Part 54

1814. MATTHEW FLINDERS, an English navigator, died. He explored a part of the coast of New Holland; but lost his ship in that enterprise, and on his return home was held a captive in the isle of France 6 years, and deprived of his papers.

1824. AUGUSTIN ITURBIDE, emperor of Mexico, shot. He entered the army at a very early age. In 1820 he took up arms for the cause of freedom, and led his army on to a series of splendid victories. He became suddenly popular, and was raised to the throne; but was as suddenly deposed and banished. His execution was occasioned by his return.

1836. LEFEBURE DE CHEVERUS, arch bishop of Bordeaux, died. He came to America after the French revolution, and was consecrated first catholic bishop of Boston, 1810. He was a man of distinguished talents, and extensive scientific and literary acquirements. He returned to France at the invitation of Louis XVIII.

1848. ROBERT SWARTWOUT died; quartermaster general in the war of 1812, and afterwards known as a politician.

1849. HARMANUS BLEECKER, a prominent and universally respected citizen of Albany, died, aged 70. He was minister for the United States at the Hague for several years.

1849. GEORGE TIBBITS of Troy, well known in the councils and commerce of the state of New York, died.

1849. The excavation for the passage of the double track of the Utica and Schenectady rail way through the rock at Little Falls, Herkimer county, New York, was completed. 30,000 yards of granite were taken out and 1,600 kegs of powder consumed in the operation.

1853. The Danish parliament was prorogued, and a fundamental law issued, by which the government became an absolute one.

1854. The insurrection at Madrid (see 17th) triumphed, and the Rivas ministry resigned.

1855. JOSEPH L. FOLSOM, first collector of the customs at San Francisco, died, aged 38. He was educated at West Point, and after serving in Florida, went to California with a New York regiment in 1847. He was reputed the richest man in California.

1857. A fire broke out in Taiefa, Portugal, which spread over an immense district of agricultural country, consuming a vast quantity of standing grain, country houses, barns, &c.

JULY 20.

1322 B. C. The great Canicular cycle of the Egyptians, consisting of 1460 years, began with the sun in Cancer, 15 days after the summer solstice. Its first revolution was just completed with the reign of Adrian, 138 A. D.; its second in the time of Shakspeare, 1598. The famous expedition of the Argonauts, and the foundation of the Pythian games, are events which chronologists have placed _sixty years_ afterwards.

44 B. C. The customary games in memory of Cæsar's victories were exhibited by Octavius upon this day, dedicated to Venus Mater, when he produced the hero's golden spectatorial chair. The anniversary is interesting from the fact of a comet having appeared near the _Great Bear_, which was visible for seven days.

1031. ROBERT (_the Wise_), king of France, died. He refused the crown of the empire and of Italy, satisfied to rule his own subjects, for whose happiness he labored earnestly.

1164. PETER LOMBARD, bishop of Paris, died; called _Master of the Sentences_, from a work of his by that name, which has been ably commented on by succeeding divines.

1546. The emperor CHARLES V placed the protestant confederates under the ban of the empire; whereupon they declared war upon him. (See July 15.)

1553. Lady Jane Grey's _nine days' usurpation_ terminated.

1620. Massacre of the protestants in the Valteline in Switzerland. It began on this day and extended to all the towns of the district; it was a labor of three days.

1650. JOHN PRIDEAUX, an English prelate, died. He rose from the ranks of poverty and dependence to be bishop of Worcester; and sunk back again to his original level rather than compromise with the republicans.

1655. ROBERT BROOKE died; he was the first settler in Patuxent, Maryland.

1691. ADRIAN AUGUSTIN DE BUSSY DELAMET, a French ecclesiastic, died. He was of a noble family, and wrote among other things a _Dictionary of Cases of Conscience_, 2 volumes folio.

1704. PEREGRINE WHITE, the first-born of Plymouth colony, died at Marshfield, aged nearly 84.

1752. JOHN CHRISTOPHER PEPUSCH, an eminent Prussian musician, died in England. His abilities were so early displayed, that at the age of 14 he was employed to teach music to the prince royal at Berlin.

1759. The English general, PRIDEAUX, commanding the enterprise against Niagara, while directing the operations of the siege, was killed by the bursting of a cohorn.

1779. DOUGAL GRAHAM (_the Rhymer_), chronicler of the events of the rebellion of 1741, died.

1788. Action off Hoogland between the Russian fleet of 17 ships, and Swedish fleet of 15. It continued from 5 P. M. till near midnight, and ended in the defeat of the Russians, who had one ship sunk and one of 74 guns and 780 men captured. The Swedish fleet was inferior to the Russian in the size of the vessels as well as in number.

