Chapter XXXIV: Part 34

1307. All the knights templars in France ordered to be arrested, and on the following day the grand master, the templars and all their possessions were seized.

1424. JOHN DE TROEZNOU ZISCA, a famous Bohemian patriot, died. He was the formidable general of the Hussites, who undertook to avenge the death of their leader; he also defended his country against the emperor Sigismund, and performed prodigies of valor after he had lost both his eyes.

1428. The siege of Orleans commenced, memorable as one of the most extraordinary incidents in history.

1492. COLUMBUS landed on the island of Guanahani, of which he had seen the first twinkling on the previous night; thus in the space of 36 days completing a voyage which he had been 20 years in projecting, which opened to Europeans a new world, which enlarged the empire of Spain, and stamped with immortality the name of Columbus.

1573. Great naval victory of the Dutch over the Spaniards.

1576. MAXIMILIAN II died. He was elected king of the Romans 1562, and afterwards succeeded his father as king of Hungary and Bohemia, and emperor of Germany.

1621. PETER MATTHIEU, a French historian, died. He was historiographer to the king, and wrote the history of France, and of several of the French kings.

1646. FRANCIS BASSOMPIERRE, marshal of France, died; a distinguished statesman, whom Richelieu confined 10 years in the Bastile, during which he wrote his own memoirs.

1649. The fall and massacre of Wexford under Oliver Cromwell.

1653. HUMPHREY CHETHAM, a great patron of learning and libraries, died, aged 73, at Manchester, England, endowing the city with munificent bequests.

1711. KING CHARLES III, of Spain, elected emperor of Germany at Frankfort, by the name of Charles IV.

1716. LUDOLF KUSTER, a learned German critic, died.

1753. Sir DANVERS OSBORNE, who had arrived at New York on the 7th to succeed Clinton as governor of the province, was found in the morning suspended by the neck in the garden, and dead.

1764. RENE MICHAEL SLODTZ, an eminent French sculptor, died.

1793. St. Domingo ceded by its inhabitants to the British.

1798. British fleet, admiral Warren, intercepted the French fleet and captured several ships laden with troops and stores destined for Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of the united Irishmen, was on board, and taken.

1822. The independence of Brazil, under don John, was proclaimed.

1834. THOS. S. GRIMKE, of South Carolina, died of an attack of cholera. He distinguished himself in a speech against the test oath of his native state.

1842. BARTLETT BENNETT, one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, and a baptist preacher, died at Cincinnati, aged 99.

1851. LEWIS WASHINGTON, an American commodore, died, aged 69. His services in the Tripoli war and the war of 1812 made his name familiar to the American people, as a brave, energetic and skillful captain.

1851. SAMUEL BEAZLEY, a distinguished English architect died, aged 66. He was not only the designer of more theatres than any other modern architect, but also a dramatic compiler.

1855. General WALKER took possession of Grenada, with a loss to the enemy of 15 killed and several wounded.

OCTOBER 13.

49. TIBERIUS DRUSUS CLAUDIUS, emperor of Rome, died of poison administered by his wife. He succeeded Caligula, and became contemptible for his vices and weakness.

409. Irruption of the Vandals into Spain, who, dividing her prolific territories, turned their swords into ploughshares.

643. OSWY, of Northumberland, and 10th king of Britain, ascended the throne. The great controversy for the celebration of Easter, was decided by him.

1164. The great council opened at Northampton, England, for the trial of Thomas Becket, by whose sentence he was placed at the king's mercy.

1269. The bones of Edward the Confessor enshrined in gold.

1417. GREGORY XII (_Angelo Corario_), pope, died, aged 92. He was elected during the schism of the west, while the opposite party supported Benedict XIII. They were both deposed, and another elected.

1503. THEODORE BEZA, a learned French protestant, died. He was professor of Greek at Lausanne, in Switzerland.

1515. Battle of Marignon, in Italy; the Swiss defeated by the French under Francis I.

1698. The French missionary GERBILLON, returned to Pekin from his eighth and last journey, from thence into Tartary, journals of all which are published in Du Halde's _History of China_.

1705. The parliament of Scotland convened for the last time.

1754. JACOB POWELL died at Stebbing, England. He weighed five hundred and sixty pounds. His body was five yards in circumference, and his limbs were in proportion. He had sixteen men to carry him to his grave.

1771. JOHN GILL, an eminent English Calvinistic divine, died. He was a learned orientalist and voluminous writer on theological subjects; his greatest work is a commentary on the Bible.

1777. Esopus, on the Hudson river, burnt by the British under general Vaughan; not a house escaped.

1782. Battle in Persia for the sovereignty, between Abdul Fatcan and Murat Kan, the lord regent. The latter and his three sons were slain, and Abdul caused himself to be proclaimed king.

1793. The allies under Wurmzer invested Landau, and carried the lines of Weissembourg; the French retreated with loss.

1797. BENJAMIN HAMMETT fined £1,000 sterling, for refusing the office of lord mayor of London.

1812. Battle of Queenston, in Canada; the Americans, under colonel Van Rensselaer, attacked and carried the heights and fort; but owing to the refusal of 1,200 militia to cross over to their support, and the arrival of British regulars and Indians from fort George, the Americans, to the number of 764, were obliged to surrender. General Brock was killed in this affair, and Van Rensselaer was wounded by four balls. American loss, 90 killed, 82 wounded.

1815. JOACHIM MURAT, king of Naples, shot. He was a soldier of fortune, who emerged from obscurity during the French revolution, became a distinguished general in the armies of France, married a sister of Napoleon, and was placed upon the throne of Naples.

1815. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE landed at St. Helena, a perpetual exile.

1822. ANTONIO CANOVA died; the most eminent sculptor of the age. His statues are in possession of the noble and the rich throughout Europe.

1828. VINCENT MONTI died; one of the most celebrated poets of modern Italy.

1836. JACOB SPENCER, a revolutionary pensioner, died at Washington, N. J., aged nearly 100. He had had seven wives, and left but one child living.

1845. DOUGLAS HOUGHTON, state geologist of Michigan, died, aged 36. He was prosecuting a combined geological and linear survey of the region near lake Superior, on a plan suggested by himself.

