polar sea--1631 statute miles. On the return of the party from the Red river settlement to England, Simpson perished by violence; but was more fortunate than Parke or Hudson, in leaving behind him his own record of his own achievements.

1848. JOHN P. CUSHMAN, an American jurist, died at Troy, N. Y., aged 64. He was born in Connecticut, graduated at Yale, and commenced the practice of law in Troy. He held various offices of trust, and was eminent in his profession.

1848. The populace of Frankfort attempted an insurrection, but were quelled. Prince Lichnowski and major von Auerswald were barbarously murdered by insurgents outside of the walls.

1851. HENRY WHITING, an American general, died at St. Louis. He began his military career in 1808, and was among the oldest officers of the army. He served with reputation on the Niagara frontier, and in the war with Mexico, sharing in the glory of the field of Buena Vista. He was a contributor to the _North Am. Review_.

1852. Earthquake in Manilla and places adjacent, which continued until 18th October, doing great damage.

1854. LUZERNE RAE, an American poet, died at Hartford, Ct., aged 43. After graduating at Yale, he became a teacher in the deaf and dumb institution at Hartford, where he found time to edit the _Religious Herald_, and the first six volumes of _Annals_ of the deaf and dumb, to write poetry, and collect materials for a history of New England.

1855. BENEDETTO PISTRUCCI, medalist to the queen of England, died at Windsor, aged 73. He was a member of various learned European institutions.

SEPTEMBER 17.

1575. HENRY BULLINGER, one of the early reformers, died. He was one of the authors of the _Helvetic Confession_, and assisted Calvin in drawing up the _Formulary_. His works form 10 vols. folio.

1614. THOMAS OVERBURY poisoned in the Tower with an envenomed clyster contrived by the earl of Somerset and his countess. (See Sept. 15.)

1621. ROBERT BELLARMIN died; an Italian cardinal, and one of the most celebrated controversial writers of his time.

1651. CONSTANTINE CAIETAN (_Thomas de Vio_), an Italian cardinal, died. He made a literal translation of the Bible from the original.

1665. PHILIP IV, of Spain, died. He was unsuccessful in his wars with Holland and France; and the Portuguese also rebelled, and compelled him to acknowledge their independence.

1673. JAMES BARRELIER, a celebrated French ecclesiastic and naturalist, died. He traversed the south of France, Spain and Italy, and during a residence of 25 years at Rome, collected plants and other objects of natural history, with a view to their publication. Dying before the work was completed, he bequeathed his manuscripts to the library of a convent; but soon after his death all his collections were dispersed, and some were burnt, except the copperplates, which were collected and published by Jussieu.

1683. Controversy between lord Baltimore and William Penn. Lord Baltimore appointed Col. Talbot to demand of Penn all the lands lying on the west side of the river Delaware and south of the 40th degree, as a part of Maryland.

1690. A fire in Boston destroyed the printing office of Bartholomew Green, which was the best furnished in America.

1703. Gelders, a Prussian city, surrendered to the duke of Marlborough, after having been long blockaded, bombarded and reduced to a heap of ashes.

1720. WILLIAM BURNET, son of the English bishop, took upon him the government of New York.

1753. The first theatre in New York opened in Nassau street by Lewis Hallam; the third stage on which the productions of the dramatic muse were exhibited to the inhabitants of the new world. The days of performance were Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and so continued for near half a century.

1759. Quebec taken.

1762. FRANCISCO GEMINIANI, died; an extraordinary performer on the violin, and composer for that instrument.

1767. FRANCES SHERIDAN died; an ingenious novelist and dramatic writer, and mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

1771. The Prussians under Gen. Platten, destroyed the Russian magazines on the frontiers of Poland.

1775. Americans under Gen. Montgomery laid siege to St. John's Canada.

1782. Permacoli, in Hindostan, surrendered by the British to Hyder Ally and the French.

1785. ANTHONY LEONARD THOMAS, a French poet and prose writer, died.

1787. The constitution of the United States adopted by the federal convention at Philadelphia, and referred to the conventions of the separate states for concurrence.