1794. A revolutionary tribunal established at Geneva, in Switzerland; about 2,000 persons arrested; 200 on the proscription list escaped.

1814. General BROWN moved his whole force upon fort George, but not being supported by the fleet on account of Com. Chauncey's illness, fell back on the 22d to Queenstown.

1814. The British fort St. Joseph taken possession of by colonel Croghan.

1814. Privateer general ARMSTRONG arrived at New York, having captured 11 vessels.

1819. JOHN PLAYFAIR, a celebrated Scottish mathematician, died. He was also eminent as a geologist and geographer. His largest work is a system of geography in 5 volumes.

1825. WILLIAM BROWN, a celebrated gem engraver, died. He was first patronized by Catharine of Russia, and subsequently by the king of France; but the storm of the revolution drove him from Paris to London, where he executed many excellent works.

1843. The Chinese city Chin-keang-foo was captured by the British forces under sir H. Pottinger.

1844. JOHN HALSAM, a British author on insanity, died in London.

1852. The obsequies of Henry Clay celebrated with the greatest pomp and magnificence in New York. The city was shrouded in mourning, business was suspended, and the shipping wore their colors at half-mast.

1854. CAROLINE BOWLES, widow of Southey, died at Buckland, England; a poetess of some merit.

1855. A great portion of the village of Chamouni, in Savoy, destroyed by fire.

1857. THOMAS DICK, a Scottish astronomer, died near Dundee, aged 83. His _Christian Philosopher_ and some other works are popular in both continents.

JULY 21.

1756 A. M. The window of the ark opened 40 days after the appearance of the tops of the mountains, 1st of 10th month, (June 11). See Nov. 2.

330 B. C. DARIUS III (_Codomanus_), the last king of the ancient Persian empire, assassinated. He was conquered by Alexander the Great, and treacherously slain by Bessus, governor of Bactria, his own general, who hoped to succeed to the sovereignty. With his death the Persian empire became extinct, after a lapse of 228 years from its establishment by Cyrus.

365. A memorable earthquake which shook the greatest part of the Roman world, and deluged the lower shores of the Mediterranean. The city of Alexandria annually commemorated the fatal day, in which 50,000 inhabitants lost their lives in that inundation.

1403. Battle of Shrewsbury, between Henry IV and Henry Percy (Hotspur). Their numbers were matched and the mutual slaughter was immense; several earls, 2,300 gentlemen, and 6,000 privates were slain. Hotspur was brained by an English _cloth yard_, and his rival in execution, Douglas, was taken prisoner. But for the disparity in prudence, the dynasty upon the English throne would probably have been reversed. (20th? 22d?)

1575. FRANCIS MARULLO, or Maurolico, abbot of Messina and an eminent astronomer, died. Owing to the illiberality of the age in which he lived much of his treatise on comets was suppressed.

1586. THOMAS CAVENDISH sailed upon an American expedition, at his own expense, in three ships, with 123 persons, victualed for 2 years, and circumnavigated the earth. It was the second English voyage round the world, and was effected in two years and two months, with the loss of two of his ships. On his voyage he pillaged and burnt several Spanish settlements on the west coast of America.

1667. Treaty of Breda, between the English, French and Dutch, when New York was exchanged for Surinam, and Antigua and Montserrat restored to the British.

1601. PETER AIRAULT died; a magistrate of Paris of great integrity and firmness, by which he acquired the title of _the rock of the accused_.

1637. DANIEL SENNERTUS, a learned German physician, died. He was the son of a shoemaker, rose to great celebrity, and was one of the first to introduce the study of chemistry among his pupils.

1683. WILLIAM RUSSEL, duke of Bedford, executed. This was one of the arbitrary measures of the reign of Charles II. An attempt was afterwards made to satisfy the ends of justice in this affair by seeking out the instigators of the deed, and restoring his family to their privileges and estates.

1688. JAMES BUTLER, duke of Ormond, died; a celebrated statesman and warrior in the reign of Charles II, to whose restoration he materially contributed.

1772. PETER BARRAL, a French ecclesiastic, died. He distinguished himself by the production of several useful works, and among them a historical dictionary.

1773. Pope CLEMENT XIV signed the famous bull which pronounced the extinction of the society of Jesuits.

1788. GAETANO FILANGIERI died at Naples; one of the most celebrated political economists of the last century.

1789. M. FOULON and his son-in-law, BERTHIER, massacred at Paris; they are numbered as the 8th and 9th victims of the revolution.