1845. W. K. ARMISTEAD, a general officer in the United States service, died at Upperville, Va., aged about 60. He had served long in the engineer department, and in 1840-41 had chief command in the campaign against the Florida Indians.

1846. Right honorable HENRY STEPHEN FOX, late her Britannic majesty's minister plenipotentiary to the United States, died at Washington, D. C. He was much respected as well for his prudence and urbane manners, as for his decision and diplomatic talent.

1847. A body of 200 German catholics met at the Tabernacle, in New York, and made a public and formal secession from the Romish church.

1853. TRISTRAM BURGESS, a Rhode Island statesman, died, aged 83. He stood in the front rank of the public men of his day.

1853. THOMAS KEMPER DAVIS died at Boston. He stood high in his profession as a lawyer, and having acquired a fortune, devoted himself to and became learned in English and classical literature.

1854. Howard college, at Marion, Ala., destroyed by fire.

OCTOBER 14.

1066. Battle of Hastings, and defeat of Harold by William of Normandy, which placed the latter upon the throne of England. The battle lasted from morning till sunset. William had three horses killed under him, and there fell about 15,000 Normans; but on the side of the vanquished, the loss was much greater, and included Harold and his two brothers, who were slain.

1066. The first earl created in England. Alfred in 920 used this word as king is now used.

1292. EDWARD I, of England, declared John Baliol king of Scotland.

1519. The Spaniards under Cortez entered without opposition the strong and populous city of Cholula, where a plot was laid for their destruction, but which resulted in a terrible massacre of the inhabitants.

1529. A placard appeared at Brussels, whereby all such as had any prohibited books in their custody, not brought forth to be burnt, should be put to death.

1537. JANE SEYMOUR, third queen of Henry VIII, died.

1644. Birthday of WILLIAM PENN, the first proprietor of Pennsylvania, son of admiral sir William Penn.

1645. Battle of Basing, in which Cromwell at the head of the parliamentary forces stormed and took, after an action of only three-quarters of an hour, the fortress of Basing house, which the royalists considered almost impregnable. There was immense booty taken with the place, of every kind. The plunder of treasure and furniture amounted to more than $1,000,000; in one room was found a bed which cost nearly $6,000. The mansion was set fire to and destroyed, with most of the valuable paintings, papers, &c., by the roundheads, who acted up to the scripture, "cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently."

1656. Act of the Massachusetts authorities, prohibiting the immigration of quakers, and subjecting such as should arrive to 20 lashes, and imprisonment at hard labor until transported, and if they returned to suffer death.

1660. PAUL SCARRON died; an eminent French comic writer and satirist.

1660. HUGH PETERS, chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, hanged at London. His death was the result of the most infamous trial on record. He was 7 years in New England as minister, first at Salem then in the Great church at Boston.

1734. Birthday of FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, a distinguished statesman and signer of the declaration of independence. The day of his death is not known.

1736. GEORGE CLARKE delivered his first speech to the assembly, as governor of the province of New York; and consented to introduce the practice which has ever since prevailed, of absenting himself from the council while they sit as a branch of the legislature.

1747. Six ships of war taken by admiral Hawke off the isle of Aix.

1756. JOHN HENLEY, an eccentric English writer, died. He acquired the appellation of _orator Henley_, and entertained the public by theological orations on Sundays, and political and miscellaneous subjects on Wednesdays; also by a weekly paper called _The Hyp Doctor_.

1758. Battle of Hochkirchen; the Prussians under their king Frederick II, defeated by the Austrians under marshal Daun, with the loss of 7,000 men, all their tents, and baggage, &c. James Keith, a brave and experienced Scottish general, who had distinguished himself in the memorable wars of the king of Prussia, was killed, and general Geist mortally wounded.

1761. Volcanic phenomenon seen at Great Malvern in Worcestershire, Eng.

1781. Two British redoubts at Yorktown taken, and included in the second parallel, which greatly facilitated the subsequent operations of the besiegers.

1783. ANTONIO NUNES RIBEIRO SANCHEZ, an eminent Portuguese physician and writer, died.

1791. GREGORY ALEXANDER POTEMPKIN, a Russian statesman, died. He was descended from a Polish family, was the favorite of Catharine, and her minister of war.

1805. Battle of Ulm; the French under Bonaparte captured the bridge and the Austrian position of Elchingen.

1806. Battle of Jena, or Auerstadt, in Saxony, between the French under Bonaparte and the Prussians under king Frederick William. The Prussian line extended 18 miles, and numbered 150,000 strong; the total number of men engaged on both sides was over 250,000, and the number of cannon employed over 700. The Prussians were defeated with the loss of 20,000 killed and wounded, and 40,000 taken prisoners; together with 300 cannon, and immense magazines of stores. The French admitted a loss of only 1,200 killed and 3,000 wounded.

1813. BONAPARTE arrived at Leipsic, in Germany, having in the course of four days assembled there an army whose numbers are variously stated at from 150 to 400,000 men, with 600 cannon, and commanded by the ablest generals of the age.

1831. LOUIS PONS, an eminent Italian astronomer, died at Florence.

1836. JAMES WILD, an English geographer, died; distinguished for his numerous maps and charts.

1841. HEYER embarked at Boston for India, as the first missionary of the Lutheran church in the United States. He established a mission at Guntoor.

1842. Grand celebration in New York of the completion of the Croton water works; more than 15,000 persons joined in the procession.

1843. A check was put on the progress of Irish agitation by the arrest of Daniel O'Connell and his son on a charge of conspiracy and other misdemeanors.

1845. WILLIAM PRIDGEN died, in Bladen county, N. C., aged 123. He was a volunteer in the revolutionary army, although even then exempt from service by his age. His grand children were aged people at the time of his death.

1850. The convention for amending the constitution of Virginia assembled at Richmond.

1854. HUGH A. GARLAND, an eminent lawyer of St. Louis, died; author of a life of John Randolph.

1854. SAMUEL PHILLIPS died at Brighton, England, aged 39. He was some time the literary reviewer for _The Times_ and author of _Readings on the Rail_.

OCTOBER 15.