1795. The French national assembly directed that a copy of the _Dictionary_ of the academy, with the notes and additions in the margin, deposited in the library of the committee of public instruction, should be delivered to the booksellers, and that after a new one should be completed that it be returned; 15,000 copies to be printed.

1796. Battle of Altenkirchen, in which the celebrated French general Merceau was killed.

1802. RICHARD OWEN CAMBRIDGE died; an elegant English poet, critic and miscellaneous writer.

1811. A beautiful annular eclipse of the sun was observed at Richmond in Virginia and other places adjacent.

1814. Sortie and battle of Fort Erie. The British _sine qua non_, totally defeated, and compelled to break up the camp and retire. British loss, killed, wounded and prisoners, 578; American loss, 82 killed, 216 wounded, 215 missing--513.

1837. HENRY BROWN, a soldier of the revolution, died at Boston, Ohio, aged 104. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and other engagements.

1839. MATTHEW CAREY, a celebrated printer and bookseller of Philadelphia, died. He was a native of Ireland, and a man of great activity and benevolence. His writings are numerous and well known.

1840. EMMA ROBERTS, an English authoress of considerable note, died at Poonah, in India.

1842. HENRY FLOYD, a bricklayer of Romsey, England, died, aged 47. He was remarkable for his great bulk, being the largest man in England. His weight was about 500 lbs. Notwithstanding the unwieldiness of his frame he was in constant attendance upon his business, was shrewd, intelligent and good natured, and much respected. His coffin contained nearly 200 feet of inch board.

1851. JOHN KIDD, librarian to the Radcliffe library, died at Oxford, England, aged 76. He wrote upon medicine, mineralogy and geology, and furnished one of the best of the Bridgewater treatises.

1854. The steamer City of Philadelphia, seven days out from Liverpool, with 540 passengers, struck upon cape Race and became a total loss. The passengers were saved.

1855. The corner stone of the public library laid in Boston with appropriate ceremonies.

SEPTEMBER 18.

96. TITUS FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS, emperor of Rome, died. He was the last of the Cæsars. Juvenal has shown him a buffoon, and history fixed his infamy.

1014. A violent storm caused the inundation of a large portion of Flanders.

1069. The city of New York burned by the Norman garrison.

1180. LOUIS VII, king of France, died. He made a crusade, with an army of 80,000 men, to Palestine, but was defeated by the Saracens.

1609. HUDSON, ascending the river which bears his name, observing the water to become shoal, cast anchor in the neighborhood of the present town of Castleton, where he went on shore at the invitation of an old man, who appeared to be the governor of the country; who was chief over 40 men and 17 women; and who occupied a house made of the bark of trees, exceedingly smooth, and well finished, within and without. Here he found large quantities of Indian corn and beans, enough to load three ships, besides what were still growing in the fields.

1621. The Plymouth colonists sent an expedition consisting of ten men in a shallop, accompanied by Squanto and two other Indians, to the Massachusetts, to discover the bay, see the country, make peace, and trade with the natives.

1674. GABRIEL COSSART died; a French writer, who assisted Labbe in his grand collection of councils, which extended to 28 vols. folio.

1675. Battle of Deerfield, Mass., with the Indians. A company of 96 men under captain Lathrop were escorting 3,000 bushels of corn to a place of security, when they were so suddenly set upon by about 800 Indians, that only 8 escaped. This was a choice company of young men culled from the towns of Essex county. Another company, coming, though too late to their rescue, marched through and through that great body of Indians, and after a fight of five or six hours, came off with a loss of only two, and eight wounded. It is thought that had Lathrop followed the same mode of fighting, he might have escaped with a smaller loss; but his mode was to fight the savages in their own way, by skulking behind trees, and picking off single persons, which enabled five or six of the enemy, which were so greatly superior in numbers, to surround a single man, and deliberately fire at him at once. The Indians afterwards acknowledged a loss of 96 that day.