1796. ROBERT BURNS, the Scottish poet, died. In the humble employment of a ploughman, he discovered a most extraordinary genius, which has given to his productions an enduring fame.

1797. PETER THELLUSON, a Swiss resident in London, died. He accumulated an immense property, the bulk of which he left to be funded till it should amount to £140,000,000, when, if he should have no lineal descendants, it was to be applied to the _sinking fund_ of Great Britain.

1798. Battle of the Pyramids in Egypt. Murad with 22 other beys were defeated by the French under Bonaparte, with the loss of 40 cannon, 40 camels, and their whole baggage and provisions. Cairo surrendered to the _king of fire_, as the Mamelukes termed the combative Corsican, and the whole of Lower Egypt submitted to his arms.

1814. The inquisition reestablished in Spain by Ferdinand. It had been suspended during the reign of Bonaparte.

1815. HARRIET ACKLAND died in England, aged 66. Her husband was wounded and taken prisoner at Saratoga in 1777, and the interest felt for her on the occasion, and the hardships and dangers she encountered have made her the subject of history.

1827. ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, if not the most fortunate by far the most eminent publisher that ever adorned the Scottish capital, died. He directed the printing and publishing of the _Edinburgh Review_, &c.

1831. LEOPOLD, king of Belgium, made his entry into Brussels, and took the oath of the constitution.

1832. The sultan of Turkey gave his assent to the extension of the Greek frontier, as required by the London conference, from the gulf of Arta to that of Volo, and recognized the independence of the Greek states.

1838. JOHN MAELZEL, an ingenious German mechanist, died. He visited many countries of Europe and America with Kempelin's automaton chess-player, which he improved by giving it the powers of speech. He also invented several automata of surprising powers, which are familiar throughout the country.

1848. The cities of Dublin and Waterford proclaimed by the lord lieutenant of Ireland to be under the coercion act.

1849. ELIZABETH DODD died at Stephens, New Brunswick, aged 111.

1849. EBENEZER MACK, long and favorably known as a distinguished printer and the conductor of the largest book establishment in western New York, died at Ithaca.

1853. THOMAS P. MOORE died at Harrodsburg, Ky., aged 57; an officer in the war of 1812, member of congress, minister to Colombia in 1829, and lieutenant-colonel in the regular army in Mexico.

1855. The fortress of Frederickshamm was attacked by the allied fleet, and its garrison driven out.

JULY 22.

310 B. C. The Carthaginians defeated Agathocles, who nevertheless carried the war into Africa.

711. RODERICK, the last of the Goths, is overthrown by Tarik, or Xeres, upon the Guadelete, in Spain.

1298. Battle of Falkirk; the Scots under Wallace defeated with great slaughter by the English under Edward I. Wallace escaped, but his sun had now sunk forever, and the remainder of his life was spent in his native forests, a fugitive. The number of slain in the Scottish army is by some represented as high as 50,000. Guy, earl of Warwick, "the black dog of Arden," then a young adventurer for fame, signalized his prowess in the ranks of Edward on this occasion.

1403. Battle of Shrewsbury, in which the forces under Douglas, Percy and Owen Glendower were defeated, and the earl of Northumberland's son, Henry Hotspur, slain.

1461. CHARLES VII, king of France, died. He succeeded in driving the English from his kingdom, by the assistance of Joan of Arc; but having restored peace he relapsed into sensuality, and died of anguish and starvation at the undutiful conduct of his son.

1534. JOHN FRITH and ANDREW HEWET burnt at Smithfield for heretical opinions relative to the sacrament; Henry VIII king.

1575. PETERS and TURWERT, two anabaptists, burnt at Smithfield, in presence of an immense crowd of spectators.

1581. RICHARD COX, bishop of Ely, died. He was the chief framer of the liturgy, and translator of the Bible, called _The Bishop's Bible_, made in the reign of Elizabeth.

1589. HENRY III, of France, assassinated. His reign was distracted by the quarrels between the catholics and protestants, till he fell a victim to the zeal of a priest named Clement, and the house of Valois became extinct.

1674. GERBRANT VANDEN EECKHOUT, a Dutch painter, died. He was a pupil of Rembrant, whom he rivaled in merit and popularity.