55 B. C. TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS, one of the best of the Latin poets, died.

1564. ANDREAS VESALIUS, a celebrated Dutch anatomist, died. He revived the study of anatomy in Europe, which had been neglected, and impeded by the prejudices of ignorance.

1608. Birthday of EVANGELISTE TORRICELLI, the Italian mathematician, and inventor of the barometer.

1634. About sixty men, women and children, with their horses, cattle and swine, commenced a journey from the vicinity of Boston, through the wilderness to Connecticut river. After a tedious journey of fourteen days through swamps and over mountains and rivers, they arrived at the place of their destination, and commenced the settlements of Hartford, Windsor and Weathersfield.

1644. GABRIEL DU PINEAU, an eminent French _avocat_, died; celebrated for his genius and eloquence; his counsel was often sought by the court, and he acquired the title of father of the people.

1651. JOHN OWEN, an eminent English divine, died. His works amount to 7 vols. folio, 20 quarto, and 30 octavo.

1651. King CHARLES II, who since his defeat at Worcester had wandered about from one royalist family to another, sleeping in their barns at night and concealing himself in the woods by day, escaped to France. A large oak on which he frequently stood in the woods near White-ladies, obtained the name of the royal oak.

1671. JOHN AMOS COMENIUS, an eminent German protestant divine and grammarian, died.

1711. The Edgar, admiral Hovenburgh's ship, blown up with 400 seamen on board, the officers being on shore.

1728. BERNARD DE LA MONNOYE, an elegant French poet, died. He also wrote in Greek, Latin and Italian.

1743. JOHN OZELL, an indefatigable English writer, died; he is immortalized by Pope in the _Dunciad_.

1760. Battle of Campen; the French defeated the prince of Brunswick, who had a horse killed under him, and lost 1,600 men, chiefly British troops.

1764. GIBBON says that on this day, as he sat musing among the ruins of the Roman capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter, he first conceived the idea of writing the _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_.

1778. PULASKI'S infantry surprised in the night by the British, and 50 killed, including baron de Bose. The timely arrival of Pulaski with the cavalry alone saved them from utter destruction.

1783. PILATRE DE ROZIER, the first aerial adventurer, made his first ascension from a garden in Paris. The balloon was of an oval shape.

1793. Battle of Tirlemont; the French defeated by the Austrians under Clairfait, with the loss of 2,000 killed, and 24 cannon, &c.

1793. Battle of Maubege; the French under Jourdan defeated the prince of Coburg, being his first defeat in a pitched battle, and compelled him to repass the Sambre.

1797. Celebration at Mantua of the birthday of the poet Virgil, when handsome dowries, raised by voluntary contributions among the "friends of learning and rural felicity," were distributed among fifty poor girls, who were the same day married to fifty industrious but poor young men.

1806. PAUL JOSEPH BARTHEZ, a learned French physician, died. He founded the celebrated medical school at Montpellier, and acquired so great reputation that he became a member of almost every learned society, and some of his works were translated into most of the European languages.

1808. JAMES ANDERSON, an eminent Scottish writer, died. His first literary productions were on agriculture, which produced a greatly increased attention to the subject. His learning and research were conspicuous in the various subjects on which he wrote, and he was an original and accurate thinker.

1812. Action between United States frigate President, commodore Rodgers, and British packet Swallow; the latter was captured, with nearly $200,000 on board.

1814. Skirmish between detachments of the armies of the American generals Brown and Izard, each of whom had advanced to reconnoitre the British works. Four men were killed before the mistake was discovered.

1838. LETITIA ELIZABETH MCLEAN (better known as _L. E. L._), died at Cape-Coast castle, Africa, of which settlement her husband was governor. Her writings consist of poems and novels.

OCTOBER 16.

1529. The Turks under Solyman abandoned the famous siege of Vienna.

1555. HUGH LATIMER and NICHOLAS RIDLEY, English bishops, burnt at Oxford.

1586. PHILIP SIDNEY, an English statesman, soldier and scholar, died of a wound received at the battle of Zutphen.

1660. HUGH PETERS, a famous English prelate, executed for conspiring, with Cromwell, the king's death.

1678. CÆSAR EGASSE DU BOULAI died; register and historiographer of the university of Paris, of which he wrote a history in 6 vols. folio.

1679. ROGER BOYLE died; an eminent Irish general, statesman and writer.

1725. RALPH THORESBY died; an eminent English topographer and antiquary.

1725. First newspaper published in New York.

1726. The public granaries plundered by the turners of Cornwall for want of provisions.

1756. Battle of Pirna; the Saxons defeated by Frederick II, of Prussia, with the loss of 17,000 prisoners.

1760. NICHOLAS D'ASSAS, a French officer, killed at Klosterkamp. On going out to examine the posts, he was captured, and threatened with immediate death if he alarmed his regiment. Without a moment's hesitation he summoned all his strength, and exclaimed "Onward Auverne! here is the enemy!" The threat was immediately executed, but the patriot had gained his object; the attack was unsuccessful. A pension of 1,000 livres was decreed to his family forever.

1767. BURCHARD CHRISTOPHER MUNICH, a German officer in the service of Russia, died. He was promoted by Peter I and Anne; banished by Elizabeth to Siberia, and recalled by Peter II, after an absence of 20 years, when he appeared at court in the same sheepskin dress which he had worn in his exile.

1774. ROBERT FERGUSON, an excellent Scottish poet, died at the age of 24 in a lunatic asylum.

1778. Pondicherry, after a gallant resistance by the French, surrendered to the British.

1779. The fortress of St. Fernando de Omoa, in the bay of Honduras, taken by the British by assault. In the fort was found 250 quintals of quicksilver, and on board the vessels 3,000,000 piasters.

1780. The town of Royalton, Vt., was attacked by a party of 300 Indians of various tribes from Canada, and many of the houses burnt.

1781. A sortie consisting of 360 men under Col. Abercrombie, at Yorktown, forced two American batteries and spiked 11 cannon; but the guards from the trenches immediately repulsed them and restored the cannon. In the afternoon the Americans opened several batteries in their second parallel; and in the whole line of batteries nearly 100 pieces of heavy ordnance were now mounted. The works of the besieged were in no condition to sustain the fire which might be expected next day.