1684. JOHN ANTONIDES (_Vander Goes_), an excellent Dutch poet, died.

1721. MATTHEW PRIOR died; an eminent English poet and statesman.

1722. ANDREW DACIER, a very celebrated French critic and philosopher, died. He translated many of the classics.

1759. The city of Quebec surrendered to the English under brigadier general Townshend, and was garrisoned by 5,000 men under general Murray.

1773. The Polish diet finally ratified the treaty of the partition of their country between Russia, Austria and Prussia.

1773. JOHN CUNNINGHAM died; an ingenious pastoral poet and dramatic writer.

1777. Americans under colonel BROWN attacked and defeated the British on the north end of lake George and Ticonderoga, took 293 prisoners, released 100 Americans, and retook the continental standard left there on its evacuation in July.

1777. Congress at Philadelphia adjourned to meet at Lancaster, on account of the approach of the British.

1790. HENRY FREDERICK, brother to George III, and duke of Cumberland, died. His marriage with Mrs. Horton gave rise to the famed _Marriage Act of England_.

1792. The south-east corner stone of the north wing of the Capitol at Washington, was laid by general Washington.

1794. Bellegarde, a strong and important fortress, commanding the road from France into Spain, surrendered at discretion to the French under Dugommier, although abundantly supplied with every thing required to hold out a siege of many months.

1798. NELSON being applied to for assistance by the Malthese, sent a Portuguese squadron, consisting of 4 ships of the line and 2 frigates, which appeared before Valetta on this day.

1800. The treaty between Bonaparte and the pope, called the _Concordat_, ratified. This was dictated by the first consul and in every article infringed on the pretensions of the papal dignitary.

1811. Dutch surrendered the island of Java to the British.

1811. Battle of Ximena, in Spain, and defeat of the French under Soult.

1816. BERNARD M'MAHON, an eminent botanist from Ireland, died at his botanic garden, near Philadelphia.

1819. JOHN LANGDON died; an active and powerful advocate of the American revolution. He was a member of the congress of 1775, and of the convention which framed the constitution; a senator in congress, and governor of New Hampshire.

1821. JOHN NICHOLAS CORVISART, a distinguished French physician, died. He was physician to Napoleon, and greatly promoted the progress of experimental medicine and pathological anatomy in France.

1830. WILLIAM HAZLITT, an elegant English writer, died. He is also known as an artist.

1834. KEATING SIMONS died, aged 82; aid-de-camp in the revolutionary war to general Marion.

1838. Great eclipse of the sun over the United States.

1840. C. S. RAFINESQUE, an eminent botanist, died at Philadelphia, where he had been for several years professor of botany and natural history in Transylvania university, and author of several works on various scientific subjects.

1842. JOHN C. COLT under sentence of death in New York for the murder of Mr. Adams, killed himself on the day appointed for his execution.

1853. ANDREWS NORTON, an American theologian, died, aged 68. He wrote several theological works, was a profound and accurate scholar, and for talent, acquirements and influence, one of the most remarkable men of New England.

1854. The British consul at the Sandwich islands presented his protest to the king, against the annexation of those islands to the United States.

1854. WILLIAM PLUMER, a New Hampshire statesman, died, aged 65. He graduated at Harvard, and while in congress opposed the Missouri compromise. He was a man of taste, had an attachment to historical researches, and collected a fine library. He published two small volumes of poems.

1855. JOHN F. W. JOHNSTON, an eminent English chemist and mineralogist, died at Durham, aged 59. He published several valuable works on agricultural chemistry and geology, and was a contributor to the reviews.

SEPTEMBER 19.

880. ABBATEGNIA decided the obliquity of the ecliptic to be 23° 25´.

1356. Battle of Poictiers, between the English army of 12,000 men, under Edward, the _Black Prince_, and the French, 60,000 under king John. The battle ended in the utter rout of the French army and the capture of their king, who was afterwards led in triumph through the streets of London.

1471. The first book known to have been printed in the English tongue bears this date, and is entitled _The Recuyell of the History of Troy_, translated from the French, and printed by William Caxton, at Cologne. (See Oct. 4.)