1676. Pope CLEMENT X died. He was a Roman, and in disposition mild.

1686. City of Albany incorporated.

1698. CLAUDE BOYER, a dramatic writer, died at Paris.

1704. Gibraltar (_Gebel al Tarik_, the mountain of Tarik, where the Saracens landed), taken by the British under sir Geo. Rooke, in whose possession it has ever since continued.

1706. Treaty for the union of Scotland with England signed. It was ratified by parliament and queen Anne, and went into operation May 1, the following year.

1734. PETER KING, chancellor of England, died. He was a grocer and salter in his boyhood, that being the trade of his father; but his genius soared to higher occupations, and he became a student. His abilities were appreciated and rewarded by a succession of high and responsible offices.

1763. JOHN DALTON, an English divine, died. He prepared Milton's masque of _Comus_ for the stage; sought out the poet's grand-daughter, then overwhelmed with age and poverty, and procured her a benefit which produced £120. His works consist of sermons, poems, &c.

1776. The foundation stone of the far-famed observatory on Calton hill, near Edinburgh, Scotland, was laid.

1779. Battle of Minisink.

1793. The city of Mentz surrendered to the Prussians.

1794. JOHN BENJAMIN DE LA BORDE, a French writer, guillotined. He was valet to Louis XV, upon whose death he was appointed farmer-general.

1802. Action between the United States frigate Constellation, captain Murray, and 9 Tripolitan gun boats. Four of them were driven on shore, and the remainder took shelter in Tripoli.

1802. MARIE FRANCIS XAVIER BICHAT, an eminent French physician and author, died, aged 31.

1805. Action off Feroll, between the British fleet, 11 sail, and the French and Spanish fleets, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of two large ships captured.

1807. Battle of Novoleski; the advance of the Russians under prince Bagration defeated a strong body of French chasseurs with great slaughter, taking only 150 prisoners. Bagration rushed on, and near Mohiloff a sanguinary action took place. French loss 4,000; Russians lost 3,000.

1812. Battle of Salamanca, in Spain; the British under Wellington defeated the French under Marmont, who lost an arm. Of the French, 7,000 were taken prisoners, and it was owing to the night and Clausel's skill and science that the army was saved from destruction. British loss 5,220.

1813. GEORGE SHAW died; an eminent English naturalist and writer on zoology, and principal keeper of natural history in the British museum.

1823. WILLIAM BERTRAM, a distinguished American botanist died, aged 82. His father was the first American who conceived and carried into effect the design of a botanical garden, for the cultivation of American plants as well as exotics.

1826. JOSEPH PIAZZI, a celebrated astronomer, died at Palermo. He made a new catalogue of the stars, consisting of 7,646, and in 1801 discovered an eighth planet, which he named Ceres Ferdinandia. He is the author of several scientific works.

1832. FRANCIS CHARLES JOSEPH BONAPARTE, duke of Reichstadt, died, aged 21. He was the only son of Napoleon Bonaparte and Maria Louisa; is said to have possessed distinguished talents, united with great kindness of disposition, and early gave indications that his ruling passion was military ambition.

1833. WILLIAM THOMPSON died at Hickory hill, Baltimore county, Md., aged 112.

1836. ARMAND CARREL, a French republican, killed in a duel. He was principal editor of the _Nationel_ of Paris. A monument by David is over his grave.

1839. Ghuznee, one of the strongest places in Asia, defended by a garrison of 3,500 Afghans, under a son of the ex-king of Cabul, was taken by the British under general Keane; 500 of the garrison being killed and the rest taken. British loss about 200.

1850. SARAH MARGARET FULLER D'OSSOLI, a distinguished American authoress, with her husband and child, perished near Fire island, on their homeward passage to New York.

1852. EXCELMANS, a noted French general, died at Paris, aged 77. He first gained distinction under Oudinot, in 1799; commanded a part of the cavalry at Waterloo, and was raised to the dignity of marshal of France.

1854. A new planet was discovered by the astronomer Hind, from the observatory at Regents park, London.

JULY 23.

1401. The city of Bagdad sacked by the Tartars under Tamerlane (_Timour the Lame_,) who erected on her ruins a pyramid of 90,000 heads.

1531. Treaty of Nuremberg between Charles V and the reformers, and soon after solemnly ratified by the diet of Ratisbon.

1562. GŒTZ VON BERLICHINGEN (_with the iron hand_), a bold, restless and warlike German knight, died. He placed himself at the head of the rebellious peasantry in the war which they waged against their oppressors, but was soon taken prisoner.