1783. The inhabitants of Canada were surprised by a very extraordinary phenomenon. About 2 o'clock P. M., an unusual darkness, equal it is said to the darkest night, took place. Its approach was instantaneous. This continued about 40 minutes, when there was a short interval of light, but soon was succeeded by darkness, horrible as before, though not of so long duration. The whole is said to have continued upwards of an hour, and to have extended, more or less, throughout the province.

1793. The French convention constituted death only _an eternal sleep_! It was afterwards restored, however, to its original condition!

1793. MARIE ANTOINETTE, queen of France, and sister of the emperor of Austria, guillotined. She was tried and condemned at 4 o'clock in the morning, dragged to the scaffold in an open tumbril, amid the scoffs and insults of the populace, and beheaded at the age of 38.

1793. JOHN HUNTER, a very eminent British surgeon and anatomical writer, died. From a humble assistant of his brother he became the first surgeon in the world, both in theory and practice.

1796. VICTOR AMADEUS, king of Sardinia, died in his 71st year, and 23d of his reign.

1806. Erfurt, the capital of Upper Thuringia, surrendered to the French; 14,000 prisoners, 28 cannon, and immense magazines of stores were taken.

1813. Battle of Leipsic, between the French under Bonaparte, Ney, Murat, &c., and the allies under Blucher, Benningsen, Bernadotte, &c. It was a conflict between the best disciplined armies, commanded by the ablest generals in the world. Night alone put an end to the carnage, and the armies retired to rest on the ground which they occupied in the morning. The number of men engaged was 150,000 French and 230,000 allies.

1817. THADDEUS KOSCIUSKO, the famous Polish general, died in Switzerland; one of the noblest characters of his age.

1836. FRANCIS J. M. REYNOUARD, an eminent French philologist, died. He was one of the conductors of the _Journal des Savans_, distinguished as a scholar, poet, historian, philologist and archæologist.

1837. MATTHIEU DUMAS, peer of France, a lieutenant-general in the French army, and an old companion in arms of Lafayette, died at Paris, aged 84.

1839. DEASE and SIMPSON accomplished an expedition which established the fact of a north-west passage, and gave to the world some new and interesting discoveries respecting the geography of the northern coast of America, and the arctic regions. The intervening space between the discoveries of Parry and Ross were traversed, and a curious point of science established; yet it can not be supposed that the passage can ever be of the smallest utility to navigation.

1842. BENJAMIN EATON, said to have been the last survivor of Washington's life guard, died at Cuddeback, Orange co., N. Y., aged 85. He joined in the pursuit at Lexington, and served till 1779, with an absence of only 20 days.

1848. The emperor of Austria issued a proclamation against Vienna, and appointed count Windischgratz to command his armies in Austria.

OCTOBER 17.

940. ATHELSTAN, king of England, died. He was bountiful, wise and affable; ascended the throne at the age of 30; became distinguished by the titles of _conqueror_ and _faithful_, and left behind him a name of great renown, respected at home and abroad.

1346. Battle of Nevil's Cross; the Scots under king David Bruce signally defeated by the English under Philippa and lord Percy. Bruce was taken prisoner and 15,000 of his men slain.

1492. COLUMBUS named the more civilized island Fernandino, now Largo. The men wore cotton mantles, and the women a band of that manufacture round the waist.

1509. PHILIP DE COMINES, an excellent French historian, died, leaving behind him _Memoirs of his Own Times_.

1552. ANDREW OSIANDER died; a Bavarian, one of Luther's first disciples; a professor at Konigsburg, and a voluminous writer.

1616. JOHN PITS, an English biographer, died. He collected the lives of the kings, bishops, apostolical men and writers of England in four large volumes.

1662. The seaport Dunkirk, in France, sold to the English for five million livres. The annual charge of the place (£120,000) far exceeded its intrinsic importance.

1678. EDMUNDBURY GODFREY, before whom Oates gave evidence of the popish plot against the king of England, was found in a field with his sword through his body; verdict of the jury was, that he had been strangled.

1683. An assembly of the representatives of the freeholders of the province of New York, first met in assembly under governor Dongan.

1740. The Czarina ANNE, empress of Russia, died.

1748. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, between England, France and Spain. The British took, during the war, 1,249 Spanish and 2,185 French prizes; total 3,434. The Spaniards captured 1,360, and the French 1,878 British vessels; total 3,238.

1758. ROLAND MICHAEL BARRIA DE GALISSONIERE, a French admiral, died. After serving with distinction in the navy, he was made governor of Canada.

1758. JOHN WARD, an English dissenting minister, died; remembered for the assistance he rendered to many of the learned works of his day.

1775. Two men and eleven horses killed by the lightning which proceeded from a volcanic steam cloud of the Katlagia burning mountain, in the island of Iceland.

1777. BURGOYNE, after losing 3,461 men at Stillwater and other places, surrendered the remainder of his army (5,752), to the Americans under Gen. Gates, conditioned not to serve again in North America during the present contest. Thus was extinguished an army of 9,213 men, including volunteers. The army of Gates amounted to 10,557 effective men.

1781. Several new batteries were opened by the Americans in the second parallel, against Yorktown. In the judgment of Cornwallis and his engineers, the place was no longer tenable; and in a letter to Washington he requested a cessation of hostilities to prepare for a capitulation.

1781. EDWARD HAWKE, a brave and intrepid English admiral, died.

1793. Battle of Cholet, the Vendeans defeated by the French. The actions of _Hagenau_ and _Brumpt_ took place on the same day, in both of which the allies defeated the French.

1797. Treaty of Campio Formio between Bonaparte and the emperor of Austria.

1803. Agra in Hindostan taken by the British.

1805. Ulm surrendered by the Austrian general Mack to Bonaparte, and was delivered up on the 20th. The archduke with a corps of 17,000 Austrians effected his escape the night before by a masterly piece of generalship, leaving 40,000 behind who became prisoners to the French.

1806. Battle of Halle; prince Eugene of Wirtemburg defeated by the French under Bernadotte; 34 cannon and 5,000 prisoners were taken.