1524. The imperialists under Pescara raised the siege of Marseilles and retired with precipitation towards Italy.

1587. JAMES PAMELIUS, a learned Flemish writer, died.

1650. STUYVESANT, the Dutch governor of New-Netherland, arrived at Hartford and demanded of the commissioners for the united colonies, a full surrender of the lands on Connecticut river. After an altercation of several days, articles of agreement in relation to boundaries were settled.

1665. The number of deaths by plague in London for the week ending on this day was reported to be 10,000; the greatest weekly mortality reported during the scourge.

1678. BERNARD VAN GALEN, a Westphalian bishop and general died. His ecclesiastical office was of minor importance with him, and he contrived to keep up a perpetual war with one state or another; so that when he died, his loss was little regretted.

1681. Desperate engagement between a Moorish vessel, the Half Moon, 32 guns, from Angier, and the English galleys James and Sapphire. Of the Turks and Moors 93 were killed; English loss 95 killed and wounded.

1693. At St. Malo three hundred houses were unroofed by the blowing up of a fire vessel sent in by captain Benbow.

1710. OLAUS RŒMER, a Danish astronomer, died.

1736. Mrs. MAPP, the famous bone setter, of Epsom, having set up a fine equipage, came to Kensington and waited on the queen.

1737. Gottingen university opened.

1745. The celebrated JONATHAN SWIFT died, aged 78.

1761. PETER VAN MUSSCHENBROEK, a distinguished Dutch philosopher, died.

1777. Battle of Stillwater, between the British under Burgoyne and the Americans under general Gates. The action was continued with great valor on both sides during 4 hours. The Americans retired to their camp at night, with the loss of 319 killed, wounded and missing. British loss over 500.

1778. Action between American privateer Hancock and British frigate Levant, 32 guns. The Levant blew up, and only 18 of her crew were saved.

1793. The new French calendar commenced. It divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each with 5 intercallary days, called _Sansculotides_.

1798. ELIHU H. SMITH, a physician and poet, died in New York.

1803. Dutch colonies of Demerara and Essequibo surrendered to the British.

1804. GEORGE ZABIRA, a learned Greek, died.

1810. JAMES CHEETHAM, a noted political editor, died in New York, aged 37. He was the biographer of Thomas Paine, and published the _American Citizen_.

1814. The boats of the British ship Forth, under the direction of lieutenant Neville, carried by boarding and destroyed the American letter of marque brig Regent, 5 guns and 35 men, at the mouth of Little Egg harbor.

1851. Battle of Camargo, between the forces of the Mexican government and those of Carvajal, in which the latter were victorious.

1851. FREDERICK WHITTLESEY, a New York jurist, died at Rochester, aged 54.

1852. Great inundation in the valleys of the Rhine and the Rhone.

1854. The allied forces which had landed at Old Fort, to operate against Sebastopol, commenced their march to that fortress. They consisted of 25,000 British, 25,000 French, and 8,000 Turkish troops.

1855. A terrible gale swept lake Borgne and the Gulf coast, causing loss of life and great destruction of property at Pass Christian, Mississippi city, Biloxi, and other points in the vicinity.

SEPTEMBER 20.

377 B. C. On this day was fought the famous naval battle of Naxus, in which the Lacedemonians were totally defeated.

331 B. C. ALEXANDER crossed the Tigris and entered Assyria. The army encountered great difficulties in the passage, both from the depth and force of the current, and the slippery nature of its bed. The cavalry formed a double line, within which the infantry marched with their shields over their heads, and their arms interlinked. In this manner they crossed without loss of lives. Their entrance into Assyria was signalized by an almost total eclipse of the moon, by which the date of the event is determined.

92 B. C. LUCIUS LUCINIUS CRASSUS died; a Roman orator, greatly commended by Cicero.

692. ABDULLAH IBN ZOBEYR, khalif of Mecca, having been besieged nine months in his capital until he was deserted by his friends and family, put himself at the head of five faithful followers, and rushed upon the besiegers, by whom he was slain, at the age of 72.