1584. ELIZABETH RUSSEL died; an English lady, distinguished for a well cultivated mind and a taste for literature.

1584. JOHN DAY, an eminent English printer, died. He was the first who printed in Greek and Saxon characters in England, and is deserving of remembrance for his enterprise in the publication of many extensive works, the effect of which was to facilitate the progress of the reformation.

1588. Date of the oldest preserved newspaper in England, the _English Mercurie_, by queen Elizabeth. It had been printed at intervals before, as this was the fiftieth number, and is still preserved in the British museum. It is printed in the Roman character. (May 28.)

1602. The _lacteals_ discovered by Caspar Asselli, while dissecting a dog. The discovery was accidental.

1627. ROBERT SHIRLEY, a native of England, died in Persia. He made a visit to Persia, and was induced to settle there; became a favorite with the emperor, who gave him his niece in marriage, and sent him as his ambassador to Poland and England.

1637. The _cuttie_ stool thrown by a woman at the head of the bishop, in St. Giles's church, Edinburgh.

1691. HENRY SLOUGHTER, governor of the province of New York, died, after a short, weak and turbulent administration, and was buried in Stuyvesant's vault, next to the old Dutch governor.

1692. GILES MENAGE, a learned French author, died. He acquired the title of the Varro of his time, and became so popular that Mazarin even was jealous of him. He left numerous valuable works.

1712. ACHILLE DE HARLEY died; first president of the parliament of Paris, and an upright magistrate.

1741. Battle of Williamstadt, in Sweden, between the Russians and Swedes.

1752. ALEXANDER POLITI, an Italian professor of great learning, died at Pisa. He published an edition of Eustathius's _Commentary on Homer_, with a Latin translation, and notes, 5 vols. folio; a labor of great value.

1757. Zittau, in Saxony, bombarded, taken and destroyed by the Austrians; the inhabitants, as well as the Prussian troops who defended it were put to the sword.

1758. Battle of Sangershausen; the Hessians defeated by the French under Soubise; who, although victorious, lost 2,000 men.

1765. In Lapland, 120 reindeer were struck dead by lightning.

1773. GEORGE EDWARDS, styled the father of ornithologists, died, aged 81. He was apprenticed to a trade, but as soon as his indentures expired he began to travel, and extended his researches into various countries of Europe. The first volume of his work appeared in 1743, and the whole was completed in 1764, in 7 vols. 4to, containing engravings and descriptions of upwards of 600 subjects in natural history never before delineated.

1779. The Minisink settlements in Orange co., N. Y., attacked by the Indians under Brant, by whom it was also plundered and burnt, and the inhabitants either killed or carried away.

1780. Battle in North Carolina, between 300 militia under colonel Lock, and the British and tories under Moore. The latter proposed a cessation of hostilities for one hour, which being agreed to, he decamped with his party.

1785. The Germanic union concluded; the last act of importance of the life of Frederick II.

1793. ROGER SHERMAN, one of the signers, died.

1794. ALEXANDER BEAUHARNAIS, a French general, guillotined. He served in the American war under Rochambeau, was some time president of the national assembly of France, afterwards commanded the army of the Rhine, and in 1793 was minister of war. He was condemned on a false accusation, and perished at the age of 34. His widow, Josephine, was the first wife of Bonaparte.

1800. JOHN FRANCIS VAUVILLIERS, a learned Greek scholar, died. He was for 20 years professor of Greek at Paris, but finally driven out by the revolution, and invited to St. Petersburg by the emperor, where he died.

1816. ELIZABETH HAMILTON died; an English lady of great talents and acquirements, who left several excellent works on various subjects.

1816. The Enterprise arrived at Charleston from Savannah; being the first steam boat ever seen in that city it excited a great deal of curiosity.

1832. Battle near Coimbra, Portugal, between the forces of Don Pedro, 8,000 men, and those of Don Miguel, 12,500, in which the latter were defeated.

1836. HUGH SHAW died, aged 113.

1838. FREDERICK CUVIER, the well known French naturalist, died at Strasburg.

1855. JOSEPH C. HART, American consul, died at Santa Cruz, Canary islands. He was a man of literary taste and an author.

1855. The insurgent Mexicans under general Vidauri, at Saltillo, defeated the government forces under generals Cruz and Guitian, and drove them from the city.

JULY 24.

634. ABUBEKIR, father-in-law of Mohammed, the Arabian prophet, died. He was elected caliph, and supported with energy the fabric already erected by the founder of the new religion. He subdued the disaffected tribes at home, and turned his arms successfully against foreign invaders.