1806. JACQUES DESSALINES, the black emperor of Hayti, assassinated.

1829. The Delaware and Chesapeake canal opened.

1834. Both houses of the British parliament destroyed by fire. They were not very remarkable for elegance or convenience; but with them was destroyed the celebrated tapestry that hung upon the walls of the house of lords, representing the defeat of the famous Spanish armada, a relic of great value in the eyes of the antiquary.

1837. JOHN HUMMEL, an eminent musical composer, founder of the modern school of pianoforte music, died at Weimar, in Germany.

1848. Vienna in a state of siege; the imperial troops drawn close around the city, and deputations passed from the diet at Vienna to the emperor at Olmutz. Kossuth withdrew the Hungarian army within their own frontier.

1853. A party of 45 men under colonel Walker, sailed from San Francisco for the purpose of establishing a republic in lower California.

1854. The allies opened their first fire from the fleet and batteries upon Sebastopol. The loss of the Russians was 500 killed; of the allies 90, and 300 wounded.

OCTOBER 18.

447 B. C. Battle of Coronea; the Bœotians gained a great and most important victory over the Athenians. Clinias, the father of Alcibiades, and Tolmides, fell.

33. AGRIPPINA, the virtuous wife of Germanicus Cæsar, died in exile of starvation. She was banished after the death of her husband.

1216. JOHN (_Lackland_), king of England, died, aged 47. No prince in English history has been transmitted to posterity in darker colors; ingratitude, cruelty, and perfidy, were habitual in his character.

1547. JAMES SADOLET, a polite and learned Italian writer and cardinal, died.

1564. Captain JOHN HAWKINS sailed from Plymouth, England, with four sail for the African coast; which was the first slave trade adventure, and the opening of that infernal commerce. The negroes were taken to Hispaniola, and sold to the Spaniards.

1605. JOHN RIOLAN died; a Paris physician and writer on anatomy and medicine.

1631. Corn made a legal tender in Massachusetts, unless money or beaver were expressly stipulated.

1633. A royal declaration ordered to be read in churches, reviving in England, wakes, lawful sports and recreations, after divine service on sabbaths.

1744. The duchess dowager of Marlborough died in her 85th year, leaving many legacies. She was the famous Sarah Jennings in queen Anne's days.

1757. RENE ANTHONY FERCHAULT DE REAUMUR, a French philosopher, died. He gave a new construction to the thermometer which bears his name, and wrote much on the various branches of natural philosophy.

1770. JOHN MANNERS died; an English nobleman, who distinguished himself at the head of the British forces in the German war, under Ferdinand of Brunswick.

1775. The Americans took Chamblee, in Canada, and for the first time captured the British colors; they also took 4 tons of powder.

1775. Falmouth, a town in the northeast part of Massachusetts, burnt. The inhabitants had obstructed some British movements, whereupon an armed vessel was sent to reduce the town to ashes. Of the dwelling houses, 139 were burnt, and 278 stores.

1783. FRANCIS XAVIER D'OLIVEYRA, a Portuguese statesman, died in England.

1783. The American army disbanded by proclamation.

1799. Treaty for the evacuation of Holland by the British and Russians.

1799. Three British frigates captured the Spanish galleon Santa Brigida, 36 guns and 320 men, with 1,500,000 Spanish dollars on board, and a cargo of merchandise, ivory, &c., of equal value.

1801. The Batavian republic again divided into the old provinces; the legislature was diminished to 35 deputies; the executive power extended to a council of twelve men.

1806. The French under Davoust took possession of Leipsic, in Saxony. They found there 15,000 quintals of flour, and British goods to an immense amount; sixty millions were offered as a ransom for the latter.

1809. Battle of Salamanca; the Spaniards defeated the French under Ney, and forced them to fall back with the loss of 1,500 men.

1811. The ladies of Cadiz formed a society to supply the wants of the Spanish soldiers.

1812. Action between the United States sloop of war Wasp, 18 guns, captain Jones, and British sloop of war Frolic, 22 guns; the latter captured in 45 minutes, with the loss of 30 killed, 50 wounded; Wasp had 5 killed, 5 wounded. Same day British ship Poictiers, 74 guns, came up with and captured both of them, the Wasp being too much damaged in her rigging to escape.

1812. Battle of Poltosk; the Russians under Witgenstein and Steingel attacked the French and Germans under St. Cyr, and compelled them to retire within their entrenchments.

1812. Battle of Garalavitz; the Russians under Benningsen defeated the French, 50,000, under Murat, killed 2,500, took 1,000 prisoners, 38 cannon, 40 ammunition wagons, and a large amount of spoil, besides the great standard of honor belonging to the regiment of cuirassiers.

1812. The French abandoned the city of Moscow; Napoleon, on learning the defeat of Murat, determined to march to his support with the whole French army.

1813. Second day's battle of Leipsic; the two great armies had paused one day to prepare for this grand contest. The forces of Napoleon were not less than 180,000; those of the allies had been swelled to near 300,000. The carnage was fearful, and the French were compelled to yield before an overwhelming superiority of numbers. The loss of Bonaparte on this day, including defections and prisoners, was not less than 80,000 men, 200 cannon, and an immense amount of baggage.

1813. THEODORE KOERNER, the German poet, was killed in the battle of Leipsic. He is particularly celebrated for the spirited poems which he composed in the campaign against Napoleon, in which he fell.

1814. Union of Norway and Sweden.

1815. BONAPARTE, the exiled emperor of France, with his suit, landed at St. Helena.

1817. STEPHEN HENRY MEHUL, an eminent French musical composer, died.

1827. The last lottery authorized by the British government, drawn in London. In that lottery there were six prizes of $133,200 dollars each.

1833. Captain JOHN ROSS, who left England in 1829 in search of a north-west passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, returned on this day, after an absence of four years, and when all hopes of his return had been given up.

1840. The ceremony of the exhumation of the body of Napoleon Bonaparte was performed at St. Helena, with great parade, in order to be conveyed to Paris. The body, which had been embalmed by French physicians previous to interment, in 1821, was found in a state of complete preservation. (See Dec. 15.)

1841. A great flood of the Thames, caused by a succession of northerly gales; the water rose much higher than during the inundations of 1821 and 1828, and much property was destroyed.

1843. EBENEZER ELMER, an officer of the revolution, and the last survivor of the Jersey line, died at Bridgeton, aged 91.