1142. MAUD, queen of England, besieged in Oxford by the forces of Stephen, but escaped on foot.

1384. LOUIS I, duke of Anjou, died at Paris, of a broken heart, in consequence of the ill success of his measures.

1415. OWEN GLENDOWER, a celebrated Welch warrior, died; he opposed the sovereignty of Henry IV of England more than fourteen years, by force of arms, declaring him to be an usurper and the murderer of Richard II.

1527. JANUS GRUTERIUS, an eminent Dutch philologer, died. He was an able critic, a man of extensive erudition, and a very voluminous and respectable writer.

1581. HUBERT LANGUET, an eminent French statesman, died. He was a man of great political knowledge, and deservedly esteemed by the wisest and most eminent men of his age.

1586. ANTHONY BABINGTON with others cruelly executed in St. Giles's fields for a conspiracy against queen Elizabeth.

1639. JOHN MEURSIUS, a learned Dutch scholar, died. His works were printed at Florence in 12 vols. folio.

1643. Battle of Newbury, between the royalists under prince Rupert, and the parliamentary forces under the earl of Essex. Night put an end to the action, and left the victory undecided. Lucius Carey, lord Falkland, and the earls of Sunderland and Carnaervon, were killed.

1653. The New England colonies declared war against Ninigret, sachem of the Niantick Indians, and voted that 250 foot soldiers should be immediately raised in the four colonies: Massachusetts to send 166, Plymouth 30, Connecticut 33, New-Haven 21.

1662. JOHN GAUDEN, an English prelate, died. He published the _Icon Basilike_ of Charles I, and had the good fortune to escape the search of the parliament for the publisher of that popular book.

1668. VINCENT WING died; a famous English astronomer and astrologer, who published _The Celestial Harmony of the Visible World_, and other works.

1736. JOHN BERNARDI died in Newgate prison, England, aged 79. He had been confined there 40 years on a false charge of plotting the assassination of William III.

1740. CHARLES VI died; sixteenth and last emperor of Germany of the house of Austria, in the male line; he was succeeded by his daughter Maria Theresa.

1746. The _Young Pretender_, CHARLES EDWARD, having been completely defeated at Culloden, embarked for France at Lochmannoch, in a privateer of St. Malo, and arrived safe. His followers were less fortunate.

1759. JULIAN LE ROY, a distinguished French mechanic, died. His watches acquired great celebrity.

1761. Auto-da-fé at Lisbon; there were 54 criminals, 3 of them in effigy.

1770. Captain PHIPPS returned to London from his voyage to the polar seas, being stopped by ice, latitude 81° 30´ north.

1783. Captain TURNER, the traveler, was received at Jikadze, the capital of the lama of Thibet.

1791. LOUIS XVI, for the first time after his return from Varennes, repaired to the hall of the national assembly, in order to give his adhesion, viva voce, to the new constitution.

1792. Battle of Valmy, between the French and allies. It is stated that although more than 40,000 cannon shot were fired in this engagement, not more than 400 men were killed.

1805. PIERRE FRANÇOIS ANDRE MECHAIN died at Castillon, in Spain. His theory of eclipses and other astronomical phenomena has much merit.

1814. The British under general DRUMMOND, in consequence of the losses sustained on the 17th, raised the siege of fort Erie.

1814. AUGUSTUS WILLIAM IFLAND, a German actor and dramatic writer, died at Berlin, and was interred with great pomp.

1815. WILLIAM HUTTON died; the historian of Birmingham, and author of various other works.

1831. JOHN HENRY HOBART, bishop of the protestant episcopal diocese of New York, died; a man of vigorous intellect and great decision of character.

1840. FRANCIA, dictator of Paraguay, died at Paraguay, at a very advanced age.

1842. WILLIAM MAGINN died in England. He was a contributor to the London _Literary Gazette_, and in 1818-20 to _Blackwood's Magazine_ under the signature of O'Doherty.

1849. JONATHAN H. HUBBARD, a distinguished American statesman, of Vermont, died, aged 81.

1852. PHILANDER CHASE, bishop of Illinois, died at Peoria, aged 76. He was a native of New Hampshire; was bishop of Ohio 12 years, of Illinois 17 years; laid the foundation of Kenyon college, and was president of Jubilee college.

1854. The allies attacked the Russians under Menschikoff, who 40,000 in number, were strongly entrenched upon the heights of Alma, and after a contest of four hours drove them from the ground with great loss. The allies had about 500 killed and 2,500 wounded; the Russian loss said to have been more than 7,000.

SEPTEMBER 21.

60. Saint MATTHEW, the apostle, died at Heliopolis, in Parthia.

1327. EDWARD II, 10th king of England, barbarously murdered at Berkley castle. Less wise and firm than his father, he forfeited the confidence of his people, and his wife Isabella joined the rebellion against him.

1520. SELIM I, sultan of Turkey, died. He came to the throne by causing the death of his father and two brothers. He conquered Egypt and crushed the power of the Mamelukes, which for 260 years had governed that country.

1534. ALCAZABA sailed from Cadiz on a voyage of discovery. He was murdered in the straits of Magellan by his crew, and the ship was wrecked at Brazil.

1558. CHARLES V, emperor of Germany, died. He ascended the throne of Spain 1518, and two years afterwards was elected to the empire. After a reign of 38 years he resigned and retired to a cloister. His death was caused by taking cold on getting out of his coffin after having gone through with a mock funeral, to gratify an idle whim.

1576. JEROME CARDAN died; an Italian physician, and one of the most extraordinary men of the age. His works were printed at Lyons in 10 vols. folio.

1609. HUDSON arrived in the vicinity of Albany, and having satisfied himself by despatching a boat seven or eight miles farther up, that he had gained the head of ship navigation, he prepared to retrace his course.

1659. First Esopus war began.

1704. BEAT DE ZURLAUBEN (_the younger_), a Swiss general in the French army, died at Ulm, in consequence of seven wounds which he had received at the battle of Hochstadt.

1723. The Irish house of commons addressed king George I on the evils of Wood's halfpence. For some time this subject was a theme for lampoons and Dean Swift's wit.

1733. NOEL STEPHEN SANADON, a learned French Jesuit, died; professor of rhetoric at Paris, and author of several much admired orations and poems.

1735. PETER ARTEDI drowned; a Swedish naturalist, so intimate with Linnæus that they made each other heirs of their manuscripts and other literary property.

1745. Battle of Prestonpans, in England, between the forces of the young pretender and those of the king. The former gained a complete victory with the loss of only 50; while 500 of the king's troops were killed on the field of battle, and lost their artillery, colors, tents, baggage and military chest.

1748. JOHN BALGUY died; an eminent English prelate, and controversial and metaphysical writer. He committed 200 of his sermons to the flames in presence of his son, afterwards prebendary of Winchester, whom he wished to excite to the same laudable application.

1757. ROBERT PARR died at Brignorth, England, aged 124. He was a great grandson of Thomas Parr who attained the age of 152. One of the sons of the latter attained the age of 109, and a grandson died at the age of 113. Their mode of living was simple and temperate.

1761. GABRIEL MALAGRIDA, an Italian Jesuit, burnt in Portugal as a false prophet. His zeal and eloquence rendered him popular, but he became obnoxious to the inquisition after the abolition of his order.

1776. Great fire in New York, then in possession of the British; 1,000 houses were burnt.

1777. British under general Grey, surprised the Americans under general Wayne in the night, killed about 300, and took a few prisoners and some baggage. The prudent dispositions of Wayne prevented their further success.

1780. Americans under colonel Davie surprised a party of British at Wahab's house, killed and wounded 60, and took 96 horses and equipments, and 120 stand of arms, with the loss of only 1.

1780. Major ANDRE, an adjutant-general in the British army, landed in the night from the British sloop of war Vulture, and proceeded to West Point to confer with Arnold.