1844. Destructive gale at Buffalo, carrying away part of the pier which protected the harbor, sinking vessels, and submerging a part of the city, by which more than fifty lives were lost.

1849. LEONIDAS WETMORE, an officer in the U. S. infantry, died on board a steam boat in the Mississippi. He was actively engaged in the Florida war, and participated in most of the hard fought battles of the Mexican campaign.

1850. DANIEL CLARK SANDERS, formerly president of the university of Vermont, died, aged 82. He published a history of the Indians, and kept a meteorological register to the day of his death.

1852. Commodore MCCAULEY, commander of the United States naval forces in the Pacific, by proclamation, withdrew his protection from American vessels proceeding to the Lobos islands for guano.

1854. FRANCIS BURT, governor of the territory of Nebraska, died at Bellevue, aged 45. He was a native of South Carolina, and resigned the office of third auditor of the treasury at Washington for the governorship, which he held hardly two weeks after his arrival.

OCTOBER 19.

202 B. C. Battle of Zama, in which Hannibal was defeated by Scipio.

125 B. C. The era of Tyre began, with the month Hyperberetæus. The months are the same as those used in the Grecian era; the year similar to the Julian.

1453. The fall of Bordeaux, after a siege of seven weeks, when Guienne, an English province, was incorporated with the French monarchy.

1492. COLUMBUS discovered the island of Isabella.

1608. GEOFFREY FENTON, an eminent English writer, died. He served queen Elizabeth in Ireland, where he was promoted.

1619. JAMES ARMINIUS, founder of the Arminians, died. He was professor of divinity at Leyden; his writings are all on controversial and theological subjects.

1630. First general court of the Massachusetts colony held at Boston. Many of the first planters attended and were made free of the colony. The number of freemen this year was 110.

1640. ALBERTUS MIRÆUS, a learned German writer, died.

1645. Newcastle in England, a fortress of considerable strength, taken by the Scots under Leven. The place had been besieged ten weeks when the Scottish general directed a furious cannonade against the walls; at nightfall the besiegers advanced to the onset, and after two hours' hard fighting at the breaches, forced their entry.

1655. The kirk of Scotland refused to observe the _fast day_ ordered by the protector, on the ground that the church should receive no directions from civil magistrates when to keep fasts.

1660. Colonels AXTEL and HACKER executed for the murder of Charles I of England. Axtel commanded the guard that attended the king to the scaffold.

1675. Attack on Hadley, Mass., by the Indians to the number of seven or eight hundred. Nearly all the towns on that river had been either totally destroyed or greatly injured during this season by the savages. They attacked this place in all quarters, but were so warmly received at all points, that after burning a few barns and outhouses, they hastened away as fast as they had come on. The town happened to be garrisoned, and the companies stationed at the neighboring towns hastened to their relief. This was the last attempt upon these settlements this season, the Indians retiring to their general rendezvous at Narragansett. Great numbers of them had been killed, and a greater number had perished by other means.

1682. THOMAS BROWN, an eminent English physician and writer, died.

1690. ISAAC BENSERADE, a French poet, died.

1745. JONATHAN SWIFT, the eccentric dean of St. Patrick's, died, aged 78, in a state of idiocy, leaving £10,000 to found a hospital for lunatics and idiots.

1749. WILLIAM GED, an ingenious Scottish artist, died; memorable for a new invention in the art of printing, called stereotyping.

1762. Dark day at Detroit; "one of the darkest days that ever was known."

1763. A patrol of horse commanded by sir John Fielding, established on the roads leading to London, to clear them of robbers and highwaymen.

1769. A terrible eruption of Vesuvius.

1780. Engagement at Palatine Bridge, N. Y.; colonel Brown killed.

1781. CORNWALLIS surrendered to the French and American army at Yorktown. Above 7000 prisoners, the military chest, a frigate, with a number of transports and the public stores, and 1500 seamen, fell into the hands of the captors. The allied army consisted of 7000 French, 5500 continental troops, and 3500 militia.

1789. FRANÇOIS, a baker in Paris, murdered in the street by a mob, because the return of the king had not lessened the price of bread. The great barbarity shown by the actors in this affair called down on them the severity of the national guards under Lafayette.

1794. Battle of Puffleck; the duke of York defeated by the French under Pichegru. The emigrant legion under Rohan were cut to pieces.

1806. HENRY KIRKE WHITE, an admired English poet, died, aged 21.

1807. WILLIAM GORDON died; an English author of a history of the American revolution, &c.

1810. The French burned all British merchandise in the country.

1812. Second battle of Poltosk; the French defeated and compelled to retreat with great loss.

1812. BONAPARTE, at the head of the French army, left Moscow. The palace of the Kremlin blown up.

1813. Last day's battle of Leipsic, in which above half a million of men and at least 2000 cannon were engaged in the work of death. The French emperor finding it in vain to stem the torrent of so vast a superiority of force as now bore down upon him, began a retreat, which was disastrous in the extreme. The only bridge by which the army could cross was blown up, leaving 25,000 men to surrender at discretion. On arriving at Erfurt, Bonaparte found his army reduced to 80,000; having lost by death and defection since the campaign opened, 200,000.

1814. Battle of Lyon's creek; the Americans, 900 men, under general Bissell, attacked by a select British corps of 1200 men, who were compelled to retreat.

1825. GIROLAMO LUCCHESINI, a Prussian minister of state and author, died. He combined the qualities of an experienced courtier with the practical knowledge of a statesman, was learned without pedantry, and possessed a great memory.

1826. FRANCIS JOSEPH TALMA, an eminent French tragedian and writer, died. He was a man of great natural talent, and esteemed by men of rank and talent; he was a great favorite with Napoleon.

1842. The town of Monterey in California was captured by the United States squadron under commodore Jones, under the belief that war existed. But it was soon restored to Mexico.

1845. HANNAH GOUGH died in New York, aged 110.

1847. A volcano burst forth with great violence on one of the high peaks of Lookout mountain, in the Alleghanian chain, in Georgia.

1847. The corner stone of a monument to the memory of general Washington laid in the city of New York.

1848. The Mormon temple at Nauvoo was fired by an incendiary, and totally destroyed.

1849. FREDERICK STRICKLAND, a young Englishman, son of Thomas Strickland, bart., perished in the snow near the Notch house, in New Hampshire.