1792. Royalty abolished, and France declared a republic, by acclamation, in the national assembly.

1795. The _Peep of day boys_, in Ireland, changed their name to _Orange men_, and opened their first lodge.

1802. Mons. GARNERIN ascended at London in a balloon about 4,000 feet, and descended in a parachute safely at St. Pancras. His balloon fell the next day near Farnham, in Surrey.

1803. ROBERT EMMET hanged in Dublin for high treason in conspiring the death of George III, and providing arms, &c., for the rebels. His speech in his defence is a masterly piece of eloquence.

1812. The Americans under captain Forsyth attacked and carried the village of Gananoque, in Canada.

1814. Action between the United States sloop of war Wasp, captain Blakely, and the British brig Atalanta, formerly the Siro of Baltimore. The Atalanta was captured, and made the 13th and last prize of the Wasp during that cruise; for nothing is known of her fate afterwards.

1814. The British under lieut. Drummond retreated from before fort Erie to Niagara.

1832. WALTER SCOTT, the most popular writer of his age, and the most distinguished novelist in English literature, died at Abbotsford, in Scotland. His fictitious prose works comprise 75 volumes, and his complete works about 100 volumes.

1842. JEREMIAH SMITH, for many years a member of congress from and ex governor of New Hampshire, died at Dover, aged 62, highly respected as a statesman and a jurist, as well as a scholar.

1842. JAMES IVORY, a distinguished Scottish mathematician, died near London. At the solicitation of lord Brougham, king William IV conferred on him the order of knighthood, with a pension of £300.

1846. First day's battle of Monterey.

1851. The stores of Spanish residents at Key West, Florida, were attacked and their contents destroyed, in consequence of the excitement about the Cuban expedition of Lopez.

1852. WILLIAM BADGER, a New Hampshire jurist, died, aged 73. He had long filled various offices of state with creditable ability.

1852. JOHN CHAMBERS, a pioneer Kentucky emigrant, died, aged 73. He was born in New Jersey, and went to Kentucky at the age of 13. He practiced law with success; was a volunteer aid-de-camp to Harrison at the battle of the Thames, and was one of the foremost in the pursuit of Proctor. He was the first governor of Iowa, and held other public offices.

1853. General PINEDA, sometime president of Nicaragua, died at Rivas.

1854. JONATHAN MAYHEW WAINWRIGHT, a New York episcopal bishop, died, aged 63; esteemed a learned theologian and a ripe scholar.

SEPTEMBER 22.

479 B. C. Battle of Mycale, between the Greeks and Persians. This victory happened in the 24th of the Bœotian month Panemus, observed as an anniversary by the Greek confederates. The Persians, computed at 100,000 men, were completely defeated and despoiled.

479 B. C. The battle of Platæa is also placed on the same day, in which 300,000 Persians under Mardonius were defeated by 100,000 Greeks under Pausanius and Aristides. The loss of the Greeks was inconsiderable; but of the Persians Mardonius was slain and scarcely one-tenth of his army escaped by flight. (See Aug. 3.)

19 B. C. PUBLIUS MARO VIRGILIUS, the most excellent of all the ancient Roman poets, died.

622. Flight of MAHOMET; an imposing event, which took place, it is ascertained with certainty, sixty-eight days _after_ the commencement of the great Arabian era, July 16th.

1193. HENRY IV, of Germany, and his captive, Richard the Lion, addressed letters from Spires to the primates and magnates of England, notifying the severe terms of ransom "agreed" upon between them.

1298. Battle of Stirlingbridge, between the Scots under Wallace and the English under Warrenne; the latter defeated and obliged to retire into England.

1415. HENRY V took Harfleur, in France, reducing it to an English colony.

1536. WILLIAM TYNDALE, one of the first publishers of the Bible in English, was burnt at the stake at Antwerp.

1554. The duke of Northumberland with Sir JOHN GATES and Sir THOMAS PALMER executed.

1559. ROBERT STEPHENS, the celebrated and learned Parisian printer, died, aged 56.

1604. Ostend, a seaport in Flanders, surrendered to the Spanish under general Spinola, after a close siege of upwards of three years. The Spanish are supposed to have lost 80,000 men during this siege; and not less than 50,000 English and Dutch perished in the town during that time.

1632. FREDERICK BORROMEO, archbishop of Milan, died. He sustained an excellent character, and founded the Ambrosian library.

1646. JOHN FRANCIS NICERON died; an eminent French mathematician and optician; and author of some valuable works.

1662. JOHN BIDDLE, styled the father of the English unitarians, died in prison, a martyr to principle.

1688. FRANCIS BERNIER, a celebrated French traveler and physician, died at Paris. He extended his travels to the Mogul empire, where he became physician to Aurungzebe.

1692. Two men and seven women executed at Salem for witchcraft. One of them was pressed to death for standing mute.

1703. VINCENT VIVIANI, a famous Florentine mathematician, died. He was the pupil and friend of Galileo.

1708. Battle near Smolensko, in which the Swedes under Charles XII, consisting of six regiments of horse and 4,000 infantry, attacked and defeated 10,000 horse and 6,000 Calmucks. The king killed above a dozen with his own hand.

1735. PETER BROWNE, bishop of Cork, died. He distinguished himself by some philosophical writings.

1738. JOSEPH AVERANIUS died; a Florentine philosopher, of great powers of mind.

1741. In the north of Ireland wheat sold at sixpence a stone of 14 lbs., and beef at one penny a pound.

1742. BENOIT, a learned Phœnician, died. He became a Hebrew professor at Pisa, and edited the works of Ephrem Syrus.

1743. GEORGE CLINTON arrived at New York, as governor of the province, "seeking nothing more than a genteel frugality and common civility, while he was mending his fortunes, till his friends could recall him, and with justice to their own characters and interests, to some indolent and more lucrative station."

1761. GEORGE III and his queen CHARLOTTE, crowned at Westminster.

1769. ANTHONY GENOVESI died; a native of Castiglione, who acquired great celebrity as a lecturer on philosophy at Naples; and much odium by adopting the theories of Galileo, Grotius and Newton.

1770. Convention of the people of Massachusetts, consisting of delegates from 96 towns and 8 districts, met at Faneuil hall to consider the grievance of standing armies, &c.

1770. THOMAS LE SUER died at Rome, where he taught theology, philosophy and mathematics with great applause.

1774. CLEMENT XVI (_John Ganganelli_), pope, died. He was studious in his youth, and recommended himself to office by his abilities and merits.

1788. The Oneidas ceded all their lands to the state of New York.

1792. Commencement of the French republican era. It computes from midnight: "the 1st of the 1st decade of the 1st month (Vendemaire) of the 1st year of the French republic, one and indivisible."

1796. The English frigate Amphion blown up at Plymouth. Out of 220, 16 only saved.

1803. ANGIOLO FABRONI, an Italian ecclesiastic, died. He wrote an account of the learned men in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, in 21 vols.

1814. The celebrated colossal statue of sir William Wallace, the Scottish chief, finished under the direction of the earl of Buchan. This statue overlooks the grave of sir Walter Scott.

1837. DAVID UNWINS, a distinguished London physician, died. He was a man of literature and science, and author of several valuable medical works.

1846. The battle of Monterey, in Mexico, was fought. The Americans though signally victorious, yet lost many brave officers and men. It began on the 21st and was concluded on the 23d.

1851. LOUIS KOSSUTH, the Hungarian chief, and thirty-five of his country men, were sentenced to death _in contumaciam_, at Pesth, for not appearing after citation.

1851. MARY MARTHA SHERWOOD, an English writer of juvenile books, died at Twickenham, aged 77. Her works number about fifty, and were valuable and popular, particularly _Little Henry and his Bearer_.

1852. PHILIP MILLEDOLER, president of Rutgers college, died at Staten Island, aged 77. He was one of the framers of the American Bible society, and was an eminent minister of the Dutch reformed church.

1854. JOHN PURVIANCE, a Maryland jurist, died, aged 81. He was judge of the county court of Baltimore nearly thirty years, and left a fine library which was dispersed by auction after his death.