1852. A decree of the president issued for the convoking of the French senate for the purpose of deliberating on the restoration of the empire.

1853. ICHABOD BARTLETT, a New Hampshire statesman, died at Portsmouth, aged 67.

OCTOBER 20.

480 B. C. The battle of Salamis is, by respectable authority, placed upon this day. (See Sept. 30.)

1422. CHARLES VI of France, died. He succeeded to the kingdom at the age of 13, and during a reign of 42 years the kingdom, by foreign invasions and internal factions, was ruined, and passed into the hands of the English.

1524. THOMAS LINACRE, a learned English physician and divine, died. He was the best Greek and Latin scholar of his age, and founded the college of physicians.

1579. The Scottish parliament decreed that every householder, having lands or goods worth £500, should be obliged to have a Bible, which at this time was printed in folio, and a psalm book in his house, "for the better instruction of themselves and their families in the knowledge of God."

1687. The destruction of Lima in Peru by an earthquake.

1713. ARCHIBALD PITCAIRNE, an able Scottish physician, died. He disputed the right of Harvey to the discovery of the circulation of the blood, which he asserted was fully known to Hippocrates.

1714. Several people killed by the falling of scaffolds on which multitudes were standing to see the coronation of George I of England.

1719. Birthday of GODFREY ACHENWALL, a Prussian traveler, historian and political economist. He first gave a distinct character to the science of statistics, and gave it that name. He died 1772.

1723. A fire commenced in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and lasted three days; most of the city was burnt down.

1740. CHARLES VI, emperor of Germany, died. He was the sixteenth and last prince of the ancient house of Austria, and was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa.

1741. The Prussians became masters of Silesia.

1786. A basket maker contrived by a singular scaffolding of twigs to bring down the weathercock from the old abby church of St. Albans, in England.

1796. The university of Oxford and the marquis of Buckingham each presented 2000 copies of the Bible for distribution among the French clergy.

1799. Rome capitulated to the English.

1807. The ports of Portugal shut against British shipping.

1807. Copenhagen evacuated by the British, who brought off the stores in the arsenal, amounting to 92 cargoes, and the ships of war.

1814. PHILIP ASTLEY, founder of the royal amphitheatre, London, died, aged 72. He served seven years in Germany, in the English cavalry, and on his return began to exhibit equestrian performances. He erected several amphitheatres in England and Paris, wrote a treatise on horsemanship, and two works of a military character.

1815. Great hurricane at Jamaica, which continued 3 days and wrecked one hundred vessels.

1826. BOISSY D'ANGLAS, died at his residence in France, whose name is so closely interwoven with the French revolution. He was a member of the council of 500, and subsequently the president of that body. His hostility to the Directory produced a sentence of deportation to Guiana, but he contrived to elude the exile.

1827. Battle of Navarino, in which the fleet of the pacha of Egypt was annihilated by the combined squadrons of Great Britain, Russia and France, under admiral Codrington.

1841. A fire broke out in the tower at London, and entirely consumed the building called the small armory; about 200,000 stand of arms, and a great number of trophies of various kinds were destroyed.

1853. SELIM PASHA defeated a Russian corps of 15,000 men on the frontiers of Georgia. The Turks at this time had a fleet of 22 ships of the line and 9 war steamers, mounting 1116 guns, and the Egyptian contingent consisting of 10 ships of war and 2 steamers, mounting 614 guns.

OCTOBER 21.

1097. The siege of Antioch opened by the crusaders. (See June 3.) Baldwin founded the principality of Edessa in this year.

1217. The fortress of Alcazar-do-Sal taken from the Moors, after a hard fought battle, by the Portuguese under Alphonso II, assisted by William, earl of Holland, with a portion of the fleet and forces bound for the crusade.

1439. AMBROSE of Portico, in Romania, died; distinguished by his fluency in the Greek tongue, at the councils of Basil, Ferrara, &c.

1441. MARGERY JOURDEMAIN, the witch of Eye, condemned to be burnt for furnishing _love potions_ to Eleanor Cobham, wife of that duke of Gloucester so eminent as a patron of science and letters.

1558. JULIUS CÆSAR SCALIGER died; an Italian physician, eminent as a Latin critic and poet.

1583. LAURENT JOUBERT, a French physician and medical writer, died.

1593. Nymegen, a strong city of Holland, surrendered to Maurice of Nassau, who added a new fort to it.

1621. ANTHONY MONTCHRESTIEN DE VATEVILLE, a French poet, torn to pieces and burnt by order of the authorities, for sedition and other crimes.

1662. HENRY LAWES, an English musician, died. He was originally a choir boy of Salisbury church, first introduced the Italian style of music in England, and composed the notes for Milton's _Comus_.

1687. EDMUND WALLER, an eminent English poet and political writer, died.

1692. A commission was granted by William and Mary to Benjamin Fletcher, governor of New York, conferring on him the government of Pennsylvania, and depriving Penn of that office. He was however, restored again in two years after.

1716. JAMES GRONOVIUS died; a Dutch writer on the belles-lettres, and a man of learning.

1766. Cumana, the capital of New Andalusia in South America, entirely destroyed by an earthquake.

1771. TOBIAS SMOLLET, a Scottish physician, died; better known as a historian and novelist.

1771. WILLIAM CLARKE, an English divine and antiquary, died.

1774. The provincial congress of Massachusetts determined to raise and enlist men for the defence of the province for the first time, under the name of minute men.

1777. SAMUEL FOOTE died; a celebrated English dramatist and actor, called the English Aristophanes.

1783. Congress insulted at Philadelphia by a band of mutineers, whom the authorities were unable to quell, adjourned to Princeton; a circumstance which doubtless led to the agitation of the question of a permanent seat of government.

1794. Coblentz surrendered to the French revolutionists. The fortifications of this city, celebrated for having been the court of the emigrant princes, had been vastly augmented during the course of the war, but the Austrian commander evacuated it on the first appearance of the French.

1794. ANTHONY PETIT, an eminent French physician, died. He was a copious and learned writer.

1800. SIMEON THAYER, an officer of the revolution, died. He was in the army led by Arnold through the wilderness to Quebec, was wounded by a cannon ball at Monmouth, and was the brave volunteer defender of Mud fort on the Delaware.

1803. FREDERICK CAVENDISH, an English field marshal died.

1805. Battle of Trafalgar; the British fleet, 27 sail and 4 frigates, defeated, after an action of 4 hours, the combined French and Spanish fleets of 33 sail. Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed, and the French admiral Villeneuve was captured. British loss 423 killed, 1164 wounded. The French and Spanish fleet was completely overthrown; but 14 escaped from the battle, and nearly the whole of those were afterwards wrecked or captured.

1841. JOHN FORSYTH, an eminent American statesman, died. As a member of the Union convention of Georgia in 1832, he was principally instrumental in preventing that state from pledging itself to nullification. He was a man of talent and eloquence and long distinguished in public life by the many important offices which he held.

1849. CHARLES E. HORN, a well known musical composer of Boston, died.

1852. SAUL ALLEY, long known as a leading merchant and capitalist of New York, died aged 74.

OCTOBER 22.

50 B. C. The civil wars of the Romans began in which Cæsar and Pompey were arrayed against each other.

615. COLUMBANUS, an Irish missionary and reformer of monastic life, died in Italy. In his character he was intrepid, violent and fearless.

741. CHARLES MARTEL, duke of Austrasia, died. He was the actual sovereign of France during 25 years, under the titles of mayor of the palace, and duke of the Franks. He repeatedly vanquished the Suevians, Frisons, Allemans and Saxons, and at the famous battle near Poictiers defeated the Saracens with such great slaughter, that it is said 375,000 of them were destroyed.

1322. HUGH, the illuminator, died at Cairo in Egypt, on his way from Dublin to the holy land.

1495. JOHN II (_the Great_) of Portugal, died. He carried war into Africa against the Moors, and extended the settlements of the Portuguese in Africa and India.

1658. Interment of Oliver Cromwell, with great pomp. "It was the joyfulest funeral I ever saw," says Evelyn; "for there were none that cried but dogs, which the soldiers hooted away with a barbarous noise, drinking and taking tobacco in the streets as they went."

1685. Edict of Nantes revoked by the imbecile Louis XIV, who imagined the protestants in his kingdom were nearly extirpated. The protestants were now deprived of their religious and civil rights, which they had enjoyed nearly a century. They were driven in great numbers into different countries of Europe by the persecutions which followed, where they established the silk and other manufactures, to the great prejudice of their own country.

1707. CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, a celebrated English admiral, wrecked off the Scilly isles, as he was returning with his fleet from the coast of Spain; 900 seamen also perished with him.

1708. HERMAN WITSIUS died; a learned Dutch divine, and theological writer.

1710. Birthday of MARIE ANNE LE PAGE DU BOCCAGE, a French lady greatly celebrated for her writings.

1724. WILLIAM WOLLASTON died; a celebrated English divine, author of the _Religion of Nature_.

1726. The island of Jamaica visited by a fearful hurricane which destroyed much property on the plantations and a fleet of ships.

1746. The assembly of New York brought in a bill to raise £2,250 by lottery towards erecting a college.

1757. Alum first discovered in Ireland.

1764. Battle of Buxar, in Bengal; the British defeated Mir Cassim, who lost 4,000 killed, 133 cannon, and all his tents, &c., taken.

1775. PEYTON RANDOLPH, first president of the American congress, died. He was a native of Virginia, and one of the most distinguished lawyers and patriots of that state.

1777. Battle of Red Bank; the Hessians under count Donop in their attack upon the American fort, were defeated with the loss of about 500 killed. Donop was mortally wounded. Fort Mifflin was attacked at the same time by water, without success, and two British men-of-war were lost.

1784. Treaty at fort Stanwix (now Rome) between the Six Nations and the United States.

1788. GEORGE III, king of England, became insane.

1791. JOHN DAVID MICHAELIS, a German theological writer, died. His works are 49 in number.

1793. British took possession of Grand Ance and Nicola Mole, in St. Domingo.

1802. SAMUEL ARNOLD, an eminent English musical composer, died in London.

1812. VINZINGERODE, the Russian general, with his aid Narishkin, rode up to Warsaw with a white flag to offer terms, was made prisoner, and despatched towards Hesse; but was retaken by a party of Cossacks.

1812. The city of Moscow wholly evacuated by the French, after a possession of 1 month and 8 days. Russian troops entered it immediately afterwards, in time to preserve the Kremlin, which had been undermined to be blown up; and within a few hours, so completely had the Russian peasants baffled Napoleon, that the town swarmed with people and the markets were stocked with provision.

1818. JOACHIM HEINRICH CAMPE, a German theologian, died. His philosophical works, as well as those which he composed for the instruction of youth, display a noble and philanthropic spirit; some of them have been translated into most of the European languages.

1824. CHARLES VAN ESS, a German ecclesiastic, died. He wrote some historical works, and a translation of the New Testament was published under his name.

1840. HENRY RICHARD VASSALL, lord Holland, an English statesman, died. He was a man of literary accomplishments, and particularly distinguished for his knowledge of Spanish literature. He is characterized as a wit without a particle of ill-nature, and a man of learning without a taint of pedantry.

1841. ROBERT BISSETT SCOTT, an English writer on military jurisprudence and a military advocate, died at London, aged 67.

1846. BATIS STONE, another of those long lived patriots of the revolution of the American colonies, died at Philadelphia, aged over 103 years. Though in nearly every battle he escaped unwounded.

1846. The steamship Great Britain ran aground on the coast of Ireland, and became too deeply imbedded to be lifted by subsequent tides. The passengers and most of the cargo saved.

1848. ALEXANDER G. MCNUTT, an eminent Mississippi lawyer, died, aged 47.

1850. The city council of Chicago passed resolutions nullifying the fugitive slave law, and releasing the police from the obedience of it. They subsequently reconsidered this action.

1855. WILLIAM MOLESWORTH, a Welsh baronet, died, aged 45. He began to make a figure before the public at a very early age, and distinguished himself in parliament and elsewhere.

OCTOBER 23.